The Girl and the Sword

Gerald Weaver is the author of Gospel Prism and The First First Gentleman. He has a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Catholic University. He has been a Capitol Hill chief of staff, a campaign manager, a lobbyist, a stay-at-home dad, a teacher of English and Latin, and a collector and seller of Chinese antiquities. He has contributed to The Sunday Times, the Guardian, and The Times, as well as many other publications, and has been interviewed on British and American radio and television. He holds dual citizenship in Italy and the United States, and lives in the suburbs of Washington, DC, with his wife, Lily Chu. Also by Gerald Weaver Gospel PrismThe First First Gentleman First published in 2023 by whitefox Copyright © Gerald Weaver, 2023 www.wearewhitefox.com Hardback ISBN 978-1-915036-88-9 eBook ISBN 978-1-915036-89-6 The moral right of Gerald Weaver to be identifiedas the author of this work has been asserted in accordancewith the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in a retrieval system ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,without prior written permission of the author. Designed and typeset by Typo•glyphix Cover design by Dominic Forbes Project management by whitefox For my mother,Angelina Blandino Weaver HISTORICALLY, women have been fording a stream in a gale. They have struggled against the current of male control over the means to change history, while also being buffeted by the gusts of history as written by men. Occasionally, women have overcome the current, to command important events. But then they and their deeds have mostly been concealed by the squall of a history women did not write. The weave of any fiction that seeks to address these injustices contains the warp and woof of fact and truth. How many momentous historical accounts by and of a woman have we lost? This is her story. Cast of Characters Pauline de Pamiers, a Cathar Christian girl of Occitania Simon de Montfort, a knight of northern France, later 6th Earl of Leicester Gauseran de Saint-Leidier, a troubadour of Occitania Rocco Tzu, the troubadour’s exotic companion Guy Alain, a priest Amaury, le Comte de Montfort, elder brother of Simon, leader of crusade against the Cathars Esclarmonde de Foix, deceased Perfect of the Cathars Simon de Montfort the Elder, deceased leader of the crusade against the Cathars, 5th Earl of Leicester Louis IX, King of France Blanche of Castile, Queen Regent of France, mother of Louis Henry III, King of England John, late King of England, Henry’s father Isabella of Angoulême, John’s wife, Queen Dowager of England, mother of Henry III Rachel, a girl of Leicester Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln Adam Marsh, a priest who serves the Bishop of Lincoln William Marshal, late 1st Earl of Pembroke, Regent of England during King Henry’s youth Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent, Regent of England during King Henry’s youth Eleanor of Provence, Henry’s wife, Queen of England Cardinal Sinibaldo Fieschi, papal legate Eleanor of Pembroke, widow of William Marshal, sister of King Henry, wife of Simon de Montfort Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, King Henry’s brother, later King of Germany Hugh de Lusignan, Comte de la Marche, second husband of Isabella of Angoulême Emily, a widow of Leicester Richard de Havering, steward of Leicestershire William de Valence (Guillaume de Lusignan), King Henry’s half-brother Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk William Longespée, son of the Countess of Salisbury, illegitimate half-brother of King John Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, son of Richard Prince Edward, elder son of Henry III Alphonse, King Louis’ brother Roger Bacon, scholar and priest in service of the Bishop of Lincoln Henry de Montfort, eldest son of Simon King Henry III of England (Parents: King John of England 1167–1216 andIsabella of Angoulême 1187–1246) Married: January 14 1236, Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, to Eleanor of Provence 1223–1291 (Parents: Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Provence 1195–1245 and Beatrice of Savoy 1200–1266) Children: King Edward I of England 1239–1307 Princess Margaret of England 1240–1275 Princess Beatrice of England 1242–1277 married toDuke Jean II of Brittany 1239–1305 Edmund Crouchback 1245–1296 married toAveline de Forz 1259–1274 and Blanche of Artois 1248–1300 Princess Katherine of England 1253–1257 Siblings: Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, King of Germany 1209–1272 Princess Joan of England 1210–1238 Princess Isabella of England 1214–1241 Princess Eleanor of England 1215–1275 married toSimon de Montfort 1208–1265 Half-siblings: From Isabella of Angoulême 1187–1246 with Count Hugh XLusignan of Marche 1195–1249 Guy de Lusignan-Marche †1264 Count Hugh XI Lusignan of Marche 1220–1260 William de Valence 1230–1296 (Guillaume de Lusignan) King Louis IX of France (Parents: King Louis VIII of France 1187–1226 andPrincess Blanche of Castile 1188–1252) Married: Marguerite of Provence 1221–1295 (Parents: Count RamonBerenguer IV of Provence 1195–1245 andBeatrice of Savoy 1200–1266) Children: Princess Blanche of France 1240–1243 Princess Isabelle of France 1241–1271 Prince Louis of France CONTENTS Cover Also by Gerald Weaver Title Page Copyright Dedication Cast of Characters Family Tree Maps Prologue Book One One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Book Two Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty-One Book Three Twenty-Two Twenty-Three Twenty-Four Twenty-Five