Kathryn Warner answers your questions

Hai Kathryn! Its me (Cami) again. There are many people that i find interesting but no biographies exist of them! When you write books do you read modern translations of sources or do you buy a copy of the source itself? Also are you allowed to see the REAL source itself in an archive and read it personally? Thanks!

Kathryn Warner Hi Cami, great to hear from you again! In almost all cases I read the original sources (in Latin or Anglo-Norman), as I tend not to trust translations. They're sometimes inaccurate, or miss important bits out. And yes, I've often looked at original documents in the National Archives in London and other libraries or archives. It's simply amazing to see and touch 700-year-old documents!

All the best!

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Hai Kathryn! Would you ever consider writing a duo biography on Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois, the 2 wives of Richard II?

Kathryn Warner Hi Cami, thank you for the question! That would be a fascinating book, for sure. As Kristen Geaman has already written a great book on Anne, and I'm not sure if I'd find enough material on Isabelle, I think on the whole I probably wouldn't. But I'd love to read a joint bio of them, haha!

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Hi Kathryn You and Ian Mortimer have similar theories as to the fate of Edward II. Was he your thesis supervisor? I have enjoyed both yours and his books, by the way.

Kathryn Warner Hi David, thank you! Actually no, I've known Ian since 2004 or 2005, but not in a university context. I'm thanked in a couple of his books and he wrote the foreword to my Edward bio, and read a draft of one of my academic articles before I submitted it. Oddly enough, though, my Edward II fascination started after university!

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HI Kathryn, I wondered if you might shed light on Queen Isabellas' later life her son seized power? Was she for he most part 'royally imprisoned" for the remainder of her years? Or was she removed from court for a period of time and then allowed to live a fairly normal life? Do you have any sense of what relations she might have had with her son's family? Her grandchildren? Or was she truly isolated?

Kathryn Warner She was briefly kept under house arrest and made to give up the lands she'd appropriated and the absurdly high income she'd awarded herself, and given a more reasonable income and allowed to keep her own lands. She lived a conventional life as a queen dowager, travelling around her estates and buying lots of jewels. She wasn't imprisoned. She's fairly obscure though and her accounts only survive for the last few months of her life in 1357/58. She was visited by her son and grandchildren and a dowager queen was never going to be isolated. There's a post about it on my blog and I deal with it in my bio of her.

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Kathryn- I imagine when you write your books, you may need to consult with other historians. How have you reached out to them and what have you found to be their reactions and responses to your inquiries and requests? How helpful are other historians to your work? What have you learned in the process? For example, on your upcoming book on Richard II did you reach out to Anthony Goodman before he passed away?

Kathryn Warner I'd rather not say in public, to be honest. And I'm not much of a one to reach out to other historians anyway - I look at and work from the primary sources, not what other modern writers have said.

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Kathryn-Are you familiar with the Hardyng Chronicle? I may be mistaken, but I believe it was written during his lifetime. If that is correct, what is your perspective on its reliability and his reporting of 'history' that occurred prior to that time?

Kathryn Warner It's from a century after Edward II's time, so I've never had reason to use it. It's too late for Richard II as well.

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Kathyrn-as the 'queen' of family trees, might you shed some light on an issue for me? Most historians mention that in 1331-32, Edward III was negotiating a possible marriage for his son, Edward of Woodstock, and Philippe VI's daughter Joan (Jeanne). However, any reference I find to Philippe VI and a daughter, Joan, state that she wasn't even born until 1337 and died the same year. What am I missing? Thanks!

Kathryn Warner Hi! Yes, I mention that too in my forthcoming bio of Richard II - there are a few mentions of it in the chancery rolls, and the girl in question is indeed named Joan/Jeanne. Edward himself was barely a year old when the marriage was proposed in July 1331, so Joan/Jeanne must have been a child born to Philip VI and Joan of Burgundy perhaps in the late 1320s or beginning of the 1330s, who died very young and hence doesn't appear in any further records. Unless the English clerks got her name wrong, which is always possible.

PS Will reply to your emails by the end of the week!

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Hi K-I just finished Rebel Queen and gave it 5 stars! Kudos for your incredible research into primary sources and debunking secondary source 'assumptions' and misinterpretations. I loved the family tree connections and admire your ability to keep them straight. I had read Frances Underhill's biography of Elizabeth de Clare. What's next? Will you take on Philippa of Hainault or other?

Kathryn Warner Hi RJay, thank you so much for the lovely review! I really appreciate it!

My next books are:

'Long Live the King: The Mysterious Fate of Edward II', due out on 1 June.

A bio of Richard II, due out on 15 October.

I'm currently writing a bio of Hugh Despenser the Younger, due out in Sept next year. Also to come are: a bio of the de Clare sisters; Philippa of Hainault; John of Gaunt; and possibly one about the houses of Lancaster and York. So yes, it's all a bit manic. :-)

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Kathryn, I wondered if you've read A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman. If so, what were your thoughts?

Kathryn Warner I've read some of it, but a realllllllly long time ago, and I can't remember it much. It's not a book I would generally consider using for my research. I did look at it recently to see what source(s) Tuchman used for her, and other writers', claim that Robert de Vere had his marriage to Philippa Coucy annulled and that the pope subsequently annulled the annulment, but she didn't cite one.

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Hi Kathryn, I saw you read Barber's "Tournaments: Jousts, Chivalry, and Pageants in the Middle Ages". I searching sources for identifying actual people who were famous jousters in the early to middle 14th C. Would this be a good reference? I have Juliet Barker's other book on Tournaments in England, but I'm looking now for men outside England - particularly from countries other than France. Do you know of any?

Kathryn Warner Hi RJay! One tournament I've been researching recently was held at Mons by the count of Hainault in 1310, though only two English knights took part: Hugh Despenser the Younger and Robert d'Enghien. If you can read French, there's a really good website about that tournament and the men who fought in it. http://home.scarlet.be/heraldus/Tourn... (And that site probably has details of other jousts and jousters too). It was the Barker book that led me to discover this tournament. There's also a book by Peter Coss but it's mostly about English knights, IIRC. It's ages since I read the Barber book and cannot remember at all what was in it, but he's an excellent historian.

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Just wondered if you might have uncovered any more specific information about how John of Eltham died. Documents state he died a "good death" which might have implied he died in battle. But other sources indicate he likely died of a fever. Might it be both? He was wounded and died of a fever resulting from his wounds?

Kathryn Warner I've never really looked at the primary sources for John's death, to be honest - perhaps he died after a skirmish, after getting a wound which became infected.

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Hi Kathryn- Have you come across any biographies of Philippa of Hainault that are worth their salt?

Kathryn Warner Hi RJay! It's funny you should ask that, as I'm almost certainly going to be writing one when my current work in progress is finished in a few months. :-) There isn't a proper full-length bio of Philippa yet, so definitely space for one!

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Kathryn - I haven't read your book yet but have read Ian Mortimer's Greatest Traitor and his book on Edward III. I'm an amateur Plantagent historian. Am particularly interested in Black Prince, especially marriage to Joan of Kent and relationship with Lionel and Elizabeth de Burgh. Have you come across any sources in your research which might shed more light on this that you might share with me?

Kathryn Warner Hi Rosemary! Edward, the Black Prince, married Joan in secret in 1361, and it caused some legal problems - they were closely related, he was the godfather of her two Holland sons, and the dispensation belatedly giving them permission to marry was incorrectly formulated and had to be reissued. Richard II fretted about the legality of his parents' union. I can give you the sources for all this if you like. I haven't explored Edward's relationship with Lionel and Elizabeth de Burgh, but there are a few bios of Edward that might deal with it - there are ones by John Harvey and Richard Barber, and others.

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Hello Kathryn! I just want to say how much I admire you for bringing justice to Edward II whithout being biased which is ver refreshing considering the poor treatment Edward II gets from historians, also will you ever consider writing a book about Hugh le Despenser the Younger?

Kathryn Warner Hello! :) Thank you for the question, and I'm so glad you enjoyed the Edward book! I know a researcher called Jules Frusher was thinking of writing a book about Hugh some years ago, but I'm not sure what progress she's made with it. I did think that one day I'd love to write a book about Edward's 'favourites'; I'm not sure if there'd be enough material to write one solely about Hugh, except a very academic one!

Best wishes, and Merry Christmas!

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