1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Mankie. Listener discretion advised. The year 3 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: was fourteen forty one and Eleanor Cobbham was one of 4 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: the wealthiest and most powerful women in England. Her scent 5 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: had been astonishingly quick. Eleanor had been born the daughter 6 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: of a Surrey knight, and now she was a duchess 7 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:34,880 Speaker 1: married to Humphrey the Duke of Gloucester. And Gloucester wasn't 8 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,880 Speaker 1: just any duke. He was the brother of the late 9 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: King Henry the fifth, and the uncle and counselor for 10 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: the young King Henry the sixth. And because Henry the 11 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:50,919 Speaker 1: sixth was still young and unmarried, obviously with no children 12 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: of his own, there was something else incredibly important about 13 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: the Duke of Gloucester in fourteen forty one. His only 14 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:04,400 Speaker 1: other surviving older brother had died a few years earlier, 15 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: which meant that if anything should happen to his nephew, 16 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: Henry the sixth, he Gloucester was next in line to 17 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: be King. Eleanor Cobbham, daughter of a knight, was a 18 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: heartbeat away from being Queen of England. It was a 19 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: medieval Cinderella story. Perhaps Eleanor was reflecting on how far 20 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:33,199 Speaker 1: she had come that summer the afternoon of June twenty ninth, 21 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: fourteen forty one. Sure she wasn't necessarily popular among the 22 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:43,680 Speaker 1: other nobles. Those who rise quickly seldom are, and certainly 23 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: her husband's position of favor seemed to be temporarily ebbing, 24 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: as jealous rivals sought to undermine his influence. But it 25 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: was hard to worry about that when Gloucester was quite 26 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: literally next in line for the throne. When Eli had 27 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: been made a duchess, she had buckets of royal honors 28 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,679 Speaker 1: bestowed upon her. Young King Henry the sixth gave her 29 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:13,520 Speaker 1: personal gifts. Her position had already brought her family more 30 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: wealth and prominence than they had ever seen before she 31 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:24,079 Speaker 1: was a duchess, and even better, her astrologers had informed 32 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 1: her secretly that King Henry would become deathly ill in 33 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: a matter of months. If they were right, she was 34 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: practically queen. That afternoon, Eleanor was dining in cheapside, enjoying 35 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 1: a meal outdoors, when a messenger crested the horizon with 36 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: a dazed and nervous look in his eye. He told 37 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:54,519 Speaker 1: Eleanor that her astrologers, Thomas Southall and Roger Bolingbrooke, had 38 00:02:54,560 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: been arrested. The charge treasonable necromancy. Consulting with dark spirits 39 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:05,640 Speaker 1: and the dead in order to predict the future is 40 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 1: one thing heresy, but to do it in order to 41 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: predict the death of a king will that was a 42 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: charge that meant certain and violent execution. Eleanor ran. She 43 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: knew that officials would be coming for her next and 44 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:27,120 Speaker 1: so in order to protect herself, she fled to the 45 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 1: legal sanctuary of Westminster. The consequences of Eleanor's ambition were 46 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: now just outside the doors of the chapel, and there 47 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: was only so long she could keep herself safe. This Halloween, 48 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: it's time to tell a story of necromancy, of treason 49 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: and magic, because, like so many ambitious women, Eleanor Cobbham, 50 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: Duchess of Gloucester, was accused of being a witch. I'm 51 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: Danish shorts and this is noble blood. Eleanor Cobbham was 52 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: actually the Duke of Gloucester's second wife, and to understand 53 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: the full picture of Eleanor's story, we actually need to 54 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 1: zoom back a little bit and talk about his first 55 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: wife for just a moment. Her name was Jacqueline, Countess 56 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,719 Speaker 1: of Hainault, and she was an incredibly important heiress in France. 57 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:31,479 Speaker 1: Her father died without any sons, and she was legally 58 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: allowed to inherit one of his territories, Hanault, an area 59 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 1: which today covers the border between Belgium and France, but 60 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:44,159 Speaker 1: her father's other lands, Holland and Zealand, went instead to 61 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 1: the next living male relative. In this case, Jacqueline's uncle, Gloucester, 62 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: was in her first spouse either. First, Jacqueline had married 63 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 1: a man named John the fourth, the Duke of Brabant, 64 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: and they, to he Gathers, a couple had tried to 65 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 1: fight Jacqueline's uncle for control of those territories, but Jacquelin's 66 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: husband was a terrible leader and a weasley guy in general, 67 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: and he basically sold the rights to those contested territories 68 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:19,640 Speaker 1: to Jacqueline's uncle behind her back, and then when John's 69 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:25,720 Speaker 1: financial situation got really bad, he also gave Jacqueline's uncle Hanault. 70 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 1: That was the final straw for Jacqueline, who made the 71 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: perfectly reasonable decision to try to get a formal separation 72 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:39,839 Speaker 1: from her terrible husband. Jacqueline's uncle conquered her last loyal city, 73 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: she was defeated, and so she fled to England. The 74 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:47,600 Speaker 1: king at this time was Henry the fifth, and he 75 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: gave Jacqueline a glittering reception at English court, and when 76 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: Henry's son, the future King Henry the sixth, was born, 77 00:05:56,360 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: Jacqueline was actually made godmother. In the mean time, she 78 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: got a sort of legally gray zone divorce from her 79 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:08,720 Speaker 1: weasley husband that was kind of only legal in England. 80 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:14,719 Speaker 1: Jacqueline tried to get that marriage officially annulled, adorably appealing 81 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:17,919 Speaker 1: to both Pope Martin the fifth in Rome and the 82 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: anti Pope Benedict the thirteenth in Avignon, but before she 83 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 1: was able to do that officially, in a move that 84 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:31,719 Speaker 1: shocked the world, in fourteen twenty three, Jacqueline remarried into 85 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: an incredibly controversial alliance. She married Humphrey, the Duke of Gloucester. Gloucester, 86 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:44,280 Speaker 1: of course, was brother to King Henry the Fifth, and 87 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: once Henry died, Gloucester was the uncle and lord protector 88 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: to the baby King Henry the sixth. At this point, 89 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: Gloucester was one of the most powerful princes in Europe, 90 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:01,039 Speaker 1: and the alliance between him and Jacqueline did not make 91 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: France very happy at all, because Jacqueline and her new 92 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 1: incredibly powerful husband were going to try to fight for 93 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: her lands back. Ultimately, this is going to have some 94 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: real ramifications for the One Hundred Years War, because at 95 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: this point the Duke of Burgundy is the regent of 96 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:23,400 Speaker 1: those lands, and England and Burgundy had an alliance, but 97 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: that is not relevant to our story. What is relevant 98 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: to our story is that when Jacqueline and Gloucester land 99 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 1: in Calais, high on new love and the potential for 100 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: lands to be reconquered. In Jacqueline's retinue, she had a 101 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: young lady in waiting named Eleanor Cobham. Gloucester was gallant 102 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: in his attempt to try to get Hannault back for 103 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: his wife, and he did get some of it back, 104 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: but then the Duke of Burgundy advanced and the locals 105 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:03,120 Speaker 1: turned against the strange English interloper and sided with Burgundy. 106 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 1: To make a long story short, Gloucester's invasion was ultimately 107 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: a failure, and he returned to England in April fourteen 108 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: twenty five without his wife, but conveniently enough, with her 109 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: lady in waiting, Eleanor Cobbham. Eleanor was described by a 110 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: contemporary French chronicler as quote beautiful and marvelously pleasant. She 111 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 1: was attractive, smart and charming. So it wasn't really any 112 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 1: surprise that while Gloucester's wife was back in France waiting 113 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: to hear if the Pope would grant an annulment from 114 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: her first marriage, Gloucester began to have an affair with 115 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: Eleanor Cobbham. Three years later, in fourteen twenty eight, Pope 116 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:55,439 Speaker 1: Martin the Fifth made his determination and ruled that Jacqueline's 117 00:08:55,440 --> 00:09:00,600 Speaker 1: marriage to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester was entirely invalid because 118 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:05,720 Speaker 1: she was still legally married to her first, weaslely husband, John. 119 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 1: The convenient thing for Jacqueline was that her terrible first 120 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:15,040 Speaker 1: husband died the year before, so in theory, Gloucester could 121 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:19,640 Speaker 1: have just swept back to France and remarried Jacqueline legally. 122 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:24,160 Speaker 1: The English public certainly wanted him to do that, at 123 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 1: least the women. You see, when Gloucester retreated back to England, 124 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: the Duke of Burgundy had swept in and conquered every 125 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: territory that Jacqueline had ever held. The Duke forced her 126 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: to concede her administrative rights, and he put her under 127 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: an incredibly confining legal situation. Jacqueline became something of a 128 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: pre modern Princess Diana figure, a scorned aristocratic wife disposed 129 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 1: of by her husband in favor of his mistress. Early 130 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 1: in fourteen twenty eight, a well dressed and well to 131 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: do group of London women came to Parliament to send 132 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 1: letters quote containing matter of rebuke and sharp reprehension of 133 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 1: the Duke of Gloucester because he would not deliver his 134 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:16,600 Speaker 1: wife Jacqueline out of her grievous imprisonment, being then held 135 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: prisoner by the Duke of Burgundy, suffering her to remain 136 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:27,040 Speaker 1: so unkindly, and for his public keeping by him another adulteress, 137 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:31,400 Speaker 1: contrary to the law of God and the honorable estate 138 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 1: of matrimony end quote. But whatever the will to do 139 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: women of England thought, Gloucester did not care. He did 140 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:46,280 Speaker 1: not go back to France, and he did not remarry Jacqueline. Instead, 141 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: he married that adulteress, Eleanor Cobbham. Imagine the scandal. Gloucester's 142 00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: marriage to Jacqueline had come at tremendous diploce mad cost. 143 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:05,360 Speaker 1: It had sent shockwaves throughout Europe, and now just a 144 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:09,720 Speaker 1: few years later, Gloucester had cast her off a duchess 145 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:14,720 Speaker 1: in favor of a lowly lady in waiting. But it 146 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:17,560 Speaker 1: was easy for the new Duke and Duchess of Gloucester 147 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:21,280 Speaker 1: to tune out the malicious gossip. The two of them 148 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: moved into a gorgeous renovated manner called the Palace of Placentia, 149 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 1: a veritable castle with stone towers on the Thames, surrounded 150 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:35,479 Speaker 1: by hundreds of acres and a pleasure garden. The residents 151 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: would later become known as Greenwich Palace, and it was 152 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:44,000 Speaker 1: there that Eleanor and her husband invited their glamorous friends 153 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:47,960 Speaker 1: to pass the time dining and drinking with the most 154 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: brilliant scholars and most dazzling musicians and poets of the day. 155 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 1: Regardless of what the public thought about Eleanor, she was 156 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 1: enjoying a meteoric world in the world of nobility. She 157 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:05,679 Speaker 1: was admitted to the Fraternity of the Monastery of Saint 158 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: Albans and the Order of the Garter, and young King 159 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: Henry the sixth gifted her incredibly luxurious New Year's gifts 160 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: a garter of gold with diamonds and pearls, and rubies, 161 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 1: more exotic gems and jewelry. When Queen Joan of Navarre 162 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 1: died in fourteen thirty nine, who was the dowager second 163 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:30,680 Speaker 1: wife of the late King Henry the fourth, Eleanor was 164 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:35,880 Speaker 1: made a prominent mourner. But the more important royal death 165 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:39,320 Speaker 1: in Eleanor and her husband's life had been a few 166 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:44,280 Speaker 1: years earlier, in fourteen thirty five, when Gloucester's older brother died, 167 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:48,560 Speaker 1: which made him Humphrey, the Duke of Gloucester, next in 168 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: line for the throne. Because the King Henry the sixth 169 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 1: was fourteen years old with no children, it was an 170 00:12:56,280 --> 00:13:01,520 Speaker 1: incredibly powerful position for the Duke and duchess, and Eleanor 171 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:06,199 Speaker 1: wasn't modest about her new status. According to one chronicle, 172 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 1: she rode through the streets of London, glitteringly dressed and 173 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 1: suitably escorted by men of noble birth. Her star had 174 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 1: risen astronomically high, but Eleanor Cobbham was soaring on wings 175 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:26,520 Speaker 1: held together with meltable wax. A few years after Eleanor 176 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:30,240 Speaker 1: in Gloucester got married, the Duke created a jointure for 177 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:34,200 Speaker 1: his wife from his estate, which basically meant that Eleanor 178 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: would get full rights to his properties for life. It 179 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:43,240 Speaker 1: would be almost impossible to undo and take that wealth 180 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:47,600 Speaker 1: from her. Of course, one of the only circumstances where 181 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 1: it could be removed from her was if she was 182 00:13:50,840 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 1: charged with treason, as Eleanor's rise to prominence had been 183 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:06,960 Speaker 1: her husband. Gloucester was also having a great decade in 184 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:10,560 Speaker 1: addition to becoming next in line for the throne. In 185 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:13,920 Speaker 1: fourteen thirty six, he returned from a battle in Calais 186 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:17,559 Speaker 1: as a hero, given a vote of thanks from the Commons. 187 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:22,320 Speaker 1: Even better, his main rival in the King's Council, Cardinal Beaufort, 188 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: was conveniently abroad at a peace conference on the Continent, 189 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 1: which meant that he Gloucester had full control over the 190 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:34,920 Speaker 1: King's ear but status at court, like any sort of 191 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 1: fame or popularity, ebbs and flows. By fourteen forty one, 192 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 1: Gloucester's star was beginning to fade. Cardinal Beaufort had returned 193 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 1: to England and with his small cadre of supporters, began 194 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: elbowing Gloucester out of the King's Council. Politically too, Gloucester 195 00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 1: was losing influence. As the One Hundred Years War continued 196 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 1: to rage on, Gloucester's position of no surrender was becoming 197 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 1: less and less popular. His rivals on the council and 198 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 1: among the nobility were looking for a way to take 199 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: him down, and, as it so happened, that way would 200 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:25,120 Speaker 1: be his wife, Eleanor. On June twenty ninth, fourteen forty one, 201 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,760 Speaker 1: Eleanor was dining at the King's head in Cheapside when 202 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 1: she heard about the arrest of three men. The first 203 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: was Roger Bolingbrooke, who was an Oxford priest and Eleanor's 204 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: personal clerk. The second man was Thomas Southwell, a cannon 205 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:46,040 Speaker 1: and rector. The third was John Holme, Eleanor's chaplain and secretary. 206 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: The charge was conspiring to bring about the king's death, 207 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: and it was an incredibly serious accusation. Bolingbrooke and Southwell 208 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: were indicted for sorcery and treason, with Bolingbrooke accused of necromancy, 209 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 1: or communicating with the dead or spirit world in order 210 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:09,960 Speaker 1: to predict the future. The future they were trying to 211 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 1: predict in this case was allegedly if and when King 212 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: Henry the sixth would die, making the Duke and Duchess 213 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 1: of Gloucester the new King and Queen, and according to Bolingbrooke, 214 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 1: it was Eleanor who had commissioned them to do it. 215 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 1: Eleanor fled to the sanctuary of Westminster Saint Stephen's Chapel, 216 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 1: and though she was told to await her hearings at 217 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:42,800 Speaker 1: Leeds Castle, she was, as you can probably imagine, reluctant 218 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: to leave religious sanctuary. Eleanor even pretended to be ill 219 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 1: to try to escape in August, but in the end 220 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 1: members of the king's household captured her and escorted her 221 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,680 Speaker 1: to Leeds, where she stayed for two months before facing 222 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:02,720 Speaker 1: a tribunal. As it happened, Eleanor would appear before an 223 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: ecclesiastical council and not the secular authorities, which had the 224 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:11,560 Speaker 1: benefit for her of not using the death penalty. One 225 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 1: peculiarity about Eleanor's trial was that she was a peeress 226 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 1: of the realm, and there was a blind spot in 227 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: the law about what would happen if a peeress was 228 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:26,679 Speaker 1: charged for felony and treason. That oversight would be corrected, 229 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:31,320 Speaker 1: but fortunately for Eleanor only after her trial. In the end, 230 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:35,560 Speaker 1: she was charged on five counts, and she confessed to one. 231 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:39,800 Speaker 1: She denied the necromancy and the plotting about bringing about 232 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:44,240 Speaker 1: the king's death, but she did admit to witchcraft, or 233 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:49,399 Speaker 1: at least to using witchcraft. Eleanor confessed to soliciting the 234 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:54,120 Speaker 1: services of a woman named Marjorie Jordemain, also known as 235 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:58,760 Speaker 1: the Witch of the Eye. That nickname is only slightly 236 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,960 Speaker 1: less cool than it sounds, because the Eye was a 237 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:06,240 Speaker 1: name for a geographical area in Westminster. But Marjorie was 238 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: a known witch who had actually been imprisoned for it 239 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:14,639 Speaker 1: already and released on good behavior. She was particularly well 240 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:19,520 Speaker 1: known among a certain group of women looking for love potions. 241 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 1: Eleanor confessed that she had used Marjorie's services back before 242 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,159 Speaker 1: she and Gloucester had gotten married to get him to 243 00:18:29,359 --> 00:18:33,040 Speaker 1: love her, and that she had also used Marjorie's witchcraft 244 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: to try to get pregnant. The two still did not 245 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,760 Speaker 1: have a child together. As for the charge that she 246 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:44,480 Speaker 1: had instructed Bolingbrooke and Southwell to try to predict King 247 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: Henry the sixth death, well, she denied it, but I 248 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:53,080 Speaker 1: will say it's not entirely unreasonable. There are actually no 249 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:57,600 Speaker 1: contemporary sources that speculate that the trial was a complete 250 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 1: fabrication in order to politically undermine Gloucester. It's plausible that Eleanor, 251 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: with a few men closest to her, let the possibility 252 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:11,199 Speaker 1: of power go to her head a little bit and 253 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 1: tried to engage in a little secret prognostication, with the 254 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:19,680 Speaker 1: assumption that no one would ever find out. There had 255 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:24,160 Speaker 1: actually been another incredibly powerful woman who had also been 256 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:29,119 Speaker 1: accused of treasonable witchcraft in living memory while Eleanor's trial 257 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:33,520 Speaker 1: was going on. Do you remember that dowager Queen Joan 258 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,960 Speaker 1: of Navarre, whom Eleanor had been a prominent mourner for 259 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:43,359 Speaker 1: Will Back in fourteen nineteen when Joan's stepson Henry the 260 00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 1: fifth was king. She Joan was accused of witchcraft, but 261 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 1: never actually tried. She was imprisoned, but comfortably and temporarily, 262 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:58,920 Speaker 1: and her massive dowry was significantly reduced, which was very 263 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:02,159 Speaker 1: convenient for Henry the fifth as he was waging the 264 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:07,359 Speaker 1: expensive one hundred Years War. But now twenty two years later, 265 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:12,679 Speaker 1: another noble woman was being accused of witchcraft, and whether 266 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,199 Speaker 1: or not she was guilty, there was no denying that 267 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:21,359 Speaker 1: it was all very convenient for her husband's political rivals. 268 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 1: Marjorie Jordemayne was burned at the stake. Bolingbrooke was hanged, 269 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 1: drawn and quarters Southwilt died in the Tower of London, 270 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 1: allegedly quote of sorrow, but more likely of poison because 271 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,680 Speaker 1: he knew it would be more pleasant than the alternative. 272 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 1: The third man involved Home was actually only indicted for 273 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:51,520 Speaker 1: being aware of the treason his activities and not doing 274 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: anything about them, and he was pardoned. Eleanor Cobbham was 275 00:20:56,359 --> 00:21:00,639 Speaker 1: found guilty, and though she wouldn't be executed, she would 276 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:05,919 Speaker 1: be punished. On November sixth, fourteen forty one, a commission 277 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,359 Speaker 1: of bishops ordered that Eleanor of Gloucester would be forcibly 278 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 1: divorced from her husband. Had her husband tried to free her, 279 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:19,240 Speaker 1: or had he just been so shocked and outraged by 280 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,360 Speaker 1: the charges leveled against his wife that he cast her 281 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 1: out of his heart entirely, we don't know. After their 282 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:31,640 Speaker 1: divorce the two would never see each other again, and 283 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:37,360 Speaker 1: then Eleanor's penance began. On November fourteenth. She was forced 284 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:42,159 Speaker 1: to walk through London from Westminster to the Temple landing stage, 285 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:46,440 Speaker 1: dressed in black, with no cap covering her hair, holding 286 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,120 Speaker 1: a taper in her hand that she would offer at 287 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:53,679 Speaker 1: the high altar at Saint Paul's Cathedral. Two days after that, 288 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:57,800 Speaker 1: she had to do another walk of public shame, holding 289 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:02,359 Speaker 1: another taper and walking from Swanpierre on Thame Street to 290 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: christ Church. Two days after that, from Queen helped to 291 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:11,400 Speaker 1: Saint Michael's. Eleanor, who had once ridden through the streets 292 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:15,440 Speaker 1: glittering and magnificent as one of the most powerful women 293 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:20,400 Speaker 1: in England, was now on foot, with hordes of citizens 294 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:24,919 Speaker 1: lining the streets on both sides to witness her shame 295 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 1: and humiliation. In January, with her three walks complete, Eleanor 296 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:34,400 Speaker 1: was sent to Cheshire, with the King making a special 297 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 1: note that even if she were sick, she was not 298 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 1: to be delayed. Perhaps he speculated that she might be faking. 299 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 1: She was transferred from there to Kenilworth and then to 300 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:49,720 Speaker 1: Peel Castle on the Isle of Man. Eventually she was 301 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 1: sent to Beaumrie in Wales, where she died July seventh, 302 00:22:54,600 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 1: fourteen fifty two. Eleanor Cobbham was all but forgotten by history. 303 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,919 Speaker 1: At this point, no chroniclers wrote about her. We only 304 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: rediscovered the date and place of her death in the 305 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:19,480 Speaker 1: twentieth century. In nineteen seventy seven, Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth is 306 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:23,119 Speaker 1: one of the most famous and enduring female characters in 307 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:26,400 Speaker 1: all of English literature. If it's been a while since 308 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:30,320 Speaker 1: you are ap English class, or since you dove into Shakespeare, 309 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:34,160 Speaker 1: let me quickly refresh your memory. In the play Macbeth, 310 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:38,400 Speaker 1: the titular Scottish general is given a prophecy from three 311 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:42,199 Speaker 1: witches telling him that he will become a King of Scotland. 312 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: When his wife hears about the prophecy, she becomes consumed 313 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:50,320 Speaker 1: with ambition and go to her husband into murdering the 314 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,639 Speaker 1: current King of Scotland so that he can take his place. 315 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 1: I'll avoid spoiling a play about four hundred and fifteen 316 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:00,359 Speaker 1: years old and merely say that it doesn't end well 317 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:06,400 Speaker 1: for either Macbeth or for Lady Macbeth. Even though Shakespeare 318 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:10,800 Speaker 1: was loosely inspired by a real eleventh century Scottish monarch, 319 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:15,800 Speaker 1: his play is pretty much all fiction. In fact, given 320 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,160 Speaker 1: that just a few years before it was performed, King 321 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:22,639 Speaker 1: James the first and sixth became King of England, it 322 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:25,080 Speaker 1: could be argued that the play itself is one of 323 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: the best historical examples of sucking up, given that it's 324 00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:32,720 Speaker 1: set in King James's home country of Scotland, and that 325 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,720 Speaker 1: it features a scene in which King James's real life 326 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:40,040 Speaker 1: ancestor Banquo, is told how his descendants will nobly rule 327 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:45,720 Speaker 1: for generations. But two hundred years before Shakespeare wrote his tragedy, 328 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:50,439 Speaker 1: a real life woman was cast in that metaphorical Lady 329 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:55,000 Speaker 1: Macbeth role. She was decried by contemporaries for her ambition, 330 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: and in the end it would be her faith in 331 00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 1: witchcraft that caused the downfall of both her and her 332 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:08,040 Speaker 1: noble husband. But is eleanor Cobbham the seductive and powerful 333 00:25:08,119 --> 00:25:11,480 Speaker 1: vixen that we so often imagine Lady Macbeth to be, 334 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:16,119 Speaker 1: or was she an unfortunate victim in a man's war 335 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:21,919 Speaker 1: of shifting alliances and opportunism. If there's ambition to be 336 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:26,600 Speaker 1: criticized here, I would say from a moral standpoint, they're 337 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,639 Speaker 1: certainly more blame to be had in the actions of 338 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: Gloucester's ambitious enemies who began this whole well witch hunt 339 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:39,280 Speaker 1: in the first place. In their efforts to undermine Gloucester 340 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:43,240 Speaker 1: to bolster their own positions, they led to the deaths 341 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: of three people and the lifelong imprisonment of another. Sure 342 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:53,159 Speaker 1: Using love potions and quote necromancy to try to predict 343 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:58,480 Speaker 1: the future is bad, but it's also not real. Even 344 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:02,679 Speaker 1: if Eleanor and her advice were secretly speculating on the 345 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:08,280 Speaker 1: death of the king, yes treason, yes bad, but they 346 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 1: didn't actually hurt anyone. Shakespeare actually wrote about Eleanor Cobbham. 347 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:18,480 Speaker 1: She's a character in his play Henry the Sixth Part two. 348 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:22,000 Speaker 1: In the play, Eleanor pushes her husband into asserting his 349 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:25,760 Speaker 1: claim to the throne, and she is manipulated by one 350 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:30,679 Speaker 1: of her husband's rivals into performing the necromancy that ultimately 351 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:35,760 Speaker 1: leads to her and her good husband's downfall. Gloucester is 352 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:39,479 Speaker 1: the good and noble man who tried his best to 353 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:43,680 Speaker 1: resist his wife, but who ultimately was out maneuvered by 354 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:49,480 Speaker 1: political opponents. Eleanor is just a piece in Gloucester's tragedy. 355 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:58,600 Speaker 1: The real Eleanor Cobbham, whoever she may have been, spent 356 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:02,600 Speaker 1: a decade in prison alone and in the cold and dark. 357 00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:06,359 Speaker 1: She was a woman who had done everything she physically 358 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:10,360 Speaker 1: could do in the fifteenth century to secure her own position, 359 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:14,199 Speaker 1: to reach a state of comfort and power, but in 360 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:18,199 Speaker 1: the end she was a woman. She would spend the 361 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:22,840 Speaker 1: rest of her life in prison, with no agency or freedom, 362 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:27,400 Speaker 1: her destiny entirely controlled by the ambitions of the men 363 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:33,080 Speaker 1: around her, like her husband's enemies had predicted, and Leonor's 364 00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:38,119 Speaker 1: scandal ruined Gloucester's political career. He retired from public life, 365 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:41,520 Speaker 1: and he himself was actually arrested a few years later 366 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,359 Speaker 1: in fourteen forty seven, on his way to a meeting 367 00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 1: of Parliament on charges of treason, possibly for trying to 368 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 1: free his former wife, Eleanor Cobbham. He died just a 369 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:58,080 Speaker 1: few days later. One detail about this entire tragic ordeal 370 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,720 Speaker 1: that I find a little charming in spite of myself, 371 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:06,160 Speaker 1: is that back after Eleanor was arrested, when the details 372 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:09,479 Speaker 1: of her alleged necromancy were coming to light, it was 373 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 1: told that her astronomers had predicted that King Henry the 374 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: sixth would die later that very summer August fourteen forty one. Four. 375 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:24,639 Speaker 1: Young Henry the sixth, probably very nervous hearing that, hired 376 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:28,680 Speaker 1: his own astronomers, who were able to correct that prediction 377 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:31,560 Speaker 1: and tell the king that he would actually live a 378 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:36,680 Speaker 1: very long life if those astronomers saw that Henry would 379 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 1: die before he turned fifty in a prison cell after 380 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:44,200 Speaker 1: losing his wits as a prisoner to the Yorks. They 381 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:56,320 Speaker 1: very smartly didn't mention anything. That's the story of Eleanor 382 00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:00,320 Speaker 1: Cobbham and her dalliance with witchcraft. But keep listening after 383 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:04,840 Speaker 1: a brief sponsor break for a spooky little Halloween haunting. 384 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:18,760 Speaker 1: Over Eleanor Cobham's decade long imprisonment, she was moved between 385 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,719 Speaker 1: several castles. In the summer of fourteen forty six, she 386 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:25,360 Speaker 1: was moved to the Isle of Man, where she was 387 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:28,400 Speaker 1: kept on a small islet on the west coast of 388 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:33,040 Speaker 1: the main Isle, in a place called Peel Castle. By 389 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:37,200 Speaker 1: this point, years into her captivity, the former Duchess was 390 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:43,719 Speaker 1: reportedly stormy and anxious. Eleanor was irritable and angry, constantly 391 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:47,120 Speaker 1: under the watchful eyes of guards preventing her from both 392 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: escaping and taking her own life. It's in those dark, 393 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:57,560 Speaker 1: cold halls in the castle on the Irish Sea that 394 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:04,280 Speaker 1: Eleanor's spirit, alleged still roams. They say, if you listen closely, 395 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:08,280 Speaker 1: and if you're very very quiet, the sound of the 396 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:14,080 Speaker 1: sea can transform into the sound of lonely footsteps walking 397 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:18,120 Speaker 1: up the stairs leading up from the dungeon. The ghost 398 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:21,400 Speaker 1: of a woman who became a casualty in the political 399 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:25,680 Speaker 1: aspirations of a man. A woman who dared, for a moment, 400 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:35,040 Speaker 1: to dream that she might control her own life. Noble 401 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:39,560 Speaker 1: Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild 402 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:43,760 Speaker 1: from Aaron Mankie. Noble Blood is created and hosted by 403 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:49,200 Speaker 1: me Dana Shworth, with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, 404 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:54,400 Speaker 1: hannah's Wick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The 405 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:58,680 Speaker 1: show is edited and produced by Noemi Griffin and rima 406 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:04,720 Speaker 1: Il Kahali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers 407 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:09,520 Speaker 1: Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts 408 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:15,200 Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 409 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:17,360 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.