Introducing the Goldilocks Principle

Visit All Saints Church, Harewood, a few miles north of where I live, and you come face to face with the most exquisite set of alabaster effigies, six couples who have lain together, hands erect in prayer, for over five hundred years. They belonged to three families linked by blood, marriage and experiences but it’s the Redmayn family in particular – commemorated by the effigies of Sir Richard and Elizabeth from the early fifteenth century and their great-grandson Edward and his wife Elizabeth – that I’d like to tell you about.

It was a happy accident, many years ago, that first took me along the pathway through the trees and in through the west door of All Saints and, from the moment I met the Redmayns’ effigies, I was hooked, intent on discovering as much as I could about the family. Since then, whenever I’ve visited them, I’ve felt the effigies silently waiting for me, wanting to know what I’ve found out.

 

Edward Redmayn and his wife Elizabeth

 

The research and writing that’s followed that first meeting has been hugely enjoyable and, much to my delight, I’ve discovered far more than I anticipated. Writing these chapters has, however, taken far longer than I expected when I first put pencil to paper five years ago. Given that length of time, you might well assume I’ve been writing a PhD thesis or an academic monograph, but academic writing was never my goal. What I wanted to write was not a book (I’ve written enough of those!) but a set of chapters that feel ‘just right for me’, my very own version of the Goldilocks Principle.

Goldilocks, as you’ll remember, chose the porridge that was ‘just the right temperature’ and the chair and then the bed that were also ‘just right’ for her. What I wanted, in my exploration of the Redmayns, was to find a level of research and a style of writing that were ‘just right’ for me - not too simple and not too complex, deeper and more multi-faceted than the A level books I used to write but more conversational and stylistically adventurous than a thesis.

Becoming comfortable with researching and writing at my own Goldilocks level didn’t, however, happen straightaway, which explains why this whole project is taking so long! At first I suffered from ‘imposter syndrome’, especially when my ideas differed from interpretations put forward by historians, and navigating my way through the multitude of books, articles and theses was also difficult - would I miss a critical piece of information or new interpretation if I didn’t read this book or that article, however tangential it seemed to my questions? Learning to read just enough (but not too much) and finding the style of writing I was seeking all took time – but I’m happy to say that the Goldilocks Principle triumphed and, in the end, these chapters are finally ‘just right for me’.

So, introduction completed, may I invite you to turn to Chapter 1, where I’ll introduce you to the Redmayns and, hopefully, you can enjoy the historical experience known as ‘sitting on cats’?

  Ian

December 2023

 

Chapter 1: Sitting on Cats

I meet the effigies, start asking questions and borrow a key idea from Rosemary Sutcliff

 

Chapter 2: The Redmayns:
A rough sketch and an ‘imaginative wind’

In which I outline the Redmayn family generations across the 15thC and learn from Dame Janet Nelson

 

Chapter 3: Horseman, Soldier, Jouster, Courtier
What made Sir Richard tick? c.1355 to c.1395

We visit a joust in Carlisle, identify Richard Redmayns’ skills and ideals and discover some huge gaps in our knowledge.

 

Chapter 4: Daughter, Wife, Heiress … and Independent Woman?
What shaped Elizabeth Aldburgh’s thinking? c.1364 to c.1396

A near-impossible question – until I got help from Christine de Pizan and a king who retired to Doncaster.

 

Chapter 5: First Thoughts
What kind of people were Richard and Elizabeth?

Do their effigies tell us what they looked like and did they have any friends? Some suggestions made with help from Dr Tobias Capwell and Henry Vavasour.

 

Chapter 6: Elizabeth and Richard
Marriage and Beginnings c1396 to 1399

Did Richard and Elizabeth make each other’s hearts smile or was it Elizabeth’s lands that made Richard’s eyes gleam?

 

Chapter 7: Living in the face of the unknown
June to August 1399

Elizabeth was in England, Richard in Ireland – how did they cope with the rumours, news and invasion?

 

Chapter 8: What did happen to Sir Richard?
August to October 1399

‘Holy Monkeys, Batman!’ A discovery that fills a significant gap in Richard’s biography.

 

Chapter 9: Sir Richard – Onwards and upwards?
Or shaken and angry? 1399-1405

Thinking from the Inside – just how did Richard react to the constant rebellions against Henry IV?

 

Chapter 10: Not chatting but discussing
What did Elizabeth and Richard talk about? c1399-c1413

The trouble with family – a rebellious nephew, an abusive husband and a dilemma over inheritance.

 

Chapter 11: Sir Richard Redmayn – a serious man?
1405-1413

What motivated Richard Redmayn to put so much energy into royal service – rewards of land and wealth or was he a ‘serious man’ who served the king for ‘serious reasons’?

 

Chapter 12: Why might Elizabeth Redmayn have been proud of Harewood castle?

Exploring Harewood castle – the rooms, their contents, the views – and how Elizabeth may have felt about her home (and there’s Peggy Lee singing in the background!)

 

Chapter 13: What did Elizabeth Redmayn do all day?
c.1400 to c.1415

Why was Elizabeth’s daily life probably very busy – and how can I answer this question with no evidence of Elizabeth’s activities?

 

More chapters, telling the continuing stories of the Redmayns in the 15th C,  will be added later in the year.

 

Additional Material

I've provided bibliographic information at the end of each chapter, and a full list covering all the chapters is also available HERE …

Similarly, you can find all sketches and illustrations at the end of each chapter and in a stand alone document HERE …