Set in the mid-Fifteenth Century, The Witch of Eye is a historical fiction based on the true story of Margery Jourdemayne, a wise woman from Eye Next Westminster who eventually burned at the stake. The infamous Witch of Eye acts on behalf of the Duchess of Gloucester, Eleanor Cobham, who is desperate to give Duke Humphrey a son. Into these known facts Mari Griffith skillfully weaves an invented love story between a dairymaid called Jenna Harding, and Margery Jourdemayne’s yeoman farmer husband, William.
Griffith draws a convincing scene of life in medieval England and her attention to detail is very impressive. She portrays that ambiguous time when people of all ranks looked to supernatural forces to help them achieve their desires, sometimes even assisted by members of the clergy. Jenna Harding is the most modern – and appealing – character who is drawn into dangerous circumstances over which she has little control. Fortunately, things work out well for her in the end.
I enjoyed this well-paced book. Highly recommended if you like a touch of romance in your historical fiction!
A favorite pudding from childhood! Jam Roly-poly is a warm treat, best served with hot custard.
Ingredients
8oz self-raising flour
4oz shredded vegetable suet
2oz caster sugar
Knob of butter
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg, mixed with 1 tablespoon of milk
6oz raspberry jam
4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon icing sugar
Method
Heat the oven 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Grease a flat baking sheet with the knob of butter.
Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the suet, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Stir.
Add most of the egg mix and stir (saving two teaspoons for brushing later).
Gradually mix in the milk to form a soft dough. Kneed lightly. Leave to rest in the bowl for 5 minutes.
Roll out the dough into a thin rectangle on a floured surface. Spread with jam, leaving a 1″ border on all sides. Wet the edges lightly with the egg mix.
Roll up into a cartwheel shape from one long end to the other. Place the seam on the underside, flat on the baking sheet.
As long as there have been stories, tales of female vampires have captured the popular imagination. Hebrew scriptures claim Lilith and her daughters lived on the blood of babies, and in the Greco-Roman mythology the followers of Hecate were also said to feast on children. But the Guinness World Record for a woman serial killer is held by a documented historical figure – the wealthy Hungarian noble, Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614). She is said to have tortured and killed around 600 peasant girls in order to bathe in their virgin blood, believing this was the fountain of youth that would keep her beautiful. The maidens were lured to her castle with promises of well-paid work, only to be beaten, burned, mutilated, frozen, starved, or stabbed to death.
Bathory is also known as Countess Dracula, partly because her atrocities are often compared with Vlad the Impaler’s reign of terror – a fellow Transylvanian murderer. Bram Stoker used Bathory’s royal Hungarian connection for his Count, and made Dracula appear younger each time he feasted on human blood.
According to some sources Bathory, betrothed at age 10, married a lesser nobleman when she reached 15 years old. In the meantime, however, she was impregnated by a castle servant and secretly gave birth to a daughter. The child was never heard of again – and the lover was castrated before being fed to a pack of dogs. She was married for 29 years, and during that time had several other children.
Bathory is thought to have suffered from violent seizures in early childhood, which may have aroused the first suspicions that she was “possessed by demons.” Her husband spent a lot of time at war. During his absence a manservant called Thorko apparently introduced her to the occult, and several of her companions were rumored to be witches, sorcerers, seers, wizards, and cunning folk. Four of these people were accomplices in her bloody crimes and when she was finally brought to justice, two were burned at the stake, one was beheaded and burned, and the last was imprisoned. Because of her royal status Bathory could not be executed, so she was incarcerated in her castle for the remaining few years of her life.
Legend has likely embellished the horrors of Countess Dracula. And whether she was dangerously vain, mentally unstable, or killed maidens simply for sadistic pleasure, we will never know. But this was the era of witch hunting — and Bathory was a rich, powerful widow who triggered a lot of political envy and resentment — so she was a natural target for the ambitious men around her. We cannot deny the fact that royal ladies have been known to torture and kill. But when one of the charges against this noblewoman claims she cast a magic spell to summon ninety cats to torment her enemies . . . perhaps she was not quite as guilty as we have been led to believe!
The Devil went down to Georgia. He was looking for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind because he was way behind. He was willing to make a deal
When he came across this young man sawing on a fiddle and playing it hot.
And the Devil jumped upon a hickory stump and said “Boy, let me tell you what.
I guess you didn’t know it, but I’m a fiddle player, too.
And if you’d care to take a dare I’ll make a bet with you.
Now you play a pretty good fiddle, boy, but give the Devil his due.
I’ll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul because I think I’m better than you.”
The boy said, “My name’s Johnny, and it might be a sin,
But I’ll take your bet; and you’re gonna regret because I’m the best there’s ever been.”
Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard.
Beause Hell’s broke loose in Georgia and the Devil deals it hard.
And if you win you get this shiny fiddle made of gold,
But if you lose the devil gets your soul.
The Devil opened up his case and he said, “I’ll start this show.”
And fire flew from his fingertips as he rosined up his bow.
And he pulled the bow across the strings and it made an evil hiss.
And a band of demons joined in and it sounded something like this.
When the Devil finished, Johnny said, “Well, you’re pretty good old son,
But sit down in that chair right there and let me show you how it’s done.”
Fire on the Mountain. Run, boys, run!
The Devil’s in the house of the rising sun;
Chicken’s in the bread pan picking out dough.
Granny, does your dog bite? No, child, no.
The Devil bowed his head because he knew that he’d been beat.
And he laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Johnny’s feet.
Johnny said, “Devil, just come on back if you ever wanna try again,
I done told you once—you son of a bitch—I’m the best that’s ever been.”
And he played:
Fire on the Mountain. Run, boys, run!
The Devil’s in the house of the rising sun;
The chicken’s in the bread pan picking out dough.
Granny, will your dog bite? No, child, no.
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