LIFE OF JACQUETTA OF LUXEMBOURG | A real royal witch? The women who fought the Wars of the Roses 

What do you think of the witchcraft allegations made against Jacquetta? Let me know below and check out my Patreon at www.patreon.com/historycalling and my Amazon storefront at www.amazon.com/shop/historycalling

I think witch accusations were the only thing men, who were intimidated by any woman that lived by her own rules or didn’t conform, could use to “keep her under thumb”. I often wonder how the world would be if women weren’t persecuted by the patriarchy and had been allowed to learn, speak and be heard, rule and be religious leaders. As always, very well done video! I really enjoy these.

What an interesting character Jaquetta was. Not a person normally heard or discussed about. Another one of players in those turbulent times. Thank you for this.

The romance reader in me loves the idea of her second marriage being a loving one. Hopefully that's the case!

Once again, a detailed and fascinating journey into the past to explore the dramatic ups and downs of the Plantaganets and their allies during the Wars of the Roses. Accusations of witchcraft against powerful women in medieval times were similar to the techniques for smearing political figures today: trying to label them in a way that will be difficult to shake off or disprove. I'm glad it didn't work in Jaquetta's case, and I'm sorry it worked in others, such as Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester. So many women were tormented and killed over these accusations in the centuries to come.

The practice of witchcraft was common for the time. Keep in mind that as with all other religions it is based in faith and conviction: if you can see the end result and believe it will come to pass that is what will transpire. There is nothing strange or "wicked" about it. I am descended from a very long line and my entire family has always lived this way. It is absolutely natural.

What a great Halloween video! I am doubtful that Jacqetta was a witch. If she was, I would have expected more of her family to survive their battles. I imagine she would be horrified that that’s the main thing she is remembered for today. I love this series and always get excited when a new video comes out! As always, I’m looking forward to the next video, whatever the topic maybe!

Fascinating video. I have seen The White Queen and how Jacquetta was portrayed. No-one can know for sure whether or not she was a witch, but if she had been I don't believe that this would be any sort of slur on her character. I believe those who persecuted and burned witches have more to be ashamed of. The church in Scotland recently apologized for the way in which women were persecuted for witchcraft. Her daughter Elizabeth was beautiful so I presume would have looked similar to Jacquetta. These people were really attractive yet their descendants seemed to have lost their good looks further down the line. Henry VIII for example looked grotesque as an older man and his daughter Elizabeth had sharp features and was no beauty. A marked contrast to the softer, feminine face of her great grandmother Elizabeth Woodville.

Witch smitch. Jacquetta was a clever, savvy strategist for her family something that helped immensely (think Cecile Neville). Jacquetta is one of my favourite women in history. My sadness is not so much a lack of a portrait but the loss of a graveside to pay homage. Brilliant work HC.

Thank you FINALLY she’s here ❤ I haven’t found any other channel who has covered jacquetta

BRILLIANT!!! So many details about Jacquetta I didn't know! She had a very interesting & dramatic life, like her daughter & granddaughter. I always find it funny that people looked down on her daughter as a "commoner", when Jacquetta herself was of such "high birth"... Good timing with the video too, cos Jacquetta's first husband appears in the bio of Owen Tudor I'm reading.

Thanks! I'm happy to get some more factual information about Jaquetta of Luxembourg--the novel Lady of the Rivers is wonderful, though it's obviously fictionalized and slightly biased. Since I was a mermaid in another lifetime, I would have liked to hear more about her descent from Melusine, though that's only something that was used against her as proof of witchcraft.

I'm glad you have a sponsor, but corporate documentaries can't compare to youtubers. No fill, no fluff. I've never had to sit through 5 minutes of watching you riding on a scooter, or in a train or airplane.

The 6 noisy ads ruined the well thought out content. I have never listened to a RU-vid presentation with this amount of ads. Such a shame.

Well, done. Family tree charts to explain connections is SOOO HELPFUL!!❤

She is me 19th great grandmother. I find documentaries about her and Elizabeth enthralling.

"Married from inclination"!!???! SERIOUSLY??!! The arrogance of these patriarchal fools! Had the accusations of witchcraft been made today, who knows how the internet would have burned Jacquetta (so to speak). An absolutely fascinating portrait, HC, and yes, definitely a Halloween treat. BTW, your video of the Irish witch burning is a favorite of mine. Happy All Hallow's Eve, HC. Be well. 🙏🏼

The women through the Hundred Years Wars into the Tudors were badass!

SORRY THIS IS A LONG COMMENT SO DONT READ IF YOU ONLY WANT TO COMPLAIN ITS TOO LONG 😉 Lovely! I could listen to your wonderful calming voice all day! Interestingly, i used to read a book from my grandparents library when i was young ( about 11yrs old), that had much of it devoted to Jacquetta of Luxembourg! My grandmother told me she received it when she was an artist in London &flitted amongst the Bloomsbury set of Artists & Crafts people. The book was by a Lady of the nobility but i cant for the life of me remember this noblewomans name but she was a amateur historian & greatly favoured The Duchess of Bedford, Jacquetta of Luxembourg! In this book, i read about how Jacquettas family were descendants of the RIVER goddess Melusine, through the matriarchal line, & it was to Melusine that Jacquetta served as a devotee There were stories about the River Nymph Melusine in the book & she was magical & lived on land part of the time, but also lived within the river waters too where she was most powerful. It was supposed to be because of this family link that the name Rivers attached itself to the family. I think Melusine often took Dragon form too & took unbaptised children ( to eat or whatever she did with them) These stories were very colourful! & the colour plates in this book were beautifully painted ( im assuming by the Lady who wrote it) I think it was this tenacious link with Melusine that gave rise to Jacquetta being a witch! There was also a curious tale of Jacquetta & her daughter Elizabeth Woodville, descending down some secret stairs to a chamber below the ground & running through the chamber was a sacred river that flowed under the earth & which was presided over by Melusine. Mother & daughter were said to have performed a sacred rite in which the line of succession to the English throne would throw up a usurper Royal line which was Foretold but this line would die out very quickly & this is where the legend of the Moldwarp would Arise.. being Henry V111 who's claim to the throne was weak but needed to succeed to carry on In the blood of Elizabeth Woodvilles daughter Princess Elizabeth who'd marry Henry V11 Tudor thus uniting the Red Rose & the White Rose ( symbolic of sacred bloodlines?) But more so artistically under Henry V111 - the Tudor Rose Anyway, i do so wish i still had that book! It was quite old when i read it & my Granny was given it in 1916. Just as an aside, im a direct descendant of the ( supposedly) last witch in Scotland to be burned at the stake! Janet Horn of Dornoch just north of Inverness ! She was apparently a well educated lady of substance but any female capable of knocking spots off ambitious men,esp church men, who felt threatened by intelligent women, they accused them of witchcraft true or not to get them out of the way Sorry to have droned on but not many people know about Jacquetta & her ancestor Melusine, Queen of the River Nymphs Regards 🇬🇧👧

Happy to see you back! I'm standing with you, good sir! I'll be joining rumble. Keep up the fight!

My grandmother’s husband (He’s not my grandfather) is descended from her though Katherine Woodville and Henry Stafford, which would also make him a descendant of Edward III.

I'm sooooo ready for her movie or series Lord knows we tired of the Tudors 🤣

I don't know if she's a witch or not but I believe that witch is real. Even The pharaoh has witches.

The Woodville must have been something.

Edward III was the problem. He had too many sons!

Another wonderful presentation bravo!

Thank u for doing this video I have been waiting for this for awhile.

Thanks!

Jacquetta was a powerful and self-assured woman who upset the men around her; for all intents and purposes, she WAS a witch, regardless of any accusations of sorcery against her

Part 2. If you like paintings, I never really got The Ambassadors "skull" thing until through technology you can see it clearly. I think it was a Northern European thing which Pieter Brueghel the Elder took a lot of pains over. One I can recommend to you is Van Eyck's "Madonna and 'Chancellor Rolin". This was the Duke's own Chancellor not the French one in your vid. While you're looking at it please look at Rogier van der Weyden's other court picture of Philip the Good, his son, the young Charles the Bold is in it (in yellow), the future husband of Margaret of York and brother-in-law to Edward IV. Also in the painting, if you can spot him is Rolin, he certainly got about (In blue behind the Duke with his arms folded). Charles is depicted in black. I know you are big into "bling". As Edward III had founded the Order of the Garter the Burgundians not to be outdone had founded the Order of St. Michael ("Golden Fleece") Philip habitually is shown wearing the Order, it's the gold necklace with a sheep suspended from it. These are the people Jacquetta would have rubbed shoulders with on a daily basis. Look at some of the backgrounds through windows, these are real towns. What Jacquetta would have identified. Sartorially-speaking and I know you put a lot of store by fashion, the Burgundian Court was where it was at. More flamboyant headdresses that made the French Court "frumps" by comparison. Good to see as Duchess of Bedford she was awarded the Order of the Garter which is a restricted order numerically. Her husband John is a very under-rated figure. How do you follow his brother Henry? He more or less did. He was sent North by their father Henry IV to extinguish the Percy Rebellion (1403-1408). (3 really, "Hotspur", Scrope's and the Earl's). He was Henry's Lieutenant in England when Henry left for France. Fought and won a later naval battle against the French and after Henry's sad demise was an effective Regent in France being an outstanding soldier namely at Verneuille (with his blue Order of the Garter mantle) and a first rate administrator. A loyal uncle to Henry VI, maybe unlike Humphrey. It was John that often was the peace-maker. Humphrey's wife was a near neighbour of Jacquetta in Flanders. Humphrey argued her property should be returned to her. Major flashpoint. "Petrol, meet Mr. Match!". While John was around he usually found a way to knock heads together. The land was taken by Philip the Good, an English ally. So John gave Humphrey some of his estates as compensation. It WAS John that crowned Henry VI in France as per the Treaty of Troyes, the ONLY king ever to be crowned king of England and France. John was stipulated in Henry V's Will to be Regent in France and Humphrey Regent in England. Humphrey Regent of anything? John returned to England to sort out the quarrel between Cardinal Beaufort (Margaret's relative) and Humphrey at Leicester in the "Parliament of Bats". John's and Humphrey's mother Mary de Bohun (pronounced "de Bo-hoon") the queen of Henry IV is buried in the Church of St. Mary de Castro in Leicester. It had got so bad armed conflict had been used and both sides were disarmed and only sticks "bats" could be worn Think Martin McGuiness and the Reverend Ian Paisley. Whilst at Leicester John made sure young Henry VI was knighted. Henry VI is, unfairly in my view, disparaged as a "hopeless" king. This from a time when kings were expected to lead in battle, usually against the French. How does anyone follow Henry V? Come on! Throw in the Hundred Years War which the Exchequer couldn't support and an uncle like Humphrey that was volatile, what chance has young Henry got!!!!!! It was left to John & Jacquetta in Rouen trying to win a losing battle bringing Henry VI up back in England. They stayed at the castle of Joyeux Repose. Little is left of it only the "Donjon" (Tower) where St. Joan of Arc was imprisoned for a day during her trial. News was brought to Jacquetta that her husband had died. You infer that infertility might have been an issue for John? She went to see him. The bells were mournfully tolling over Rouen, it was apparently around 7 a.m. As Jaquetta arrived she saw him as she had last seen him and kissed hiim the evening before. Ladies-in-waiting were preparing him. He was still pretty young. Had he a malady? Was that the reason he was on his own? Campaigning and being Regent must have been hard. His brother Clarence had been sent home from France with many others during Henry V's campaign with dystentry, there had been a contagion of the local shellfish in 1415. Conjecture how Henry V died, he died young, generally understood to be dysentery contracted at Meaux but recent developments might say it was cancer. His father had a disease of some mystery, maybe leprosy? John? Being royal one had a better diet but royalty did die of disease, Blanche of Lancaster John of Gaunt's wife, at Tutbury and Anne of Bohemia Richard II's queen both died of the plague. John broken-hearted instructed that Blanche be buried at St. Paul's and joined her later. Richard II's queen died at Sheen Palace. Broken-hearted Richard had Sheen dismantled. John Duke of Bedford was buried in Rouen Cathedral. If anyone is able to go Rouen Cathedral I recommend it. It is also the resting-place of the heart of Richard I. During the reign of Louis XI they discovered the grave of John Duke of Bedford and asked Louis should it remain! Louis said that he was such a thorn in the side of his father (Charles VII) fighting for England that he deserved to remain on French soil. During the French Revolution his grave was damaged but remains! One can only think if he had lived and brought up Henry VI instead of Gloucester would Henry have had a better chance? I like to think so. Would there have been a WotR? John died during the Treaty of Arras. Philip of Burgundy was deserting the English for Charles VII. If the new widow knew, it was a turning-point. Beginning of the end. Richard Duke of York would also be a Lieutenant in Rouen with Cecily and where Edward and Edmund were Christened. It was already difficult, Richard Duke of York having to pay his forces out of his own money because the Exchequer was struggling. One of Bedford's commanders was Richard Beauchamp (pronounced "Beecham") Earl of Warwick. He was related to Margaret Beaufort's mother. He was also to be the father-in-law of Richard Neville the "king-maker". {Bernard Shaw the playwright in his "St. Joan" gets it wrong by mixing up the two Richards}. Gloucester became a belligerent of the "War Party". Cardinal Beaufort organised the "Peace Party". It was the Peace Party with the Earl of Suffolk that was instrumental in arranging the marriage of Henry VI & Margaret of Anjou in whose retinue Jacquetta formed part. Shown in your picture when Sir John Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury, sadly later killed with his son of the same name at Castillon, is seen presenting Queen Margaret with his Book of Hours. (It was the loss at Castillon that could have caused Henry's anxiety and gave the seed for the WotR. Brought up in the Burgundian Court with French links Jacquetta had an eventful life. From her early career she was well-entrenched on the Lancastrian side. She wouldn't know it but changing sides to the Yorkists was nearly always a bad move as Warwick found out and her husband and son found out. The symbol of the British Parliament is the "Portcullis" the Beaufort Portcullis. Need one say any more than that!!!!! The first mention of Henry VIII anywhere, is in Lady Margaret's Book of Hours. She has written about his birth in the margin. The date, she actually wrote twice. "Remember, we always remember" Beaufort - Family Motto. 🏵 Thanks once again for your interest in this seminal era of history. Regards, Titus. 😏

Great video. Alison

LUV the Jacquetta character & they actress who portrays her!

Yeah!! HAPPY to see this again. Been waiting for the continuation of this series. Thank you!! Happy Friday!!

I recommend anyone and everyone to read the book about jaketta Woodville it is very interesting. I can't believe my brain is taking a break right now over who wrote it

You need to fix the mic. It's too low and I've missed many parts before I just left a quatre in. 🧐😕

This is really fun stuff thank you again!

War of the roses week! En garde you filthy flower petal! Take that! And that! Seriously though, glad to see a WOTR video from my favorite UK history buff. :) Paused the video to ask...14 kids!!!???????? Damnnnnnnn. That's some productiveness, geez. O.k., back to the video.

I switched on to this program with very low hopes given the redundancy and lack of research that is displayed by most RU-vid"historians." I'm delighted to be proven so wrong, even though some of the illustrations used were victorian and not contemporaneous. But that's ok. They were lovely.

Of course she was called a witch. She was a strong woman who married beneath her and whose daughter became queen. What else can it be but witchcraft???

If Jacquetta was a witch, she was quite beautiful and bewitching. The term witch was used on strong and bright woman and strong willed,too After her Duke husband died she was left a rather wealthy widow. But before a more suitable husband could be found for her she found one for herself with an unimportant and obscure and impoverished knight of the bed-chamber by the name of Woodville. They quietly married and were heavily fined. They had many ❤️ beautiful and bright and healthy children. The first one, Elizabeth eventually married Edward IV and the rest is history as they say. And their heritage lives on even in the current royal family rather distantly.

Woohoo my Great Grandmother!! Thank you 😘❤️

One of my great Grandmothers !

7 ads. That's impressive. Your content must be super uncontroversial🤣 Great video as ever, thank you she sounds like a very interesting figure indeed

Great stuff as always!

Dry interesting video but I always enjoy good history 😁

Do you have a link to a readable copy of the accusation of witchcraft made against Jacquetta? The absolutely complicated Middle English was tough to understand without a visual to follow along with

Great video ❤

fascinating!

Jacqutta of Luxembourg is my 16th Great Grandmother

interesting

At the time, what we call the "War of Roses" was known as the Cousin's War.

All are Interesting family relations of mine too But most of us would be given the small gene pool at the time

Where's the picture at 3:39 from? Can I have it?

She was a very smart woman which scares men of that age. But no I don't believe she was a witch.

Question: when jaquetta married Woodville, she broke her oath to not marry without consent. So why was the marriage not simply annulled as being illegal?

I absolutely love all 3 of The White Queen, and The White Princess and also The Spanish Princess And I really enjoyed watching everyone acting like the real ones.And I especially loved Jacquetta of Luxembourg ❤If I had a favorite one it would be her.....❤❤

Question:- Jacquetta's son-in-law, Edward IV. Yorkist properganda, economical with the truth, says he never lost a battle. Mustn't have been at Edgcote then 😉. Sorted! Maybe he was only "close-by". 😆 Those Yorkists! Honestly!

History calling another good one could be the History of Love island and how it become a popular reality show in the UK by the way hope you don’t mind me asking why were people so mean to Caroline Flack she seemed so nice and good at her job why did people hate her for no reason RIP Caroline Flack we miss and love you

The picture 31:04 looks like Jennifer Aniston as a witch.

Game of Thrones vibes anyone?

Even nearly 500 years later it can leave a bad taste in your mouth about this rise of the Woodville's, must be a human thing, we do not like seeing people rise quickly.

Who is the lady in the thumbnail?

Question, in how far, if at all, is the house of Windsor (actually Saxen Coburg Gotha) so the current royal family related to Jacquetta of Luxembourg? ❤

You guys, anywhere other than the US, make me sick!!! You all have such amazing, interesting, scandalous, intriguing history!!!! If y'all ever wonder why we are so jealous of y'all, this documentary is just a small example. We have nothing like your rich history. Thank you for letting us escape to the past .

Thanks. I really knew very little of her. I don't know but think Germany was more into witches than Britain at the time. I guess it would be similar to being called a Commie in the 50s ... not much one could do to defend oneself.

Jacquetta Woodville is one of my favorite people in British history and one not often mentioned. Thank you so much for this episode! I thoroughly enjoyed it!!!

Thanks!

I have such mad respect for the Woodvilles. They were a family with the world against them, but still managed to (mostly) survive such a brutal time in history....even inserting themselves into royalty. I can see why the "pure" nobles sneered at them, but in the end these nobles were dead and tbe Woodvilles carried on.

I think I would have been more afraid of priests than witches then. Witches had imaginary perceived powers, priests had real tangible powers. Which one is more likely to commit evil? 100% the priests

My 17th great grandmother. I don't believe she was an actual witch. I think she was simply smart, cunning and very much unafraid of consequences to herself, so long as her children prospered. The same could be said of several women of this era.

With so many Ann's, Catherine's, and Mary's it is nice to see a different female name.

It's a shame we don't have a picture of Jacquetta. It would be interesting to see how much Elizabeth looked like her.

I LOVE hearing about Jacquette... as a no nonsense woman, of course she was considered a WITCH. Today we might call this witchcraft "Emotional Intelligence". I would love to see a movie or miniseries about her story

Have you ever considered doing a video on Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois? They’re one of history’s most unlikely couples and as a Welsh person myself it’s such an interesting story of the Wars of the Roses. Also, the date for their marriage is unknown, so you could do a mystery video on whether or not their children (from whom Henry VII descends) were even legitimate

So excited about this! Everyone talks about her famous daughter but I’ve been so curious about this woman. What a great Halloween episode, excellent!

This was not the first time that Warwick had used accusations of witchcraft to try to discredit a royal lady. Jacquetta was lucky to avoid either being executed or being permanently imprisoned, given the unfortunate fates of the Duke of Bedford's sister-in-law and the commoner, the so-called "Witch of Eye". Clarence learned from Warwick's example.

I’m IN LOVE with Jacquetta. She’s the reason I went down the War of the Roses rabbit hole. Thank you for doing this one. Team Woodville!!!!! #teamwoodville

Really like this video -- Philippa Gregory has put out so much (entertaining) fiction on Jacquetta I appreciated getting a real bio based on sources. Maybe you should do a video on "Jacquetta's Curse". -- that she passed the gene of Kells Syndrome onto male descendants that led to premature deaths of male heirs/Henry VIII problems.

Man, if you were able to escape allegations of witchcraft, you were exxxtremly lucky. Being found guilty of sorcery or witchcraft were dealt with in the most Heinous ways conceivable.

Jacquetta is always a fascinating topic. what a life she lived! so sad we have no surviving portraits of her 😢

Yep, 14 children means very much a love match. How sweet and how fortunate.❤

I love Jacquetta always have I read Phillipa Gregory's Lady of the Rivers it was not always the truth but I forgive that always take her books with a pinch of salt but they are very enjoyable, Jacquetta's story is so interesting she also had about 14 children and was the mother of Elizabeth Woodville🤗

It's kind of weird to think about how Jacquetta married Richard Woodville, who made Elizabeth Woodville and how Catherine of Valios married Owen Tudor, which lead to the birth of Henry Tudor.

I Have to thank Olenna Tyrell and the great portrayal of her by Diana Rigg for my interest in this fascinating figure; I’ve heard her character was inspired by her.

She was a wealthy powerful woman, and certainly not a witch, Thank you HC superb as always. 👀😊

Some are born with it, others not. Just how it is.

Thank you very much for the great Halloween episode. I've never heard about Jacquetta before so it was great to learn something new. Also a question - do you think you'll ever do an episode about Empress Matilda and Stephen of Blois?

Jacquetta was a squib, but her sister, Rowena Ravenclaw, was definitely a witch.

Man, that dude Clarence was a real peach. He switched sides more times than a coin flip. It is hard for me to grasp what was so attractive about being the King or in proximity to him, that one was willing to risk life, limb, family and/or property just to be on or near the throne. Personally I would have said "just make me a Baron or Duke and I'll just go live in my castle up north, collect tribute from my properties and make babies". Of course history only records what the rich and famous were doing. I bet the average tanner or baker just wanted to stay out of the bullseye and be left alone. (Except for the extra day off for the coronation LOL)

I wish Starz would do a series on her! Lady of the Rivers was my favorite of Phillipa Gregory’s books! To the creator of the video: Do you hear Melusina??? I hope so!!!

Almost any woman who had knowledge, money, or power was considered a witch especially if she was not married or widowed. This is a man's world unfortunately.

The Yorks that actually took the throne were descended from John of Gaunt in addition to Lionel of Antwerp and Edmund of Langley. Cecily Neville, their mother, was the daughter of Joan Beaufort; John of Gaunt’s daughter with Katherine Swynford. While the Beauforts were considered to be Lancasters, they were actually more closely related to the Yorks at the time of the War of the Roses.

Thanks for giving Jacquetta some spotlight, something she's not given much of unfortunately. Seems to have been a lively and worldly lady who lived an interesting and full life. Say what you want about Philippa Gregory's fiction but she introduced Jacquetta to many and certainly inspired me to go a research the real history which is just as if not more fascinating than the fiction

Of course they threw all shorts of slander at Jacquetta as they would anyone in their way. I don't care if she was a practicing Witch or not. They labeled anything not catholic as evil. From the old nature based religions and everything else. Which is proof of their fear of people thinking for them selves. She was a strong woman who did her best for her children and grandchildren. An that in any age is a wonderful thing.

Every time I listen to your videos, they are so well constructed and it makes the mangled families a little easier to figure out who belongs to who. It is such and intriguing time with with family fighting family and as always, power being the number one culprit. These families can send you down rabbit holes forever. I love history. I’ll go down a rabbit hole with you anytime. Thanks again! You’re the best!

Thanks!

Thanks!

Accusations of witchcraft seemed to be a way of disposing political rivals at that time.

Woo Hoo! Glad you returned to this series. I have enjoyed it very much. What an insane time these women experienced.

I LOVE Jacquetta! Full disclosure.... it is because of "The Lady of the Rivers" by Philippa G. Based on historical fact, it is of course fiction & no one knows what she thought or what she was really like. But you factual video does show where PG got her idea. I prefer to think of her as strong & kind and just like her character in the book. Thank you so much for the facts behind the fiction. Really, really enjoyed this. (P.S. I even named my bird Jacquetta & yes, she says her own name!)