82. Arthur of Brittany Disappears, Rouen, France c. 1203

Before King John actually disappeared his nephew, by killing him, or having him killed, by some unknown but often imagined method, he ordered Hubert de Burgh, the seneschal of Chateau de Falaise, where young Arthur was being held, to blind and castrate him. But Hubert just couldn’t do it. There are many depictions of Arthur getting murdered, on account of his youth and being all pathetic, but in the depictions of Hubert deciding not to mutilate him, Arthur is even younger and more pathetic, and so we provide this image for your delectation. (William Frederick Yeams, “Prince Arthur and Hubert,” 1882. Held at the Manchester Art Gallery.)

In 1199, when Richard the Lionheart died, there were two possible claimants to the throne of England — his younger brother John, and his nephew Arthur. John was a bit over 30 years old; Arthur was about 12. John, the youngest surviving son of Henry II, was by Norman law the rightful heir. Arthur, the eldest son of Geoffrey, John’s older brother, was by the laws of Brittany, the rightful heir. Also, John was in England and Arthur was in Brittany. Also, John was the person who was, well, John. Ruthless, is what he was. You can guess who it is who won, especially since you’ve already heard of King John and Arthur of Brittany sort of fell through the cracks of history. Except that the French really like him, and wrote a bunch of plays, and the Victorians loved him bunches because he was so pathetic. Michelle explains all that.

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2 thoughts on “82. Arthur of Brittany Disappears, Rouen, France c. 1203”

  1. I’ve seen “The Devil’s Crown” a couple of times and I really enjoyed it It’s too bad that it is gone, I would’ve liked to have watched it again.

    But we can listen to it. Though it isn’t half as good as seeing “The Devil’s Crown” if you look up a podcast called “All Things Plantagenet” you can hear the audio from the entire 13 episodes. I just hope there’s a viewing guide around because the first episode would be confusing without it.

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