A French lithograph from about 1850, showing an imagined tryst among all three of the princesses and three, rather than two, Norman knights. Nobody looked like this; this never happened; none of the furnishings make any sense, though the chandeliers are especially charming; total fantasy, all. But! The story reverberated down through the centuries. The 100 Years War, which this scandal set off, is long over. Ridiculous stories about the princesses and the Norman knights are not. This lithograph is held at the Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, in Marseilles.
In 1314, Philip IV of France had three adult sons, all married. There should have been no problem with the royal lineage. Too bad that Philip’s three daughters-in-law all got into trouble, because two of them were having affairs with a couple of Norman brothers who were knights of the household. Too bad, indeed. Torture, executions, dungeon incarcerations, and the dying off of the Capetian line would follow. Oh, and Isabella the She Wolf was involved. (Bonus! Michelle explains the Three Rules of Regifting, none of which the princesses paid any attention to. Big mistake.)
