The Angevin Kings… descended from the devil or not?
The Middle Ages was a time full of myths, legends and superstitions, the Plantagenets (or the Angevins in particular) are the subject of the one I find most fascinating.
It is the story of Melusine, daughter of Satan and nicknamed “The Demon Countess of Anjou”.
The Angevin monarchs have never shied away from their allegedly supernatural origins, in fact, they seemed to be quite proud of the fact. Richard the Lionheart himself is said to have been fond of saying his whole family “came from the devil, and to the devil they would return”.
So who was the intriguing Melusine, half woman, half serpent, a beguiling and captivating temptress who left behind a legacy of temper and violence that is the stuff of legends? Although there are several different versions of the story, there is no doubt that in every one of them, she is referred to as an absolute beauty.
In one version it was this seductive beauty that lured Geoffrey Greymantle into a hasty marriage, despite nobody really knowing much about her origins. She was everything he could ask for in a countess, beautiful, accomplished, an efficient mistress of his household, a loyal and attentive wife and over the years bore him three fine sons. However, It soon became apparent that she rarely attended Mass, and when she did attend church, she did not really pay much attention, but the strangest thing of all, was that she always left before Communion. The count was curious and decided to find out why. One day in church he ordered four of his men to bar the chapel door, thereby forcing her to remain during Communion. When it became obvious she could not escape through the door, she let out the most piercing high-pitched scream, grabbed one of her sons in each hand, sprouted wings and literally flew out the window – never to be seen again. She left behind her husband and son Fulk (also known as Fulk the Black for his savage temperament and violent destruction of his enemies), In some versions of this story Fulk himself is named as her husband and it is said the son left behind was Raymond of Poitou.
Another version has Raymond of Poitou marrying Melusine, her only condition being that he must never enter her chamber on a Saturday. Curiosity, however, overcame him and he peeked into her room one day, he was shocked to see a half-woman, half-serpent bathing. Once again as in the previous version, she departed never to be seen again.
A slight variation of this version has Raymond coming across her in the wood, being totally captivated by her, he asks for her hand in marriage immediately, and she agrees, setting the same condition that he must never enter her bedchamber on a Saturday but also adding that he must give her so much ground that could be covered by a stag's hide. When this was granted she cut the hide into strips thereby gaining a large portion of land where she built her castle, when completed she named it Lusinia, after herself. This name has since evolved into Lusignan, which is very interesting considering the future rivalry between the Angevins and the Lusignans.
These legends have manifested themselves further in the notorious temper known to be a trait of all of the Plantagenet kings, as well as the belief that such demonic ancestry resulted in paranormal talents, like the ability to be able to move at lightning speed (Henry II was notorious for this trait), as well as abnormal activity on the battlefield, all these points seen as proof that their evil ancestress must surely have been a spawn of the devil.
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Max
