Martyn, Isolde. The knight and the rose.Berkley. 452p. 1999. 0-425-18329-7. $14.00 SA Intrigued by a medieval divorce proceeding as well as the status of women in England during the 1300s, romance writer Martyn has woven a compelling novel within the framework of that period. Two strong-minded women, Lady Johanna FitzHenry and her mother Lady Constance, devise a clever plan to save Johanna from her abusive husband. Sir Fulk De Enderby treats Johanna as chattel chattel (chăt`əl), in law, any property other than a freehold estate in land (see tenure). A chattel is treated as personal property rather than real property regardless of whether it is movable or immovable (see property). and sees her only as a source of a substantial dowry dowry (dou`rē), the property that a woman brings to her husband at the time of the marriage. The dowry apparently originated in the giving of a marriage gift by the family of the bridegroom to the bride and the bestowal of money upon the bride by . Beaten down by the cruelty and isolation of her loveless marriage, Johanna seeks refuge with her mother, vowing never to return to Fulk. She hopes for sanctuary in a convent, but her mother proposes a different solution. They must find a man who will claim to be Johanna's true husband from an earlier marriage, thus invalidating her marriage to Fulk. Backed by the kindly parish priest Parish priest may refer to
Johanna and Gervase spar constantly, but soon the strictly business transaction becomes much more as their mutual respect and devotion increase. Gervase grows to love the woman who is terrified ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. of men because of her abusive husband, while Johanna gradually realizes that all men are not beasts. The story moves rapidly through the medieval divorce proceedings and the destruction of the cruel "chastity" belt that Fulk forced Johanna to wear. The momentum continues through devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. floods when Johanna shows her mettle as a leader. The grandeur and greed of the royal court of Edward's wife, Queen Isabella Noun 1. Queen Isabella - the queen of Castile whose marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469 marked the beginning of the modern state of Spain; they instituted the Spanish Inquisition in 1478 and sponsored the voyages of Christopher Columbus in 1492 (1451-1504) , propels Gervase and Johanna into the midst of the court politics and the battles between the rebel forces and the king's men The King's Men may refer to:
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