Reginald FitzUrse: The Bear Knight Who Slayed a Saint
Biographies, Historical Events Rachel Elwiss Joyce Biographies, Historical Events Rachel Elwiss Joyce

Reginald FitzUrse: The Bear Knight Who Slayed a Saint

On 29 December 1170, four armed knights pushed through the freezing rain towards Canterbury Cathedral. Their leader was Reginald FitzUrse—a man whose very name meant “son of the bear.” He would live up to it in every sense: fierce, proud, and dangerously impulsive.

When Thomas Becket fell beneath their swords that night, FitzUrse’s roar echoed through the nave. It was he who first laid hands on the archbishop, striking the blow that turned a quarrel between king and church into one of the most shocking crimes of the Middle Ages.

A Knight of the King’s Household

Little is known of FitzUrse’s early life. He came from a respectable Somerset family, holding lands at Willeton and Barham. Like many younger sons of the gentry, he found advancement in royal service. By the 1160s he was one of Henry II’s household knights—trusted, well-paid, and fiercely loyal to the king who rewarded courage and obedience above all else.

That loyalty, however, would prove fatal.

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The Shadow of Becket: How a Murder Shook the Kingdom
Historical Events, People Rachel Elwiss Joyce Historical Events, People Rachel Elwiss Joyce

The Shadow of Becket: How a Murder Shook the Kingdom

For years, the quarrel between Henry II and Thomas Becket raged. Becket fled to France in 1164, finding refuge with King Louis VII—the same Louis who still burned with resentment against Henry II for marrying Eleanor of Aquitaine. The dispute became as much about politics as faith: two monarchs using one archbishop as a pawn.

In 1170, Henry and Becket made a fragile peace. The archbishop returned to England to cheers from the faithful. But within weeks, their conflict flared again when Becket excommunicated bishops loyal to the crown.

It was then, in a moment of fury, that Henry uttered the words chroniclers would never forget—perhaps not verbatim, but in essence:

“Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”

Four knights took him at his word.

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Princes Without Power: Why Henry the Young King Rebelled
Historical Events, People Rachel Elwiss Joyce Historical Events, People Rachel Elwiss Joyce

Princes Without Power: Why Henry the Young King Rebelled

On 14 June 1170, in Westminster Abbey, England witnessed a rare spectacle: a king crowned in his father’s lifetime. The boy was Henry, eldest surviving son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. At just fifteen, he was anointed, crowned, and hailed as rex iunior — the Young King.

It should have been the beginning of a glittering reign. Instead, it became the seed of betrayal.

Did you know? Henry the Young King’s coronation feast is covered in Lady of Lincoln.

A King Without a Kingdom

Despite the grandeur of his coronation, the Young King had no real authority. His father ruled with a firm hand and was unwilling to share power. Henry II kept hold of the castles, the revenues, and the decision-making. The son was left with ceremony but no substance.

Contemporaries pitied him. William of Newburgh remarked that the lad “was king in name only, while his father held the reins of government.” Others saw a prince who enjoyed the tournaments and glittering life of a knight but lacked the lands and soldiers that made a medieval ruler truly powerful.

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What really burned at York Castle in 1190?
Historical Events, Religion Magic and Belief Rachel Elwiss Joyce Historical Events, Religion Magic and Belief Rachel Elwiss Joyce

What really burned at York Castle in 1190?

York Castle in 1190 was a large motte-and-bailey complex, not merely a tower. The Jewish community was trapped in the inner stronghold on the motte. Although this is usually reconstructed as wholly wooden, William of Newburgh’s account of stones removed from an inner wall may indicate a stone shell keep containing timber buildings.

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The Battle of Fornham: When a Countess Rode to War and Changed Medieval England Forever
Historical Events, Women in History Rachel Elwiss Joyce Historical Events, Women in History Rachel Elwiss Joyce

The Battle of Fornham: When a Countess Rode to War and Changed Medieval England Forever

In the mist-shrouded dawn of October 17, 1173, near the quiet Suffolk village of Fornham St. Genevieve, history was about to witness something remarkable. Not just another medieval battle between king and rebels, but the extraordinary tale of a countess who donned armor, took up lance and shield, and rode into battle alongside her husband against the Crown itself.

This is the story of Petronilla de Grandmesnil, Countess of Leicester – a woman whose courage would echo through the centuries, and whose fall into a muddy ditch would become one of the most memorable moments of medieval English warfare.

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