Rosamond Clifford

Rosamund Clifford (before 1150 – ), often called "The Fair Rosamund" or "Rose of the World" (Latin: ''rosa mundi''), was a medieval English noblewoman and mistress of Henry II, King of England, who became famous in English folklore.

Life

Early life

Rosamund Clifford, born before 1150, is usually assumed to have been the daughter of Walter de Clifford (born Walter FitzRichard; 1113–1190), a Marcher Lord, and his wife Margaret. He gained his surname from his major holding, Clifford Castle in Herefordshire, where he was first steward then lord. She had three brothers, Walter (circa 1160–1221), Richard and Gilbert, and two sisters: Amice, who married Osbern FitzHugh of Richard's Castle, Herefordshire and Lucy, wife of Hugh de Say of Stokesay, Shropshire. Her name likely came from the Latin phrase ''rosa mundi'', meaning "rose of the world."

Clifford was first raised at her father's Clifford Castle, then sent to a convent of Benedictine nuns in Godstow Abbey for education.Bingham, Jane. ''The Cotswolds: A Cultural History'', Oxford University Press, 2010

Henry II's mistress

Clifford was reputed as one of the greatest beauties of the 12th century."'Fair Rosamund' well to be restored at Blenheim Palace", BBC News (Oxford), July 20, 2014
/ref> Her relationship with Henry II, King of England (1133–1189) supposedly started when his wife, Queen Eleanor (circa 1122 – 1204) was pregnant with their last child, John (1166–1216) in 1166, but the king publicly acknowledged the affair for the first time in 1174. The queen is thought to have given birth to John in Beaumount Palace instead of Woodstock Palace because Clifford lived at Woodstock. Accounts differ on whether Clifford stayed in Woodstock while the king was travelling between England and his continental lands or accompanied him. If she did not go with him, they could not have spent more than about a quarter of the time between 1166 and 1176 together.

Later life and death

When her relationship with the king ended, Rosamund retired to Godstow Abbey. She died there around 1176, before the age of 30, and she was buried there. Her death was commemorated at Hereford Cathedral on 6 July, the same day on which Henry II died 13 years after her. The king and the Clifford family paid for her tomb to be cared for by the Benedictine nuns of the convent. Her resting place became a popular shrine among locals, which was noticed by Hugh of Lincoln, the Bishop of Lincoln in 1191. Seeing the flowers and candles that covered the tomb, he ordered her remains to be moved and buried outside, "with the rest, that the Christian religion may not grow into contempt, and that other women, warned by her example, may abstain from illicit and adulterous intercourse". Complying with the bishop's request, Clifford's body was moved to the cemetery by the nuns' chapter house and was destroyed during the Dissolution of the monasteries (1536–1541) under Henry VIII. The ruins of the abbey still stand and are open to the public.

Paul Hentzner, a German traveller who visited England around 1599, recorded that her faded tombstone inscription read in part:

''"(...) Adorent (...) utque tibi detur requies Rosamunda precamur'' ("Let them adore... and we pray that rest be given to you, Rosamund"), followed by a rhyming epitaph: ''"Hic jacet in tumba Rosamundi non Rosamunda, non redolet sed olet, quae redolere solet'' ("Here in the tomb lies the rose of the world, not a pure rose; she who used to smell sweet, still smells—but not sweet"). Accounts from the time of its destruction report that, along with other engravings, the tomb contained the depiction of a chalice.

In folklore

In English folklore, Rosamund's legend states that the king did everything to hide his affair from his wife, Queen Eleanor (circa 1122 – 1204). He only saw Rosamund in the middle of a complicated underground labyrinth in the park of Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire. Following rumours, the queen made her way through the labyrinth and confronted her rival, forcing her to choose between a dagger and a bowl of poison; Rosamund chose the latter and died.Matthews, W.H., ''Mazes and Labyrinths'', Chap. XIX, Longmans Green and Co., London, 1922
/ref> Contemporary chronicler John Brompton did not recount this incident in his account of the events, and it first appeared in the 14th century ''French Chronicle of London.''

Another version tells that Rosamund was roasted between two fires, stabbed, and left to bleed to death in a bath of scalding water by the queen.Gambles, Robert. ''Great Tales from British'', Amberley Publishing Limited, 2013,
p. 61
/ref> During the Elizabethan era, such stories gained popularity, leading to the writing of the ''Ballad of Fair Rosamund'' by Thomas Deloney (1612) and the ''Complaint of Rosamund'' by Samuel Daniel (1592), both being purely fictional. The underground labyrinth was added to the tale in 1516 (although Robert Gambles cites a 1231 reference to "Rosamund's chamber", with gardens, a cloister and a well). The cup of poison first appears in a ballad in 1611.

According to most medieval chroniclers, Queen Eleanor had been imprisoned by 1173 for raising her sons to be rebellious against their father, making a direct confrontation between the two women highly improbable.

Possible issue

Historians are divided whether Clifford's relationship with Henry II produced children. Legends have attributed to her two of the king's illegitimate sons, Geoffrey, Archbishop of York (circa 1152 – 1212) and William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (circa 1176 – 1226). However, Geoffrey was born before the king and Clifford even met from an otherwise unknown woman (possibly called Ykenai or Hikenai), and William was the son of Ida de Tosny, Countess of Norfolk (died after 1181).

Fair Rosamund's Well and Rosamund's Green

According to local tales, "Rosamund's bower" (probably an early version of the labyrinth) was demolished when Blenheim Palace was built. Today, Fair Rosamund's Well () is a paved spring in the park of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. It is located to the south of the Grand Bridge on the western shore of The Lake, sometimes called Brown's Lake after 18th century landscape architect Capability Brown. According to a 2014 BBC
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