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In 1233 Richard, the Earl Marshal, raised rebellion against King Henry III because of the intolerable behavior of two ministers the king had appointed, Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, and Peter of Rivaulx. These men advised the king to turn out nearly all his past officials and appoint new ones, thereby concentrating power completely into his own hands. Whether or not their advice was given for the king's benefit (it probably was), it was very bad advice for England, which had a long tradition of shared power between the king and his barons. In addition, the barons had a written guarantee of the power of the barony in the Magna Cartato which the king had sworn when he was crowned. |
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For the family of Roselynde this problem raises dangerous strains. The older members, Ian and Alinor and Geoffrey and Joanna, remain faithful to HenryIan out of honor, Geoffrey because he is the king's cousin. Geoffrey has been greatly favored by Henry, and feels he cannot "bite the hand that has fed him." When we first meet them, Simon, Alinor and Ian's son (now twenty-two), and Adam, Alinor's son by her first marriage (now thirty-five), lean strongly in the other direction, and they are joined by Sybelle, Joanna's eldest daughter. |
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