Bath - some things never happened
Aquae Sulis and Minerva, the Goddess of Healing and Destruction
The valet led Felton through a large hall in which waited the deputies from La Rochelle, headed by the Prince de Soubise, and introduced him into a closet where Buckingham, just out of the BATH, was finishing his toilet, upon which, as at all times, he bestowed extraordinary attention.
Dumas
June 2017
Most of Bath Spa is no older than the eighteenth century. As we know, my search must find the intersection of what was then and what is now. Georgian structures such as the iconic Royal Crescent, The Assembly Rooms and Royal Victoria Park create an elegant tourist trap where, at first, I couldn’t find Milady. The Romans were there, of course, and the Cathedral was built by Anglo Saxons, but I had to find the Jacobean Bath and put Milady in it. If at all possible.
The story of Susanna, sometimes added to the Book of Daniel, is about a young lady who sent her minions away while she soaked up some bubbles in her bath in private. It’s only normal. Then, a couple of grubby perverts gazing on her nudity accused her of having it away with a young fellow under a tree in an immoral manner - causing them distress. Turns out the old perverts made it all up because Susanna refused to have anything to do with the lascivious old farts themselves. Luckily, Daniel saw through the trees, realised the fiction, and rescued the young lady’s honour. It never happened. Oh, a Daniel come to judgement!!
It is possible that Milady visited Bath Abbey, just as Jane Austen did in later years. In modern times I found an organ practice, dulcet and piping, with a soft under-tow of continuous rivulets, rising, playful with the merest hint of darkness. This was but a shallow musical stream but broad in meanderings and swirls. Much to my joy the organist decided to continue his practice during my visit. People did not applaud the way they did in Bourges. Bath had more serious visitors.
Had a quick chat with the young man selling postcards. Raised Catholic, he was moving to Chichester to sing in the choir there. Is it a bigger Cathedral? He had always been a church singer. He told me about Montague, who stuck a roof back on this Bath Abbey after Henry VIII ordered all the windows smashed to either sell the lead, or make canon balls. Henry’s priority was to create a line of defence against the French, sadly at the expense of the beautiful monasteries and religious communities that supported farmers and the societies around them (when they weren’t being corrupt). Such killing machines as the Mary Rose, and the Southsea Castle, were directly funded by making monks and nuns homeless and pulling down images of heaven, literally undermining them.
Not sure how Milady discovered the rise of Protestantism - for she surely would have. How aware would she have been of the Huguenots in France? Sexy Lexy told us she was taught Protestant prayers by someone in the household of her English husband, Lord Clarik, and she would have had to assimilate quickly on her arrival on English soil. Did she renounce Catholicism, or indeed any religion, after she’d been hung? Was her belief threatened when she was branded by the mark of the Holy Roman Empire?
Not sure where Elizabeth I stood on preserving churches, but surely her heir, James I, should be celebrated for bringing vehement religious oppositions together and insisting they work to create a new English bible. He oversaw an age of tolerance and peace or at least, he tried. Those that denigrate him say he was weak, he didn’t like to make war, or spend money on defence systems and, indeed, his parsimony could be at heart of the matter. But my reading points to him as an inveterate peacemaker, a veritable Gandhi. He loved the hunt and ritual murder of animals but drew the line at slaughtering human beings.
My Bath walking guide pointed out that James I was not a universally popular choice to succeed Elizabeth I. He had to spend a lot of energy consolidating his power base, often selling off titles to wealthy social climbers, a good source of income for the Crown. I think after a while James found it easier to drop working for peace and unity - playing politics can be stressful - and simply party on - enjoying sport surrounded by pretty men. He was a lavender mafia boss, certainly a drunkard, with multiple health issues, and the longer his reign went on, the more bothersome it became for him to negotiate with his adversaries.
Remember the Wife of Bath? She’s an obvious connection with the English wool and weaving trade and Milady certainly gets involved with that. But Bath itself? Elizabeth I had been to Bath, and James’s wife, Anne of Denmark, had also visited. There’s no reason why Milady couldn’t have come here. Perhaps on her honeymooon? But I could think of no reason for her to be so far west. Sometimes it’s difficult to know the things to leave out of a story.
In Bath the bather used to hire a perfumed wooden board to take into the medieval pool, supposedly to disguise the putrid water vapours, but possibly to protect yourself from hooligans. You could also bring a sweet smelling posy into the water with you. At some stage people had to wear a strange yellowed canvas outfit for modesty. When it was open, as in easily penetrated fence or walls, people used to jump into the baths nude regardless of morality. Local observers would treat the bathers like theatre, and come to lean on the wall, make rude remarks and throw things at the health seekers. Rubbish of course, rotten veg … Even a pig.
The current Roman Baths Museum is beautifully arranged, great cos-playing actors, and well worth a visit. I spent many inspiring hours exploring the Roman exhibits although Milady was clearly not there. In medieval times Bath was full of healers and strange ideas - quacks around the waters. Yet, I knew Charlotte could not take her clothes off in front of others for fear of revealing the brand on her shoulder blade. She knew the danger to her reputation and life. No, if Milady did visit Bath, she would NEVER partake of the waters.
It just wouldn’t happen. Not even in fiction.
What sort of bath is Oliver talking about? And have you seen the film? Let me know your thoughts … !!
Happy to read another one of these posts : ) That seagull is not messing around.