Seeds of Time

Epilogue

Epilogue

Chorus: Recently voted by the public as greatest King in history, there is no denying the fantastical leaps in education, justice and democracy made under Henry V.

He introduced Sunday schools and made education compulsory for all children under the age of 8, when such a thing was such a thing was unthinkable. The brightest boys and girls, were then offered further education at the three Royal boarding schools he set up, and many of those boys and girls went on to make great contributions to society.

He also brought in what is considered to be the first minimum wage, requiring landlords to provide well-kept housing for their tenants, and giving tenants their first rights.

He further increased the powers of parliament, that he might better serve the needs of his people, he introduced an early version of trial by jury, and he passed the first equality laws anywhere in the world. Indeed just two years before his death, in 1479, educated peasants were allowed to vote in parliamentary elections for the very first time.

His wife was no shrinking violet either, and was said to raise many eyebrows by wearing male attire when skirts were inconvenient. That Henry treated her as his equal was also seen as heretic by some, leading to many arguments with the Church and attempts to depose him. Attempted rebellions were generally short lived as Henry was a popular king with all his people, yet it was this conflict which led Henry to instigate the first separation of church and state laws.

Queen Margaret also encouraged the medical professions and introduced the first concepts of sanitation and hygiene to the masses, as well as, it is said, creating the first antibiotics. At her edict, each town was required to have one physician per 2,000 and one nurse cum midwife per 500 head of population. She also invented and promoted the concept of birth control, first charting the menstrual cycle and inventing first the spermicides to be used with sea sponges, as well as further attempts to make what are widely considered to be the first diaphragms, using a variety of materials.

The country thrived under their joint rule and it became known as the Period of the Enlightenment, and quickly spread throughout Europe, although here too, the King put his knowledge to good use, using the negotiations to force peace treaties with neighbouring lands, in return for sharing the medicines and healthcare knowledge he, his wife and his people had recorded. Thus he ushered in an era of peace in Europe which lasted for over three hundred years. 

Many have speculated on how such giant leaps were made in such unenlightened times but there were other mysteries which have attracted equal speculation over the centuries.

Many say the fact that Hal died just three days after his beloved wife, is proof that they both died of the same malady, while the romantic insist that he died of a broken heart.

Then there is the prescient tales of future lands, found in the hand written stories Queen Margaret wrote for her five children, which many have been described as more accurate than Nostradamus.

Until this year however, there was one even larger mystery, which had been speculated over since Henry’s death, namely that on the anniversary of his death in 2015, and not a day before, he requested that his tomb in Westminster Abbey be opened. Such an unusual request had never before been heard of, nor since.

Although many had examined the tomb and it was x-rayed in 2001, the mystery of this request remained until November this year, when the tomb was finally opened.

Some say that the letter from Queen Margaret to her family, and the modern text books found enclosed in the same small trunk, which was laid to rest alongside Henry, are nothing more than an elaborate hoax.

Others claim that it explains the sudden appearance of Margaret, for whom no birth records have ever been found, as well as the mysterious disappearance of Henry for two weeks, after his return from France, when no trace of him could be found and all talk of sightings proved false. And of course, if she were from the future, it would explain the oddly accurate stories that she wrote for her children.

Despite examination by the world foremost archaeologists, few can agree if the tomes are real or elaborate forgeries.  Many hope that an examination of Queen Margaret’s DNA, bones and teeth might reveal from whence and possibly even, when she came, but parliament has yet to give permission for her tomb beside Henry to be opened, and opposition to disturbing her remains is fierce.

On the matter of her origins, I have no great wisdom to bestow, for both sides are vehement in their positions and never the twain shall meet. There is nothing I can say that will heal this rift, and thus I leave it to every reader to decide the truth of this tale for themselves.