The first followers of St Dominic arrived in England in 1221.
It's natural to be surprised that a friary would possess such a chamber the medieval monarchs' respect for the large monastic orders-Dominicans, Benedictines, and Franciscans-is not much written about. Many important sessions of government were held there. In its vast complex, the upper frater building, 110 feet long and 52 feet wide with two-foot-thick stonewalls, had a second-storey room called the Parliamentary Chamber. But the largest male Dominican establishment in England-and one of the most prestigious in all of Europe-was the monastery of friars dubbed Blackfriars. It was the sole house of Dominican sisters in the kingdom. In my novels, The Crown and The Chalice, I write the stories through the eyes of a Dominican novice who lives at the priory of Dartford, in Kent.
Perhaps it was the draw of such high drama-the cheers and cries and arguments of The Great Matter-that led me to search that section of London for the place where the royal confrontation took place: Blackfriars. It is an unforgettable scene, one that has shaken and moved me each time I read Catherine of Aragon's plea to be spared such a humiliating rejection.
When the queen reached the sight of the crowd of commoners gathered outside, they cheered for her, the sound of it wafting into the chamber she'd left behind. Alas, Sir, in what way have I offended you? What cause hath my behavior given to your displeasure, that thus you should proceed to put me off, and take your good grace from me? After finishing her entreaty to an embarrassed and unmoved husband, Catherine rose, ignored the crier, saying, "It matters not, this is no indifferent court for me.
Sir, I desire you do me right and justice and to bestow your pity on me for I am a most poor woman, and a stranger born out of your dominions having here no judge indifferent, nor no more assurance of equal friendship and proceedings. Immortalized by Shakespeare, Queen Catherine said:
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