Fair Rosamund

Date created: 1917

Rosamond (born circa 1140, died circa 1176). Also spelled Rosamund, known as 'The Fair Rosamond'.

Rosamond was a mistress of Henry II of England. She was the subject of many legends and stories.

Rosamond is believed to have been the daughter of Walter de Clifford of the family of Fitz-Ponce (the ruins of the castle where she was born are located just outside the book town of Hay-on-Wye, Welsh borders). She is said to have been Henry's mistress secretly for several years but was openly acknowledged by him only when he imprisoned his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, as a punishment for encouraging her sons in the rebellion of 1173-74. Rosamond died in or about 1176 and was buried in the nunnery church of Godstow before the high altar. The body was removed by order of St. Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, in 1191 and was, seemingly, reinterred in the chapter house.

The story that she was poisoned by Queen Eleanor first appears in the French Chronicle of London in the 14th century. The romantic details of the labyrinth at Woodstock, including the clue that guided King Henry II to her bower, were the inventions of storywriters of later times. There is no evidence to support the popular belief that she was the mother of Henry's natural son William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury.

A study for this painting is at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff.