Serendipity

Random stumbles into history

The Legend of Betsy Grimbal 

Betsy Grimbal's Tower is a medieval gatehouse and one of the primary surviving remnants of Tavistock Abbey in Devon. Built mostly during the 15th century, it served as the grand western entrance gateway to the original Benedictine abbey precincts, featuring twin flanking towers and moulded arches. Local folklore attributes the name to an unfortunate young woman allegedly murdered by a jealous monk at the site, though experts suggest it is more likely to be a corruption of the name ‘Blessed Grimbald’. 

This pious and learned Benedictine was invited to England by King Harold in 885 and appointed Abbot of New Minster Abbey in Winchester. Although he had no direct links to Tavistock, he was widely venerated for his contributions to the church and the monastic community. He is often pictured wearing a crown, possibly one of the five Heavenly Crowns promised to believers in the afterlife, but looks more like King Arthur himself than a humble monk. This confusion appears to have arisen mainly because of a blurred image of Grimbald and Alfred once pictured together.  

The fate of the unfortunate Betsy is known only through folklore.  A vicar of Tavistock, Rev. Bray, spent his childhood in the house next to the ruins in the late 1700’s.  He reported his great distress upon learning that a young woman had been murdered in the gateway, and of his terror at seeing red stains on the walls, rumoured to be her dried blood.  These were actually caused by mineral deposits and iron oxide  leaching out of the Devon stone, but to his young mind, they were proof that the gateway was haunted. There are no parish records about Betsy, or any concrete evidence that she even existed, but her name lives on the dramatic story of a ghost and a murder that naturally evolved to fit such a bleak setting.

Voynich Manuscript

A new article concerning the Voynich Manuscript has been published by Colin Layfield and Lisa Fagin Davis, arguing that the pages should be arranged like a stack of cards, not bound together as they were during the mid to late 15th century.  They suggest that the pages were a set of booklets, passing information down through the generations, not written by just one person (who at one time was rumoured to have been Leonardo da Vinci).

There are 240 pages written in a as yet undeciphered script, dated by radiocarbon to within 1404 and 1438.  Its meaning has been the cause of scholastic debate since it first appeared in 1912 in a rare book market in Italy.  The pages are divided into six sections and contain drawings of astronomy, botany, pharmaceuticals, anatomy, (including some saucy drawings of females bathing!) and what are assumed to be recipes.  To me, it has an earthy appeal, grounded in everyday life, and I favour the explanation that is some kind of instruction manual, but the truth remains hidden until the cipher can be decoded. 

The photos are attributed to’ Unknown author’ - Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University ([1])., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7982009