King Richard’s Sword, the sixth book in my Lady Apollonia West Country Mysteries, is set in Worcester, England, in the years, 1399-1400.
The Commandery is the current name for a set of buildings in Worcester which survive from the medieval period. It was located just outside the Sidbury Gate which plays a role in my story. Its foundation is uncertain but may go back as far as the eleventh century. In any case in the thirteenth century, it became known as the Hospital of St. Wulfstan, named for a local Worcester saint which also plays a role in my story. The function of the hospital was changing somewhat by the time of my story. Some residents were granted shelter and sustenance for life in return for their property. It ceased to function as a hospital when King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in the sixteenth century.
The medieval master of the hospital was known as the commander, perhaps because an early master had a crusader background. The residence of the commander later became known as the name of the Commandery.
Tags: Chaucer's England, historical fiction, medieval mysteries