I stumbled across Rachel of Esra, the Jewish mistress to King Alfonso VIII and Spain’s Esther for a brief shining moment, when I was doing research about Toledo in the 12th century for my novel, Rebecca of Ivanhoe. She was known as Rahel La Fermosa, Rachel the Beautiful, and she apparently wielded considerable influence with the King, so much so that he appointed several Jews to his cabinet at her suggestion. Near the end of his novel, Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott mentioned that after the knight rescued Rebecca from being burned at the stake, she and her father planned to leave England for Córdoba, Spain, where they had relatives. After doing research for my novel, I decided that Rebecca and her extended family would move from Córdoba, where Jews were being persecuted by the Islamic sect then in power in southern Spain, to Toledo, which was under the control of Alfonso, the Christian King. And when I discovered that Rachel of Esra lived in Toledo, where King Alfonso had set up court, I knew I had to bring these two extraordinary women together. (King Alfonso VIII was married to Eleanor of Burgos, the sister of King Richard the Lionheart, who figures prominently in Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, but Alfonso spent a lot of time in Toledo, according to the historical record).
By the time Rebecca and her family get to Toledo, Rachel has been the King’s paramour for more than six years (a historical fact) and the Archbishop of Toledo is enraged that she has so much power over the King, another historical reality. He routinely sermonizes against her, calling her a Jezebel and a sorceress, and it is clear that he wants to break her hold over Alfonso. Up to this point, Rachel has not borne any children to the King, and so I imagine that in her desire to protect herself from the malevolent forces surrounding her, she is eager to get pregnant.
By this point in the novel, Rebecca has made a name for herself as a respected midwife and healer in Toledo’s Jewish Quarter, and it would make sense that Rachel of Esra has heard of her and would turn to her for help. The two women hit it off, and under Rebecca’s ministrations, Rachel finally does become pregnant. But she hasn’t told the King by the time he leaves to do battle with his Islamic nemesis, Sultan Yaqub al-Mansur, who rules Andalusia and Morocco.
The King, unfortunately, loses the battle (another true fact), and that defeat endangers all the Jews living in Toledo, including Rebecca and Rachel. I’m not going to tell you what happens next in my novel. If I may, I will just quote from one reviewer on Amazon:
“REBECCA OF IVANHOE is a fascinating and compelling story of a Jewish heroine surviving in the violent religious world of the 12th century. It’s well-written, well-researched and a quick read — hard to put down.”
