The Future is Female!

The Story of the Helen of Wales
Princess Nesta of Deheubarth, Wales

❝ Nesta (b.c.1085) was the daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr (Tudor), King of Deheubarth and [his wife Gwladus - a princess in her own right who was the daughter of Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn – a King from Powys in the north], and the lover of the future King of England. Nesta had three further lovers, two husbands, and potentially fourteen children. Her beauty allegedly inspired such a passion in the men in her life that it sparked a scandal that rocked the world of medieval Wales to its foundations."

This is her story, in her own imagined words!

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IMAGE SOURCE: "File:Wales.post-Roman.jpg" by author of source image, plus my additions (myself) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

True, I sparked a scandal that rocked the medieval world! But more on that later. My story begins in southwest Wales as a princess and the daughter of the powerful and last King of Deheubarth, located near Dyfed on the map. above. These were turbulent times in Wales. The Romans were long-gone, but the Anglo-Normans subsequently invaded, beginning with the Battle of Hastings in 1066, marrying into our Welsh noble families, and eventually conquering ourWelsh lands.

Like other female members of nobility, my early life consisted of lessons in embroidery, spinning (weaving, not the exercise you do today), and music, but also learning how to manage a household. By medieval standards, I was well-educated in my letters and numbers. As a woman in the 1100s, you had to be clever and smart. I was both. And beautiful! When my father, Rhys ap Twedwr, was killed by the Normans, South Wales was overrun by the Normans, and my life changed in expected ways. I was only 15 years old.

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Yes, that's a young me with the King of England, Henry I or Henry Beauclerc, my first paramour, as depicted in a medieval manuscript from the British Library completed about 200 years after my death. It's not a great likeness, but then, I've alway been portrayed as either a victim or a slut., which is probably why the manuscript portrays us embracing and naked except for our crowns.

After my Father died, there's no reliable record of what happened to me and I'm not rehashing that part of my life. I'll leave that mystery to history. My family was split up, and later, I ended up in Windsor Castle where I met Henry. I know, I know what you're thinking. His reputation as a womanizer with many illegitimate children should have been a huge red flag. But my beauty charmed him, and he protected me. With him, I bore my first son. And being his mistress had many advantages!

When our dalliance ended, Henry arranged my marriage to Gerald de Windsor, the son of Walter Fitz Otho and the castellan (castle governor or trustee in your language) of Windsor Castle. Gerald was given Carew Castle as a dowry. As a wealthy Anglo-Norman lord, he was older than me—and a good man. When I was kidnapped by my Welsh cousin, I was later returned to my husband who welcomed me back home. According to historical sources, Gerald was the father of 5 of my children, and he built a castle at Cenarth Bychan, often referred to as Cilgerran Castle, to keep me safe. Later, he also became the constable of Pembroke Castle. Beautiful castles, aren't they?

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Carew Castle

Pembroke Castle

Cilgerran Castle

IMAGE Source: Wikimedia Commons

IMAGE Source: Britain-Ireland-Castles

I'm Helen of Wales. For those of you who haven't read Greek mythology, Homer's Iliad, or Euripides' Helen, Helen of Troy was the beautiful daughter of Zeus, who was kidnapped and seduced by her captor, resulting in the ten-year Trojan War before being eventually rescued. Because of our reputed beauty and similar circumstances of our kidnappings, we shared the same fate. Hence my name Helen of Wales!

Imagine yourself a woman in medieval times. Like me. You are at the mercy of the men in your life, and you have little say in what happens to you. History questions whether I was a willing partner in my kidnapping and long imprisonment. But I dismiss such speculation. I am a survivor, and this is my story.

My second cousin, Owain ap Cadwgan of Powys, came to visit. He was so enchanted with me that he returned later with a strong force to seize the castle and abduct me. Under my persuasion, Gerald escaped, but not before Owain burned the castle and carried off my children and myself to Powys. Owain was infatuated taking me as his lover, and he refused to let me go., even ignoring the pleas of his father to return me to my husband. Seven years later, Gerald took his revenge and freed me. Unrest between the Normans and Welsh continued and eventually a civil war ensured. But, I was no longer a captive.

IMAGE Source: Unsplasph

While this photo is not of me, it captures my beauty and seductive persona, as imagined by medieval and modern day historians. In all, I bore 9 children to 5 different men, enjoyed several lovers, and married twice. I am the antecedent of many prominent and distinguished descendants.

For you Fitzgeralds, LISTEN UP! You are my DESCENDANTS.....

And the future is female! Through my 3 sons, William, Maurice and David Fitzgerald, and my daughter Angharad who married William Fitz Odo de Barry, I am the progenitor of the FitzGerald, FitzMaurice, & DeBarry dynasties of Ireland. Now, you have this noble Welsh and Norman Fitzgerald blood running in your veins through your Niquette antecedents and the adoption of Arthur by the Fitzgeralds.

How lucky you are!

Yes, the future is female! And I am testament to the tenacity and courage of women in the Middle Ages who survive to leave a lasting legacy.

Sometimes I fantasize what my life would be like in your 21th century time instead of my tumultuous 12th century. I see myself like the woman in this Dublin street art by Solus, comfortable in sneakers or high heels and all that they represent about female empowerment.

Descendants, remember me as a woman, a lover, and a survivor who lived my life without so much as a by-your-leave. Know that through me, you live and the Fitzgerald future is FEMALE!

The Fitzgerald Lineage

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Tree Design & Lineage by Karen MacIver

Our Fitzgerald Story

Nesta is the ancestress of all the Fitzgeralds and their lineage in Ireland. Of the two main Fitzgerald branches, we Fitzgeralds descend from the Desmond Fitzgeralds who settled primarily in Counties Tipperary, Cork and Waterford.

Richard Fitzgerald — our paternal grandfather, great grandfather, and great great grandfather — was the adoptive father of Arthur Edmund Niquette Fitzgerald. :Like many other impoverished Irish immigrants, Richard's father, Thomas Fitzgerald, emigrated from the Cloyne Diocese in Co. Cork and arrived in the US in middle of the Irish Famine in the mid 1800s. He was the first Fitzgerald to emigrate to Hatfield MA, and our antecedent.

Richard's parents and grandparents lived in this same Cloyne Diocese area of Ireland, and to date, we have uncovered only scant information on them. Specifically, we want to learn which Earl of Desmond we descend from so we have listed all the Earls on the lineage tree above until we locate that info. Further, due to the Irish Famine and Four Courts Fire in 1922 that destroyed many Irish records, our research has become more complicated. The mystery remains for the time being.

While some may believe that adoption is not the same as a blood relationship, Richard Fitzgerald and Thomas Fitzgerald are the only paternal grandfather, great grandfather, and great great grandfather we have ever known. For us, we are Fitzgeralds in every way that matters! Thanks to Nesta, the future is female and we Fitzgeralds are her future!

This is Us! FitzFest 2022

Annual Fitzgerald Clan Gathering on Cape Cod