Finding the Facts by Katherine Pym

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Sir David Kirke

Research is a powerful thing. It opens the eyes and expands the mind... that is, if you find sources that don't conflict with each other. For instance, when writing Pillars of Avalon, we found David Kirke was to be knighted by King Charles I in Scotland. David was an Englishman, not a Scotsman. He resided in London with his wife and family. If he were to be knighted in another country, would he be a knight of Scotland or England? This brought about a lot of digging through the annals of history. Deep faraway history.

King Charles I

King Charles I was in need of money. His kingdom in chaos, Parliament gave him fits when he wanted more taxes, so he dismissed Parliament. Since he was the sovereign and believed in the divine right of kings, he proclaimed to rule alone.

He still needed money, so he started knighting men. Once dubbed, the new knight would register their names (even as the register was notoriously in error), and pay their fees. Many refused to do so. As a result posterity lost sight they had been knighted, even as they signed their documents and letters as John Doe, Knight.

When in Scotland, new knights were mandated to register their names with the Lyon King in Edinburgh. Those knighted in England were to register with Herald's College in London. The fee was extensive, upwards to £108, and pretty hefty for that time.

Since the king was in Scotland, and he did not like David very much, he decided to knight him in a country that did not like the English, and the fact, if he registered his knighthood with the Lyon King, he would be considered a Scottish knight.

Digging into who was knighted and where, I found David's name as one who had been honored in Scotland. Then I found a list of who had been knighted alongside him, but the list did not include David's name.

The Kirke's family crest

This is when a historical story becomes fiction. I could not go to Scotland or England to search the archives, data that may have burned in London during the great fire of 1666. I had to work with what I found, sometimes going back several centuries, sometimes in conflict with other data. I could not verify this but if a reliable source mentioned David as being knighted in Scotland, I went with it. I had him defy the standing process and have his certificate registered in London so that he would be considered an English knight. Even if it did not appear in the register.

So, we have Sir David Kirke and Lady Sara Kirke. His knight bachelor did not extend to his sons, even as Lady Sara requested King Charles II to extend it, but from my records, there is no record of him acknowledging or honoring her request.

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Many thanks to :

Shaw, William Arthur & Burthchaell, George Dames, The Knights of England, Volume 1, a complete record from the earliest time to the present day of the knights of all the orders of chivalry in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of knights bachelors. Printed and Published for the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, Lord Chamberlain’s Office, St. James’s Palace, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906

And Wikicommons, Public Domain 

My Story Arc by Katherine Pym

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David and Sarah Kirke live in a time of upheaval under the reign of King Charles I who gives David the nod of approval to privateer French Canadian shores. When Louis XIII of France shouts his outrage, King Charles reneges.

After several years, the king knights David and gives him a grant for the whole of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Soon, David is carried in chains back to England. He entreats Sara to manage the Ferryland plantation. She digs in and prospers, becoming the first entrepreneur of Newfoundland.

I write historical fiction based in London during the 17^th century and try very hard to have the history as correct as possible. Only when sources conflict with each other, do I choose one that seems the most likely. I also hope that source I choose is the most correct.  

At first, when given the honor to write about Newfoundland, I did not think I’d come up with much history in the 17^th century, but as I dug, I was amazed at the plethora of information that surfaced. Gervase Kirke and his wife had several sons and two daughters. They ran a successful wine merchant company. 

The family was litigious, with their papers and letters archived so we can read them. They argued with their peers and superiors. David Kirke (our hero) butted heads with King Charles I over the spoils he’d collected while in Quebec. He wanted to be governor of Newfoundland, and saw his opportunity when Lord Baltimore gave up his Avalon Province in lieu of a warmer climate. 

This is good-story-stuff.  With this, I could write a novel based around Newfoundland’s history. 

The Cutty Sark

I’ve had readers remark how often David and Sara travelled from London to Ferryland NL, but if you look at a map, you’ll see Newfoundland sticks into the Atlantic quite a distance. Google says it is 2345 miles from London to Ferryland, NL. The Cutty Sark once sailed 2163 nautical miles in six days. Data shows ships crossed from the Channel to Northern Canada in as short of a time as 4 weeks. Not bad. 

As merchants, the Kirkes found great opportunity in the new world. In London, they fitted their ships for sail, carrying goods from England and Europe, then traveled to the Americas, spanning that coast from Newfoundland down to Barbados and the West Indies, where they would trade goods, then sail to the Mediterranean or back to England. These trips would take a good deal longer than 4 weeks. 

17th Century Ships of Sail

So, with this historical data and my 30 years study of the 17^th century, the story arced on its own. It grabbed what I unearthed and ran with it. 

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Many thanks to Wikicommons, Public Domain