The Countess of Warwick and the Trebuchet master...

Searching through the website for Warwick Castle, I found myself getting excited over the long list of Earls of Warwick. There, nestled among 39 blokey earls (and a couple of periods as crown property, courtesy of those dodgy old Dudleys) was a lone countess. Anne Beauchamp was the 15th Countess of Warwick from 1446-1459. (Odd, isn't it when there was only one of them)

I was intrigued. Wondering what calamity had caused her to lose her title after just three years (the mundane options, like death in childbed, never occurring to me), and certain that I'd found another great medieval woman to study, I raced first to Wikipedia... only to discover a far less glamourous truth than I'd imagined. The poor lamb never even got to face the rigors of childbirth - you see, poor old Countess Anne was just two when she inherited her title, and died of an unspecified childhood illness just three years later. Aged 5.

She was succeeded by an aunt's husband, who became the 16th Earl of Warwick (again, I'm getting pedantic over this counting thing) and the most famous Warwick of all - Richard Neville, known as the Kingmaker for his skill in putting first York, then Lancaster, on the throne during the Wars of the Roses.

Now, if you had read our adventures in November, you may remember that Warwick castle is also home to the world's largest trebuchet (that's a medieval seige engine, for the uninitiated).

And in my adventures today, I learned that Warwick Castle is looking for a Trebuchet Master to work full time over the summer, doing displays and stuff. What a cool job! Can you imagine it on your own CV? Or going home to Aus - 'what did you do in England?'... Oh, I worked as a Trebuchet Master in a castle"...

My hopes were dashed, however, when I read the job description. Now equal opportunity rules in this country are as good as anywhere, so they can't say 'we only want blokes for this job'. However, they convey the same effect nicely with this statement:
"For authenticity reasons the successful post holder will need to be able to convey the physical appearance of a male.

We believe in equality of opportunity and employ people solely on the basis of their abilities."

My workmates Pete and Will were quick to point out that some of Molvania's best women weightlifters would probably have no problems meeting the criteria... But I was crushed.