Serve

by mresundance

Summary:

"Keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn." Earl of Warwick character study.

 This vid contains spoilers for episodes 1 - 5 of the series.

Original vidpost here on Dreamwidth.

 

Please use the mediafire links before the permanent link.

Permanent link (right-click save): 80 MB wmv

80 MB wmv @ mediafire
54 MB avi @ mediafire
28 MB mp4 @ mediafire

http://vimeo.com/72107325

Password: warwick

Also on Youtube: http://youtu.be/yr7n8AViXs4

Notes:

Lyrics

 

You were cold as the blood through your bones
And the light which led us from our chosen homes
Well I was lost

And now I sleep
Sleep the hours and that I can't weep
When all I knew was steeped in blackened holes
I was lost

Keep the earth below my feet
For all my sweat, my blood runs weak
Let me learn from where I have been
Keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn
Keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn

And I was still
I was under your spell
When I was told by Jesus all was well
So all must be well

Just give me time
You know your desires and mine
So wrap my flesh in ivy and in twine
For I must be well

Keep the earth below my feet
For all my sweat, my blood runs weak
Let me learn from where I have been
Oh keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn
Oh keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn

Keep the earth below my feet
For all my sweat, my blood runs weak
Let me learn from where I have been
Keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn
Keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn

 
Notes

I was dying to vid The White Queen, because THIS SHOW. I was originally intent on doing an ensemble recruiter vid of all the female characters and their various, intersecting narratives. But then this song played on the radio one day and I was like "huh, this would make an interesting Earl of Warwick vid". And then it just wouldn't go away.

Some part of me feels like it's a bit sacrilegious to vid a source which deliberately highlights the narratives of women and then to uhm, vid a dude instead. Part of what I love about the series is that the narratives are centered on the women. I wish more TV series, especially historical ones, could understand that just because women are not "on the battlefield" or in Parliament or whatnot, doesn't mean they are not making meaningful contributions to culture, society, and history. So I love that the series focuses on the women.

But I also love the Earl of Warwick. It helps that James Frain plays him (woof!), but it also helps that in real life, the Earl of Warwick was about a thousand times more badass than The White Queen portrays him as. He was much beloved in his time, politically connected, economically astute. He was truly the power behind the throne, and it is perhaps unfortunate he didn't have a strong claim to the throne himself. (Or, given his ambition, drive, and acumen, perhaps fortunate.)

If you're confused about who is who and what is going on in parts of this vid . . . yeah. That's okay. That's kind of the clusterfuck that was The War of the Roses. All you really need to know is that Edward (the pretty boy in the beginning) is King of England, and he was put there by Warwick. One day Edward marries a low-born woman, Elizabeth Woodville, and Warwick disapproves. It fucks many things up, politically speaking. Warwick plots against Edward. Warwick eventually has to flee England to save his life and the lives of his family when Edward comes after him for all the treasonous plotting. From France Warwick continues to plot, finds a way back to England and deposes Edward. Warwick then puts the former King Henry VI back on the throne. Warwick and Edward meet on the battlefield. Warwick dies. There is not much rejoicing. There's also cameos by George (Edward's annoying brother), Warwick's daughters Isabel and Anne, Anne de Beauchamp (Countess of Warwick), and BAMF!Margaret of Anjou and her creepy son.

It's much more complicated than that, of course, but that's the gist.

The graphic borrows a late 15th century depiction of Warwick and Edward's final battle, the Battle of Barnet. Though in the original painting, Edward is depicted slaying Warwick, historically that was not true.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 22 of the Fanvids series