Julian of Lancaster
From EastKingdomWiki
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Julian of Lancaster, circa A.S. LVII. |
| Information |
| Resides: Canton of Seashire, Barony of Ruantallan, Crown Principality of Tir Mara |
| Status: Active as time permits (absent from L-LVII) |
| Awards: Order of Precedence |
| Heraldry |
 Azure, a sun Or, and in chief three fleur-de-lys argent. This device is not yet registered. |
| Award & Office Badges |
Introduction
Julian of Lancaster, or simply Julian Lancaster, resides in the Canton of Seashire in the Barony of Ruantallan. Something of a jack-of-all-trades, he is perhaps best known as a singer and composer of court music. He occasionally plays the Renaissance lute, and has been known to dabble in fencing and heavy fighting. An enthusiastic sempster, he is continually attempting to raise the bar on the quality and accuracy of his garb. He was the recipient of the baronial Hawkwind Award in A.S. 50, and was given his Award of Arms the same year (though he wasn't around to collect it until the very end of A.S. 56).
Persona
Early life
Julian was born circa 1535 in Yorkshire to William, a cloth merchant, and his wife Katherine; his grandparents were from a less well-known branch of the family that sought to distance themselves from the aftermath of the Wars of the Roses. Julian had little formal schooling until his teens, although his parents (desiring some measure of social mobility) made sure he had a decent education. He is known to have had some grasp of Latin along with knowledge of the Bible and Greek mythology, and was partially conversant in French and Italian. A local lawyer provided an approximation of a noble’s music education; Julian became competent with the lute and viol (though he hated practicing), and possessed a working knowledge of sight-singing and counterpoint. He had something of a reputation for being rebellious; though he ultimately loved learning, he hated schooling as lessons were more often than not beaten into him.
Coming of age
Sometime around 1559, his father sent him to Italy to expand the family’s business connections. While his official mission was to arrange for the importation of textiles from the continent, he spent a great deal of time exploring the popular culture of Italy and becoming exposed to Italian art, music, and fashion. (It’s said that most of Julian’s “trade negotiations” actually involved attempts to win the affections of a particular merchant’s daughter who had designs on becoming an actress, but these rumours are largely unsubstantiated.)
Disaster struck during the return voyage; somewhere near the Pillars of Gibraltar, his ship was blown off course, eventually running aground somewhere on the Iberian Peninsula. While there was thankfully very little loss of life, Julian somehow became separated from the rest of the ship. Wandering up and down the Spanish coast for several days, he was discovered in a delirious, incoherent state by one Rosaline de Luna. Thus began one of the more unlikely friendships of the 16th century; despite the ever-present threat of war between their two countries, the two were practically inseparable for several years. (Interestingly, since neither could understand the other’s native language, they conversed in Italian.)
Biographical analysis
Much of Julian’s life story comes from boxes of papers found in an attic centuries later: journals, letters, and numerous artistic works including musical compositions and sonnets. The details of his life from his “disappearance” onward are difficult to piece together; he appears to have traveled extensively, but it’s often hard to distinguish fact from fancy due to the fragmentary and obscure nature of some of the letters.
Julian is known to have returned to England for a period of approximately seven years before resuming his travels in hitherto unknown realms. One source implies that he managed to venture as far as the New World, but there is no further evidence for this as yet.
Legacy
Though the historical record contains very little about Julian’s later life, he is known to have eventually had two daughters, Marion and Rosalind. The former seemed to enjoy dressing in male clothing and acting as something of a “charming scoundrel”. Rose, for her part, had a reputation for being extremely intelligent, and was more educated than most middle-class women; among other things, she inherited and managed the family business.
Edwin Lancaster, a British lieutenant stationed in Malta during World War II, has been tentatively identified as a descendant of Julian, though the actual line of descent is eminently unclear. Following the war, he is known to have moved to Canada, where he largely stayed out of history's way.
Certain historians, closely reading Julian’s letters, have suggested that Julian was part of a queer or transgender subculture in England in the last quarter of the 16th century. However, these claims remain hotly disputed, and would force a radical re-examination of everything we know about Julian to date.
In Case of Court
Surprises are welcome and appreciated. However, please ensure that I am able to attend the event in question (if you prefer not to reach out directly, Sarra Graeham of Birnham, Eufemme de Alba Marlia, or Rosaline de Luna should be somewhat up-to-date on my whereabouts).
More Information
Mundanely, Julian is known as Tamsin Michael Robson, a genderqueer, transfeminine person who goes by they/them and she/her pronouns. However, having no idea what else to be, Julian defaults to a male gender role and uses he/him pronouns. (This state of affairs may evolve in future.)
The "Julian Lancaster" Facebook account is currently inaccessible by its owner due to several years of disuse. Please direct all correspondence to Tamsin.