Hi I'm Olivia, and I'm Felicity
We're here at Framlingham Castle to meet Margaret Brotherton, Countess of Norfolk.
It is a great pleasure to welcome you here to my castle at Framlingham
I understand that you would like to know more about the life of a medieval noblewoman?
That's right
In order to be truly noble you must dress as I do
Well you both look very fine indeed and you will grace any court in all of Christendom
What's it like to live in a castle, do you have to climb lots of stairs to get to your bedroom?
Oh there are many steps in a castle,
I myself have a room right at the top of the castle
which has the most magnificent views across my estate
and I feel very at home up there.
How should a countess behave?
It is your duty to maintain the great traditions of your heritage
and to represent your family well by showing courtesy.
For example you must show excellent table manners,
you must always place a napkin over your left shoulder or over your left wrist
You must never wipe your mouth upon your sleeve, that will never do.
You must make sure that you never rest your elbows upon the table.
You never use a fork as something to eat with, instead you will carry your own knife
and you will stab your food and then you will remove that piece of food from the knife.
And if you are offered a drink by your host,
first you must wipe your mouth with your napkin and then you must accept a drink from the cup using both hands
and then return it to your host.
Do you have a lot of parties and what do you eat?
Oh I love to have feasts here, I love to dance here.
Would you like to have a look at my accounts
and you can see in the detail all the things that I ordered over the year?
70,321 loafs of bread
40 casks of red herring
721 carcasses of beef
9 wild boar
151 carcasses of pork
697 carcasses of mutton
24 pounds of saffron
And finally 2,200 gallons of red and white wine
What are you most proud of and how do you want to be remembered?
Well I am most proud of having lived a long and prosperous life.
I have always known my own mind.
I have always lived fearlessly.
I have been persuasive in my time.
I was married at the age of 15, not much older than you are now
as such I was not happy in that marriage I did my best to get out of it,
so I've had an interesting life shall we say.
Thank you for telling us about your life
Thank you
You are very welcome, it's been a great pleasure to have your company here.