Note 20.1

There is no contemporary record of how Eva died, but a strange story appears in the Transactions of the Bristol & Gloucester Archaeological Society for the Year 1891-92 in an article entitled "Ladies' Costume in the Middle Ages". Octavius Morgan's "Abergavenny Monuments" is quoted, describing the tomb of Eva, wife of William de Braose and daughter of William Marshal: Probably the most ancient monumental effigy of a lady in England is that of Eva de Braose, in the Priory Church of St. Mary, Abergavenny . . . [lengthy description follows] . . . The right hand lies across the body at the waist, and the left hand held something, said by Churchyard (who wrote a description of these monuments at the end of the 16th century) to have been a squirrel, and he speaks of it existing in his time, but it is now broken away. Whatever it was, it seems to have been attached by a chain, which passes over the body with a sweep, and terminates in a slit or pocket in the side of the kirtle, which pocket is of unusual character, being strengthened all round with a very wide margin. . . . [more lengthy description] . . . With regard to the history of the squirrel, Churchyard says that a story had been handed down that the lady had a pet squirrel which escaped, and that she, in trying to recover it, overbalanced herself, and fell from the castle wall, and so lost her life. Such an event is quite possible, for the ladies of that day were very fond of pet animals, and there is no reason to doubt that the squirrel was upon the monument; the peculiarity of the formation of the pocket, with the long chain issuing from it seem to confirm the story of the fatal accident. Thomas Churchyard, 1520-1604, published a variety of works from 1560 onwards. He travelled much and in his later years, visited Wales to give a description of the country. "The Worthines of Wales", an antiquarian work in prose and verse, was produced in 1587. The mention of the squirrel probably comes from this work.

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