@John of Gaunt is my 16th great grandfather, and Katherine of Swynford, my 16th great grandmother.
http://www.geni.com/path/Loretta+Alexandra+is+related+to+John+of+Ga...
http://www.geni.com/path/Loretta+Alexandra+is+related+to+Katherine+...
John of Gaunt's 2nd wife, Constance of Castile, is my 6th cousin 15 times removed, through Fernando III, King of Castile and León, my 20th great grandfather.
http://www.geni.com/path/Loretta+Alexandra+is+related+to+Constanza+...
http://www.geni.com/path/Loretta+Alexandra+is+related+to+Fernando+I...
John and Katherine are my 16+ g-grandparents as well. I always thought it was interesting that long before I ever knew this, I chose Katherine as the Renaissance Festival character I would play when I wasn't being queen.
I have always wondered if my love of Medieval and Renaissance pageantry, clothing, manners (and jewelry!) was inherited from them. I am also fascinated with Crusade era history and Chivalry...given the number of Kings, Queens and Templars among my ancestors, it makes me wonder that passion is inherited too. Bauceant!
Medieval manners? People who rarely bathed, who could get a reputation for being great orators simply because they did not interrupt their speeches to spit out mucus, etc etc.
I like John of Gaunt, because in many ways he symbolised progress (for example, in protecting Lollards). But chivalry was an ideal through which progress in manners slowly (and very slowly at that) made progress. Don't mistake it for the actuality of the times, other than for exceptional individuals.
Terry Jackson is quite correct. To be a Noble (or part of a Noble or Royal's Court) one was expected to behave in a certain way. From the lowest serf in the field, to the highest prince or prelate, there were rules on how to act, walk, dress and address one's inferiors and superiors. For example, in the time of Elizabeth I, if a Court Lady did not perform a task to Her Highnesses satisfaction, "Good Queen Bess" was known to slap and pinch to express her royal displeasure. (And woe to the young woman who did not perform her curtseys to the Queen's satisfaction!).
And "Bauceant" was the battle cry of the Knights Templar. It means: "Be Glorious!"