Wonder Woman of the Week: Nicola de la Haye

This week's Wonder Woman might put even Joan of Arc to shame with her military career. Nicola de la Haye was born into a turbulent time in Medieval England. The Normans were continuing their conquests through Britain when little Nicola was born, and the times did not change much when she entered adulthood. After marrying her second husband, de la Haye inherited Lincoln Castle just as King Henry II died- leaving Richard I in charge. King Richard I was en route to the Third Crusade though, so he left a humble cleric in charge of settling land disputes before departing. That cleric turned out to be an enemy to de la Haye's husband and ordered an army of over three hundred warriors to take Lincoln Castle by force. Since de la Haye's husband was pleading with Richard's brother King John to get his castle back, Nicola was left to lead the fort's defense.

Nicola de la Haye successfully defended the castle while her husband managed to befriended King John and earned their title back to the castle. When King Richard returned from war, things seemed to grow worse. De la Haye's husband earned an excommunication for their revolt against his cleric's decision, but luckily Richard died almost as quickly as he returned to England. When his brother John took over for good, de la Haye and her husband got their castle back for good- and in good time. Landowners across England were revolting against King John in an attempt to gain power, but de la Haye and her husband remained loyal to John- and de la Haye had to defend her castle for a second time against rebel warriors.

Nicola de la Haye successfully defended the castle for the second time, but she was growing old. As King John eventually lost the war and signed the Magna Carta- increasing the power of landowners in England- de la Haye was planning for retirement. The landlady retired from her holdings at seventy years old to a quiet village nearby and died of old age shortly after. Nicola de la Haye was a successful defender and military leader- proven through two successful defenses of her castle- but few people know her name. Luckily, that's changing. Because of her skill and her age, de la Haye has inspired numerous characters in fantasy literature- including the Game of Thrones series- and she will likely inspire future women warriors.