Barbara Bancroft
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Barbara Bancroft is a fictional historical character in the Honor Harrington book series (Honorverse).
Barbara Bancroft was one of the wives of Steadholder Jeremiah Bancroft, one of the leaders of the Faithful during the Grayson Civil War. When the tide had turned against the Faithful, they had constructed a doomsday weapon of some kind and had planned to use it should they lose the war. Upon learning her husband's intentions, Barbara Bancroft had fled to the Moderate's camp and had warned them of the weapon's existence. This had allowed the Moderates to present an alternative to the Faithful (besides victory or utter destruction) whereby they and their doomsday weapon be shipped off "Lock, stock and whipping post" to the neighboring star sytem of Endicott.
For her actions, it would seem that Barbara Bancroft had paid a heavy price. Though the series does not elaborate on this point it is reasonable to assume that her betrayal of the Faithful had cost her her children (as her husband would have undoubtedly taken them with him to Masada while she would have been stayed behind). However, she would go down in Grayson history as "The Mother of Grayson" and canonized as the ideal Grayson woman, embodying all the attributes that a woman must strive towards ("love, caring, the willingness to risk her life to save her children's"). However, in the eyes of the Faithful she would become the very symbol of the Second Fall, "the proof of all women's inherent corruption" and therefore vilified as the Harlot of Satan.
On Masada, a group of women had formed an underground resistence movement called the Sisterhood of Barbara. Defying the Faithful's subjugation of woman this group strived to educate and protect woman as well as escaping Masada (a so-called Exodus) as a long term plan. This was finally managed during the visit of HMS Intransigent on a diplomatic mission to the Endicott system. The Sisterhood, lead by the Grayson-born captive Judith, stole a transport belonging to her husband, Ephraim Templeton and escaped to the Star Kingdom of Manticore with the help of Prince Michael (brother of Queen Elizabeth III) and HMS Intransigent.
