17th February, 2025 in Biography & Memoir, History, Women in History

Ask the author: Catherine Hanley on Joanna Plantagenet

By Catherine Hanley

Dr Catherine Hanley holds a PhD in Medieval Studies (Sheffield, 2001), is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and is the author of historical works in several genres. Lionessheart is her latest book which follows the story of Joanna Plantagenet – princess, pioneer, captive and queen – and of the wider twelfth-century world that she inhabited.

When did you first read about Joanna Plantagenet? And what inspired you to write a book about her?

I’ve known about Joanna’s existence seemingly forever, but she only ever appears in the background of works about the more famous members of her family: as Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine’s daughter, or as Richard the Lionheart’s sister. She’s just another name on the family tree – and, even then, only where the family tree bothers to include the daughters at all.

Many books have been published about Joanna’s male relatives and about her mother. However, the more I read about them, the more Joanna popped up in a series of wildly different and sometimes unexpected places: in France, in Sicily, in Cyprus, in the Holy Land, in Rome … and I thought to myself, just what sort of a life did this woman lead?

I therefore thought it was about time Joanna had a book of her own, and I’m very glad I was able to write it, because I’ve made some absolutely fascinating discoveries along the way.

What was the most difficult and most rewarding part of the research process?

It was certainly very challenging trying to find specific mentions of Joanna in contemporary medieval records (not to mention digging out my rusty and wasn’t-even-very-good-to-start-with Latin …). Most of these records were written by churchmen, who had very little to say about the deeds of women and even less interest in women’s personal thoughts and experiences.

But, as it happened, this also turned out to be the most rewarding part of the process as well, because those mentions are there if you look carefully, and I was able to dig out some very interesting material. Yes, the narrative of the Third Crusade is mainly about King Richard, but the occasional, almost throwaway ‘and his sister’ or ‘with his queens’ (meaning his wife and his sister) can tell us where Joanna was and what she was doing. I was also able to read the one and only surviving charter of her own, which was very exciting.

It was also fascinating for me to get to grips with some sources that aren’t very well known in England, for example the ones that tell us of Joanna’s time as queen of Sicily. Sicily was a very unusual kingdom in the Middle Ages: a place where Christians, Muslims and Jews all lived side by side in peace. So it was amazing to be able to bring that lesser-known aspect of history to the fore.

What is your favourite chapter in the book? Why?

This will sound a bit weird, but actually it’s Chapter 4, ‘To the East’, where Joanna gets shipwrecked off the coast of Cyprus. This event was unfortunate, of course, but the ensuing situation gave her the chance to demonstrate her leadership skills. She was on a ship with Princess Berengaria of Navarre, whom she was chaperoning, and also some men of lower rank – there was no father, brother, husband or other royal male in sight. So it was Joanna who had to negotiate with and fend off the ruler of the island, who was keen to get the party ashore so he could rob and do harm to them.

The icing on the cake of this episode is that one of the contemporary narratives we have, written by one of those same dismissive churchmen, was produced by an eye-witness who was actually there. And even he was impressed with the way Joanna comported herself in such a perilous situation.

How would you describe Lionessheart in 3 words?

Medieval women rock.

Have you learnt any life lessons from the women featured in the book?

From Eleanor of Brittany I’ve learned that I’m extremely lucky not to have been a minor female member of the Plantagenet family in the twelfth century! From the Damsel of Cyprus I’ve learned that you can make a mark on the world that will last for hundreds of years, even if nobody knows your name. And from Joanna herself I’ve learned that medieval women had to pick their battles very carefully – but that if they did, they could take control of their own lives and exert a great deal more influence on the world around them than they’re generally given credit for.