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The Notorious Queens of Medieval England
Some of the queens featured in She Wolves are well known and have been the subject of biography – Eleanor of Aquitaine, Emma of Normandy, Isabella of France and Anne Boleyn, for example – others have not been written about outside academic journals. The appeal of these notorious queens, apart from their shared taste for witchcraft, murder, adultery and incest, is that because they were notorious they attracted a great deal of attention during their lifetimes. She Wolves reveals much about the role of the medieval queen and the evolution of the role that led, ultimately, to the reign of Elizabeth I and a new concept of queenship.
14th October, 2024 in Biography & Memoir, History, Women in History
Emily Murdoch Perkins discusses her new book Regina: The Queens Who Could Have Been, a feminist ‘what if’ history looking at what would have happened if firstborn daughters had been crowned instead of firstborn sons. Where did the idea for the book come from? It all started…
23rd October, 2019 in Biography & Memoir, History, Women in History
When we think of witch trials throughout British history, it’s usually James VI and I or Matthew Hopkins who come to mind. Historian Gemma Hollman, however, proves that women were also subjected to accusations of witchcraft in medieval England in her book, Royal Witches – of…
8th October, 2018 in History
Before the Wars of the Roses culminated in victory for Henry Tudor and the House of Lancaster at the Battle of Bosworth, one of English history’s most famous noble houses had a fascinating history. Edmund of Lancaster, Earl of Lancaster and Leicester (1245-96) A miniature of Edmu…
17th May, 2018 in Biography & Memoir, History
‘This is the stuff of which fairytales are made’, or are they? Royal marriages are of course a celebration (as with any marriage) but do royal marriages have a history of fairy tales or controversy? Let’s take a look at some of the more unusual marriages over the centuries that w…
17th May, 2017 in Biography & Memoir, History, Women in History
The decree was read out and that, for Eleanor, was that. The prize of release from the marriage to Louis VII of France, which she had sought for so long, had been obtained at the cost of a year of her life, plus a pregnancy she had not wanted. But she was free, at a price. Her da…
