Queens Consort
The colorful and dramatic history of England's medieval queens. England's medieval queens were elemental in shaping the history of the nation. In an age where all politics were family politics, dynastic marriages placed English queens at the very center of power―the king's bed. From Matilda of Flanders, William the Conqueror's queen, to Elizabeth of York, the first Tudor consort, England's queens fashioned the nature of monarchy and influenced the direction of the state. Occupying a unique...
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The colorful and dramatic history of England's medieval queens. Publishers Weekly Although intended to breed royal heirs, England's medieval queens offered substantial strength, mental acuity, and personal ambition, beginning with the 1066 Norman invasion's elevation of Matilda of Flanders and up through the Plantagenet Elizabeth of York, who married Henry VII in 1486. Hilton (Athénai?s: The Life of Louis XIV's Mistress) successfully unravels the tangled biographies of such queens as the legendary and imposing Eleanor of Aquitaine and the ill-matched but determined Isabella of France, placing them within the context of European politics and property wars. Hilton nimbly pares popular myths and reanimates long-forgotten figures such as Queen Berengaria, married to the crusading Richard I, who never lived in England. When kings wriggled themselves out of undesirable marriages, strange situations sometimes occurred, such as King John in the 13th century sending his second wife, Isabelle, to live with his former wife, Isabella. Hilton offers a pleasurable but serious study of a group of remarkable women and their role in the development of queenship in England. 16 pages of color illus.; maps. (Aug.)
List of Illustrations ixMaps xiIntroduction 1Part 1 England and Normandy1 Matilda of Flanders 172 Matilda of Scotland 403 Adeliza of Louvain 604 Matilda of Boulogne 68Part 2 An Empire to the South5 Eleanor of Aquitaine 956 Berengaria of Navarre 1197 Isabelle of Angoulême 142Part 3 Plantagenet Queens8 Eleanor of Provence 1659 Eleanor of Castile 19010 Marguerite of France 204Part 4 Depositions, Restorations11 Isabella of France 22312 Philippa of Hainault 25113 Anne of Bohemia and Isabelle of France 271Part 5 Lancaster and York14 Joanna of Navarre 30715 Catherine de Valois 32116 Marguerite of Anjou 33517 Elizabeth Woodville 35518 Anne Neville 38019 Elizabeth of York 404Conclusion 419Select Bibliography 427Notes 443Acknowledgements 457Index 458
\ Publishers WeeklyAlthough intended to breed royal heirs, England's medieval queens offered substantial strength, mental acuity, and personal ambition, beginning with the 1066 Norman invasion's elevation of Matilda of Flanders and up through the Plantagenet Elizabeth of York, who married Henry VII in 1486. Hilton (Athénai?s: The Life of Louis XIV's Mistress) successfully unravels the tangled biographies of such queens as the legendary and imposing Eleanor of Aquitaine and the ill-matched but determined Isabella of France, placing them within the context of European politics and property wars. Hilton nimbly pares popular myths and reanimates long-forgotten figures such as Queen Berengaria, married to the crusading Richard I, who never lived in England. When kings wriggled themselves out of undesirable marriages, strange situations sometimes occurred, such as King John in the 13th century sending his second wife, Isabelle, to live with his former wife, Isabella. Hilton offers a pleasurable but serious study of a group of remarkable women and their role in the development of queenship in England. 16 pages of color illus.; maps. (Aug.)\ \
