Lionessheart: The Life and Times of Joanna Plantagenet
By Catherine Hanley
The History Press
ISBN: 978 1 80399 516 8
The daughter of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Joanna of England lived a life deeply entangled in the turbulent politics of the Angevin Empire. This biography traces her remarkable journey—from her marriage to the King of Sicily to her later role as Countess of Toulouse—offering a vivid portrait of a royal woman navigating power, exile, and diplomacy in the medieval world.
Excerpt:
This book is partly Joanna’s own personal story, which is a narrative of breathless, ceaseless action. However, it is also an account of the wider medieval world as she saw and experienced it, during a life in which she was variously a princess and pioneer, a captive and queen, a warrior and wife. She represented, and was often the very personification of, many of the crucial issues of the era, and this provides us with a wonderful opportunity to examine them in detail. Royal child marriage and its implications for those involved, the international Plantagenet/Angevin network and the disputes between territories and kingdoms, the multicultural milieu and religious melting-pot of Sicily and the Mediterranean, the crusades and female participation in them, the possibilities and dangers of interfaith marriage, the social and political position of women, and how they could take independent action to build lives for themselves within the constraints that bound them; we will investigate all of these topics and more as we go along.
Who is this book for?
Those interested in the politics and powerbrokers of late 12th- and early 13th-century Europe will find this an engaging read. Joanna (also known as Joan) frequently played a role in the political manoeuvrings of the time, particularly those of her brother, Richard the Lionheart. This biography is a valuable addition to the growing body of work on queenship and the experiences of high-ranking women in the Middle Ages.
“Lionessheart is a much-needed biography of a medieval princess who travelled to the edges of Christendom in service to her family. Although some readers might find frustration at the gaps in information we have about Joanna, and Hanley’s occasional suppositions into her thoughts and feelings, I think this was an excellent window into the life of a princess whom I previously knew almost nothing about.” ~ review by Gemma Hollman in Just History Posts
Lionessheart: The Life and Times of Joanna Plantagenet
By Catherine Hanley
The History Press
ISBN: 978 1 80399 516 8
The daughter of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Joanna of England lived a life deeply entangled in the turbulent politics of the Angevin Empire. This biography traces her remarkable journey—from her marriage to the King of Sicily to her later role as Countess of Toulouse—offering a vivid portrait of a royal woman navigating power, exile, and diplomacy in the medieval world.
Excerpt:
This book is partly Joanna’s own personal story, which is a narrative of breathless, ceaseless action. However, it is also an account of the wider medieval world as she saw and experienced it, during a life in which she was variously a princess and pioneer, a captive and queen, a warrior and wife. She represented, and was often the very personification of, many of the crucial issues of the era, and this provides us with a wonderful opportunity to examine them in detail. Royal child marriage and its implications for those involved, the international Plantagenet/Angevin network and the disputes between territories and kingdoms, the multicultural milieu and religious melting-pot of Sicily and the Mediterranean, the crusades and female participation in them, the possibilities and dangers of interfaith marriage, the social and political position of women, and how they could take independent action to build lives for themselves within the constraints that bound them; we will investigate all of these topics and more as we go along.
Who is this book for?
Those interested in the politics and powerbrokers of late 12th- and early 13th-century Europe will find this an engaging read. Joanna (also known as Joan) frequently played a role in the political manoeuvrings of the time, particularly those of her brother, Richard the Lionheart. This biography is a valuable addition to the growing body of work on queenship and the experiences of high-ranking women in the Middle Ages.
“Lionessheart is a much-needed biography of a medieval princess who travelled to the edges of Christendom in service to her family. Although some readers might find frustration at the gaps in information we have about Joanna, and Hanley’s occasional suppositions into her thoughts and feelings, I think this was an excellent window into the life of a princess whom I previously knew almost nothing about.” ~ review by Gemma Hollman in Just History Posts
The Author
Catherine Hanley is a historian that has developed a strong career writing books focused mostly on medieval England. Among her previous books is 1217: The Battles That Saved England.
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website.
You can buy this book on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
Subscribe to Medievalverse
Related Posts