Margaret Plantagenet, Queen of Scotland
The English Princess Margaret Plantagenet married King Alexander III of Scotland in December of 1251. This was to be the third youngest marriage of monarchs in British history.
Queen Guinevere. A queen through time
According to Hopkins, “[Arthur’s] queen, Guinevere, is more elusive, less written about [than Arthur and his knights], and yet has been for centuries a central character playing a critical role in the rise and fall of the Round Table” (6). He goes on by characterizing her as “a key figure in the life of Camelot, this remarkable woman is seen variably as scholar, seductress, warrior, and dignified gentle beauty by the countless artists and writers who have depicted her. Who, then, was Guinevere?” (10) The purpose of this essay is to answer this question by looking at different texts and novels referring to the Queen.
Marie of Guise, Queen of Scotland
Marie of Guise was born on November 20, 1515 in the castle of Bar-le-Duc in northeast France.
Madeleine of Valois, Queen of Scotland
At the time of James’ visit to court, Madeleine was sixteen and back at court. It seems the two fell in love with each other.
“A model of wisdom and exemplar of modesty without parallel in our time”: how Matilda of Flanders was represented in two twelfth-century histories
My thesis investigates the different ways in which two twelfth-century historians, William of Malmesbury and Orderic Vitalis, represented Matilda.
Queen-making and Queenship in early medieval England and Francia
The present work is not simply a discussion of early medieval queen-making rites, for this would only have necessitated a study of the ninth to the eleventh centuries, but queen-making reciprocated with ideas of queenship just as king-making was inextricably bound up with ideas of kingship.
The Queen of Sicily’s Paris Shopping List, 1277
Sarah-Grace Heller examines a letter sent by Charles I of Anjou, King of Sicily to one of his agents in Paris, where he provides a detailed order of textiles and clothing that he needed to have purchased.
Book Review: Shadow on the Crown
A review of Patricia Bracewell’s book: Shadow on the Crown.
Queen’s Gold and Intercession: The Case of Eleanor of Aquitaine
This essay will consider basic questions about queen’s gold and intercession. First it will address the mechanics of the levy and collection of queen’s gold, beginning with fundamentals such as the nature of the levy and who paid. An investigation into the origins of queen’s gold will follow.
Matilda of Boulogne, Queen of England
Matilda and Stephen were the model medieval couple.
Empress Matilda, Lady of the English
Here lies the daughter, wife, and mother of Henry.
Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England
Matilda was to become adept at combining family connections, political alliances and patronization of the Church to her advantage.
Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland
By all accounts, Margaret was a beautiful, blond Saxon princess in her twenties who was educated and had learned the art of being a royal wife from Edward’s Queen Edith.
The Count of Hainault’s Daughter
The register of Walter Stapeldon, Bishop of Exeter, contains a delightful description of a daughter of the Count of Hainault, dated 1319, which has long been thought to refer to Philippa.
Matilda of Flanders, Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy
One of the most influential and formidable medieval Queens of England was Matilda of Flanders, the wife of William the Conqueror.
Aelfthryth, Queen of England
In researching medieval queens, I came across the story of a queen having all the elements of a fairy tale. Her name is Aelfthryth, the wife of King Edgar the Peaceable
Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland
The marriage of Margaret of Denmark and King James III of Scotland may not have been very happy. But the union had a significant impact on the territorial gains of Scotland.
Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scotland
Mary was born c. 1434, the daughter of Arnold, Duke of Guelders and Catherine of Cleves, a great aunt of Anne of Cleves, fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England.
Edith of Wessex, Queen of England
We would like examine the life of a woman who was a contemporary of Queen Emma, Queen Matilda and mentor of Saint Margaret of Scotland.
Sex and Political Legitimacy: an Examination of Byzantine Empresses (399 -1056 c.e.)
The intent of this paper was to examine another aspect of the life of Byzantine Empresses: their ability to assert political power.
Interview with Sarah Gristwood, author of Blood Sisters: The Hidden Lives of the Women Behind the Wars of the Roses
It was really Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI’s wife, with her ambition and determination – her refusal to let the Duke of York assume control, after her husband had fallen into a catatonic stupor – that kickstarted the civil war.
A Historiography of Chastity in the Marriage of Edith of Wessex and Edward the Confessor
While records of Edith’s life and her marriage to Edward are poor, the historiography of those who narrated her life after her death is rich. In some ways, the historiography of her life was directly related to that of her husband’s.
La Vie en Breton: Anne of Brittany’s Enduring Legacy and Appeal
Anne of Brittany (1477-1514) has inspired painters, poets, Breton nationalists, and even a wildly popular French rock opera.
The King’s Mercy. An Attribute of Later Medieval English Monarchy
Modern assumptions about medieval justice still tend to see this process of amelioration as merely occasional and exceptional: mercy needed to be applied only where special circumstances made it inappropriate to apply the full rigours of the law. This, however, is seriously to misunderstand both the purpose and the pervasiveness of mercy in the operation of medieval justice.