The Last Medieval Queens

English Queenship 1445-1503
ISBN13: 9780199279562ISBN10: 019927956X Paperback, 312 pages
Jul 2005,  In Stock

Price:

$85.00 (06)

Description

The last medieval queens of England were Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne Neville, and Elizabeth of York - four very different women whose lives and queenship were dominated by the Wars of the Roses. This book is not a traditional biography but a thematic study of the ideology and practice of queenship. It examines the motivations behind the choice of the first English-born queens, the multi-faceted rituals of coronation, childbirth, and funeral, the divided loyalties between family and king, and the significance of a position at the heart of the English power structure that could only be filled by a woman. It sheds new light on the queens' struggles to defend their children's rights to the throne, and argues that ideologically and politically a queen was integral to the proper exercise of mature kingship in this period.

Reviews

"A welcome addition to recent workThis informative volume will repay consultation and spark further discussion."--Speculum

Product Details

312 pages; 5 family trees, 8 b/w plates; ISBN13: 978-0-19-927956-2ISBN10: 0-19-927956-X

About the Author(s)

J. L. Laynesmith received her doctorate from the University of York and has taught medieval history at the universities of York, Oxford, Reading, and Huddersfield.

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