Description
Book SynopsisIn Material Culture and Queenship in 14th-century France: The Testament of Blanche of Navarre (1331-1398) Marguerite Keane considers the object collection of the long-lived fourteenth-century French queen Blanche of Navarre, the wife of Philip VI (d. 1350). This queen’s ownership of works of art (books, jewelry, reliquaries, and textiles, among others) and her perceptions of these objects is well -documented because she wrote detailed testaments in 1396 and 1398 in which she described her possessions and who she wished to receive them. Keane connects the patronage of Blanche of Navarre to her interest in her status and reputation as a dowager queen, as well as bringing to life the material, adornment, and devotional interests of a medieval queen and her household.
Trade Review"For queenship scholars, Keane’s book is essential reading for both its methodology and its conclusions about the meanings of patronage, politics, and cultural power at court. And it opens fruitful avenues for research into the history of emotions. It will speak to a much wider audience of historians, art historians, and their students, both graduate and advanced undergraduate, who will appreciate her close textual analysis of the testament and her insightful reading of the objects." Theresa Earenfight, Seattle University, in: Renaissance Quarterly 70.4 (2017), pp. 1561-2.
Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements vii List of Figures and Tables ix Notes on Translation, Citation, and Names xi Introduction 1 1 The Life and Patronage of Blanche of Navarre 19 Conflict with the Monks of Saint-Denis 33 Childhood and Marriage 41 Widowhood and Early Commissions 44 The Dowager Queen as Mediator: Charles of Navarre and the Hundred Years War 52 The Dowager Queen at Home and at Court 56 2 The Testament: Legal Document and Sentimental Autobiography 61 3 Books as Evidence to Perpetuate Memory 77 4 Reliquaries, Altarpieces, and Paintings 116 Devotional Spaces within the Household 119 Reliquaries 126 5 Wearable Reliquaries, Metalwork, and Gems 151 The Reliquary Belt of Philip VI 153 Reliquary Brooches 156 Heirloom Diamonds 159 Heirloom Paternoster Beads 166 The Queen’s Crowns and Sealing Ring 169 6 Textiles: Vestments, Wall Hangings, and Clothing 178 Conclusions 202 Appendices: Gifts and Their Recipients 206 1 Gifts of Books 206 2 Gifts of Reliquaries, Altarpieces, and Paintings 212 3 Gifts of Wearable Reliquaries, Metalwork, and Gems 220 4 Gifts of Textiles 226 Bibliography 231 Index 255
