Description
Book SynopsisThe 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.
Trade ReviewWeaving together institutions and personality, family and realm, intimacy and ceremony, The Last Medieval Queens, is a wise book by a young and lively scholar. It is well written and beautifully produced, and is worthy of a wide readership both academic and popular. * History Today *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Selecting Queens during the Wars of the Roses ; 2. Rituals of Queenship ; 3. Queens as Mothers ; 4. The Queen's Family ; 5. Court and Household ; Conclusion ; Select Bibliography ; Index
