Travels With A Medieval Queen

Author : Mary Taylor Simeti
Publisher : Orion
ISBN 13 : 9780297607953
Total Pages : 318 pages
Book Rating : 4.52/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Travels with a Medieval Queen written by Mary Taylor Simeti and published by Orion. This book was released on 2002 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Living in the second half of the twelfth century, Princess Constance of Hauteville was both witness and protagonist in what could be considered the most exciting period in medieval history. There had been a remarkable growth in the population and in the economy of western Europe and a consequent expansion of cities and commerce. With the support of the secular rulers and the Church, Knighthood had been institutionalised and the Courtly Love school of poetry was born. In 1185, the 32 year old Constance of Sicily, a princess with the most magnificent dowry Europe has ever seen, was betrothed to the 21 year old Henry, cold-hearted son of the great German Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa. Eight years later, the Sicilian throne lies empty and Henry and Constance (pregnant for the first time at 40) travel south to stake their claim against the usurper, Tancredi's family. It is this journey that Taylor Simeti retraces, along the way contrasting medieval society with modern, capturing what the life of the medieval queen must have been like, exploring the idea of travel and pilgrimage, and expressing, above all, a deep empathy for her subject. This is a reflexive, imaginative and entertaining account of Constance's life and travels.

Author : Mary Taylor Simeti
Publisher : Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN 13 : 9781842126486
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.82/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Travels with a Medieval Queen written by Mary Taylor Simeti and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2003 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1185, the 32-year- old Constance of Sicily, a princess with the most magnificent dowry Europe has ever seen, was betrothed to the 21-year-old Henry, cold-hearted son of the great German Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa. Eight years later, the Sicilian throne lies empty and Henry and Constance (pregnant for the first time at 40) travel south to stake their claim against the usurper Tancredi's family. It is this journey that Taylor Simeti retraces, along the way contrasting medieval society with modern, capturing what the life of the medieval queen must have been like, exploring the idea of travel and pilgrimage, and expressing, above all, a deep empathy for her subject.

Author : Carole Levin
Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
ISBN 13 : 0803229682
Total Pages : 361 pages
Book Rating : 4.86/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Queens and Power in Medieval and Early Modern England written by Carole Levin and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2009-03-01 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Queens and Power in Medieval and Early Modern England, Carole Levin and Robert Bucholz provide a forum for the underexamined, anomalous reigns of queens in history. These regimes, primarily regarded as interruptions to the ?normal? male monarchy, have been examined largely as isolated cases. This interdisciplinary study of queens throughout history examines their connections to one another, their constituents? perceptions of them, and the fallacies of their historical reputations. The contributors consider historical queens as well as fictional, mythic, and biblical queens and how they were represented in medieval and early modern England. They also give modern readers a glimpse into the early modern worldview, particularly regarding order, hierarchy, rulership, property, biology, and the relationship between the sexes. Considering topics as diverse as how Queen Elizabeth?s unmarried status affected the perception of her as a just and merciful queen to a reevaluation of ?good Queen Anne? as more than just an obese, conventional monarch, this volume encourages readers to reexamine previously held assumptions about the role of female monarchs in early modern history.

Author : Rick Steves
Publisher : Rick Steves
ISBN 13 : 1641710470
Total Pages : 581 pages
Book Rating : 4.73/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Travel as a Political Act written by Rick Steves and published by Rick Steves. This book was released on 2018-02-06 with total page 581 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Change the world one trip at a time. In this illuminating collection of stories and lessons from the road, acclaimed travel writer Rick Steves shares a powerful message that resonates now more than ever. With the world facing divisive and often frightening events, from Trump, Brexit, and Erdogan, to climate change, nativism, and populism, there's never been a more important time to travel. Rick believes the risks of travel are widely exaggerated, and that fear is for people who don't get out much. After years of living out of a suitcase, he still marvels at how different cultures find different truths to be self-evident. By sharing his experiences from Europe, Central America, Asia, and the Middle East, Rick shows how we can learn more about own country by viewing it from afar. With gripping stories from Rick's decades of exploration, this fully revised edition of Travel as a Political Act is an antidote to the current climate of xenophobia. When we travel thoughtfully, we bring back the most beautiful souvenir of all: a broader perspective on the world that we all call home. All royalties from the sale of Travel as a Political Act are donated to support the work of Bread for the World, a non-partisan organization working to end hunger at home and abroad.

Author : Shelley Puhak
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1635574927
Total Pages : 393 pages
Book Rating : 4.20/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Dark Queens written by Shelley Puhak and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2022-02-22 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: National Bestseller “A well-researched and well-told epic history. The Dark Queens brings these courageous, flawed, and ruthless rulers and their distant times back to life.”--Margot Lee Shetterly, New York Times-bestselling author of Hidden Figures The remarkable, little-known story of two trailblazing women in the Early Middle Ages who wielded immense power, only to be vilified for daring to rule. Brunhild was a foreign princess, raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building. Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave. And yet-in sixth-century Merovingian France, where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport-these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms, changing the face of Europe. The two queens commanded armies and negotiated with kings and popes. They formed coalitions and broke them, mothered children and lost them. They fought a decades-long civil war-against each other. With ingenuity and skill, they battled to stay alive in the game of statecraft, and in the process laid the foundations of what would one day be Charlemagne's empire. Yet after the queens' deaths-one gentle, the other horrific-their stories were rewritten, their names consigned to slander and legend. In The Dark Queens, award-winning writer Shelley Puhak sets the record straight. She resurrects two very real women in all their complexity, painting a richly detailed portrait of an unfamiliar time and striking at the roots of some of our culture's stubbornest myths about female power. The Dark Queens offers proof that the relationships between women can transform the world.

Author : Alison Weir
Publisher : Ballantine Books
ISBN 13 : 110196670X
Total Pages : 576 pages
Book Rating : 4.09/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Queens of the Crusades written by Alison Weir and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2021-02-23 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Packed with incredible true stories and legendary medieval intrigue, this epic narrative history chronicles the first five queens from the powerful royal family that ruled England and France for over three hundred years. The Plantagenet queens of England played a role in some of the most dramatic events in our history. Crusading queens, queens in rebellion against their king, seductive queens, learned queens, queens in battle, queens who enlivened England with the romantic culture of southern Europe—these determined women often broke through medieval constraints to exercise power and influence, for good and sometimes for ill. This second volume of Alison Weir’s critically acclaimed history of the queens of medieval England now moves into a period of even higher drama, from 1154 to 1291: years of chivalry and courtly love, dynastic ambition, conflict between church and throne, baronial wars, and the ruthless interplay between the rival monarchs of Britain and France. We see events such as the murder of Becket, the Magna Carta, and the birth of parliaments from a new perspective. Weir’s narrative begins with the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose marriage to Henry II established a dynasty that ruled for over three hundred years and created the most powerful empire in western Christendom—but also sowed the seeds for some of the most destructive family conflicts in history and for the collapse, under her son King John, of England’s power in Europe. The lives of Eleanor’s four successors were just as remarkable: Berengaria of Navarre, queen of Richard the Lionheart; Isabella of Angoulême, queen of John; Alienor of Provence, queen of Henry III; and finally Eleanor of Castile, the grasping but beloved wife of Edward I. Through the story of these first five Plantagenet queens, Alison Weir provides a fresh, enthralling narrative focusing on these fascinating female monarchs during this dramatic period of high romance and sometimes low politics, with determined women at its heart.

Author : Teofilo F. Ruiz
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691153582
Total Pages : 374 pages
Book Rating : 4.82/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A King Travels written by Teofilo F. Ruiz and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2012-03-25 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A King Travels examines the scripting and performance of festivals in Spain between 1327 and 1620, offering an unprecedented look at the different types of festivals that were held in Iberia during this crucial period of European history. Bridging the gap between the medieval and early modern eras, Teofilo Ruiz focuses on the travels and festivities of Philip II, exploring the complex relationship between power and ceremony, and offering a vibrant portrait of Spain's cultural and political life. Ruiz covers a range of festival categories: carnival, royal entries, tournaments, calendrical and noncalendrical celebrations, autos de fe, and Corpus Christi processions. He probes the ritual meanings of these events, paying special attention to the use of colors and symbols, and to the power relations articulated through these festive displays. Ruiz argues that the fluid and at times subversive character of medieval festivals gave way to highly formalized and hierarchical events reflecting a broader shift in how power was articulated in late medieval and early modern Spain. Yet Ruiz contends that these festivals, while they sought to buttress authority and instruct different social orders about hierarchies of power, also served as sites of contestation, dialogue, and resistance. A King Travels sheds new light on Iberian festive traditions and their unique role in the centralizing state in early modern Castile.

Author : Alison Weir
Publisher : Ballantine Books
ISBN 13 : 110196667X
Total Pages : 592 pages
Book Rating : 4.79/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Queens of the Conquest written by Alison Weir and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2017-09-26 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the first volume of an exciting new series, bestselling author Alison Weir brings the dramatic reigns of England’s medieval queens to life. The lives of England’s medieval queens were packed with incident—love, intrigue, betrayal, adultery, and warfare—but their stories have been largely obscured by centuries of myth and omission. Now esteemed biographer Alison Weir provides a fresh perspective and restores these women to their rightful place in history. Spanning the years from the Norman conquest in 1066 to the dawn of a new era in 1154, when Henry II succeeded to the throne and Eleanor of Aquitaine, the first Plantagenet queen, was crowned, this epic book brings to vivid life five women, including: Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, the first Norman king; Matilda of Scotland, revered as “the common mother of all England”; and Empress Maud, England’s first female ruler, whose son King Henry II would go on to found the Plantagenet dynasty. More than those who came before or after them, these Norman consorts were recognized as equal sharers in sovereignty. Without the support of their wives, the Norman kings could not have ruled their disparate dominions as effectively. Drawing from the most reliable contemporary sources, Weir skillfully strips away centuries of romantic lore to share a balanced and authentic take on the importance of these female monarchs. What emerges is a seamless royal saga, an all-encompassing portrait of English medieval queenship, and a sweeping panorama of British history. Praise for Queens of the Conquest “Best-selling author [Alison] Weir pens another readable, well-researched English history, the first in a proposed four-volume series on England’s medieval queens. . . . Weir’s research skills and storytelling ability combine beautifully to tell a fascinating story supported by excellent historical research. Fans of her fiction and nonfiction will enjoy this latest work.”—Library Journal (starred review) “Another sound feminist resurrection by a seasoned historian . . . Though Norman queens were largely unknowable, leave it to this prolific historical biographer to bring them to life. . . . As usual, Weir is meticulous in her research.”—Kirkus Reviews

Author : Helen Castor
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0062065785
Total Pages : 479 pages
Book Rating : 4.80/5 ( download)

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Download or read book She-Wolves written by Helen Castor and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-02-22 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Helen Castor has an exhilarating narrative gift. . . . Readers will love this book, finding it wholly absorbing and rewarding.” —Hilary Mantel, Booker Prize-winning author of Wolf Hall In the tradition of Antonia Fraser, David Starkey, and Alison Weir, prize-winning historian Helen Castor delivers a compelling, eye-opening examination of women and power in England, witnessed through the lives of six women who exercised power against all odds—and one who never got the chance. With the death of Edward VI in 1553, England, for the first time, would have a reigning queen. The question was: Who? Four women stood upon the crest of history: Katherine of Aragon’s daughter, Mary; Anne Boleyn’s daughter, Elizabeth; Mary, Queen of Scots; and Lady Jane Grey. But over the centuries, other exceptional women had struggled to push the boundaries of their authority and influence—and been vilified as “she-wolves” for their ambitions. Revealed in vivid detail, the stories of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou, and the Empress Matilda expose the paradox that England’s next female leaders would confront as the Tudor throne lay before them—man ruled woman, but these women sought to rule a nation.

Author : Rebecca Holdorph
Publisher : Pen and Sword History
ISBN 13 : 1526739828
Total Pages : 332 pages
Book Rating : 4.27/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Women in the Medieval Court written by Rebecca Holdorph and published by Pen and Sword History. This book was released on 2022-04-06 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A surprising look at women who wielded power in medieval Europe, from queens to concubines to abbesses. Medieval society might expect the elite women who decorated its courts to play the role of Queen Guinevere, but many of these women had very different ideas. Great queens, who sometimes ruled in their own right, fought wars and forged empires. Noblewomen acted behind the scenes to change the course of politics. Far from cloistered off from the world, powerful abbesses played the role of kingmaker. And concubines had a role to play as well, both as political actors and as mothers of children who might change a country’s destiny. They experienced tremendous success and dramatic downfalls. This book tells the stories of women from across medieval Europe, from a Danish queen who waged political war to form a Scandinavian empire to a Tuscan countess who joined her troops on the battlefield. Whether they wielded power in battle, from a convent, or from a throne—or even in the bedchamber—these women were far from damsels in distress waiting for their knights in shining armor.