When we think about medieval princesses, we often think about pawns in the marriage market. They were born to become brides to create stronger alliances between nations. They helped rule kingdoms, but more importantly, they gave birth to heirs to help their new families’ dynasties continue to grow. But outside of marriages, what was life like for these royal women? How did certain women break the stereotype that comes with being a medieval princess? And how did the political environments of their new kingdoms affect their marriages and their families? Sharon Bennett Connolly explores these questions in her latest book, “Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest.”
I would like to thank Sharon Bennett Connolly for sending me a copy of her latest book. I have been such a fan of Connolly’s books for years now. Her knowledge about medieval women, specifically women in power, is remarkable. When she announced that she was writing this particular book, I knew I wanted to read it. So I was extremely thankful when she sent me a copy of her latest book.
As Connolly states in her introduction, this is book one in a duology exploring the lives of medieval princesses. This book explores the lives of English princesses, both legitimate and illegitimate, from the Early Middle Ages, which would be from the Norman Conquest to the reign of King John. With that timeline, you would think that Connolly would begin with the daughters of William the Conqueror, but in fact, she begins with Harold Godwinson and his wives, Edith Swanneck and Ealdgyth. His daughters, Gunhild and Gytha, would live very different lives. Gunhild would marry Count Alan Rufus, also known as Alan the Red, while Gytha would marry Grand Prince Vladimir of Kyiv.
William the Conqueror married Matilda of Flanders and had several children, including Adelida and Cecilia. Both girls became nuns, and Adela of Normandy would marry Stephen II, Count of Blois. Their son would become King Stephen of England, who married Matilda, Countess of Boulogne, and would do battle against Empress Matilda, the legitimate daughter of Henry I and Matilda of Scotland. Their conflict would be known as the Anarchy, and would lead to the Plantagenet dynasty. Connolly takes the time to explore the daughters of Stephen of Blois and Adela of Normandy, as well as the illegitimate daughters of Henry I. It should be noted that even though Henry I did have illegitimate daughters, it does not mean that they did not marry well; in fact Sybilla of Normandy would marry King Alexander I of Scotland, and his other illegitimate daughters married members of nobility.
Connolly then explores the daughters of King Stephen, Mary and Ida, both of whom had some interesting love lives. We also get to see the daughters of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and how Eleanor’s daughters with her first husband, Louis VII of France, had a different life from those of the Angevin princesses of England, whose father was Henry II. Finally, Connolly explores the daughters of King John, including his illegitimate daughter, Joan, who would marry Llywelyn the Great and had an affair with William de Braose. When John married Isabelle d’Angoulême, they would have several children, including Joan of England, who married Alexander II of Scotland, and Isabella of England, who married Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Finally, we explore the chaotic relationship between Eleanor of England and Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and how Simon fought with Eleanor’s family, especially her brother, King Henry III.
This is another excellent book by Sharon Bennett Connolly. Extremely well researched and relatively easy to follow along, which is a great thing because there are so many Matildas and Eleanors in this book. If you are a fan of Sharon Bennett Connolly and studying medieval princesses, you will love “Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest” by Sharon Bennett Connolly.
I am pleased to welcome Mary Lawrence to my blog today to share a snippet from her latest novel, “Fool.” I would like to thank The Coffee Pot Book Club and Mary Lawrence for allowing me to participate in this blog tour. 
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In English history, there have been some legendary warrior kings, but none have captured the imagination of the general public quite like Henry V. He was the King who won a great victory at Agincourt, almost captured France, but died young and never got to see his son become king of both England and France, albeit for a short time. For the English, Henry V was seen as a hero to the nation, but is his legacy much darker? Desmond Seward dives into the archives to find a much more ruthless king for his biography, “Henry V: The Scourge of God.”
When we think about powerful queens, we tend to think about medieval and early modern rulers. However, there were queens from ancient times who rose to power and gained reputations that lasted for centuries. In ancient Babylon, there was one woman who began life as an orphan but fought her way to become the Queen of Assyria. She was known as both Semiramis and later Sammuramat, the wife of Ninus, who was known by his royal name Shamshi-Adad V. How did Semiramis become the only female ruler of the Assyrian empire? Her story and the stories of the two men she fell in love with are told in Costanza Casati’s latest novel, “Babylonia.”
When a medieval princess married, most of the time, she had to take an arduous journey to their new country. For many of these royal ladies, they had an idea that this would be their fate at a young age, but for others, it would come as a complete surprise. Take, for example, Blanca (Blanche) of Castile. She was the granddaughter of the indomitable Eleanor of Aquitaine. When it is time to create a marriage alliance between Castile and France, Blanca believes that her sister Urraca will be the one who will become Queen of France. However, Eleanor has other plans. How will the journey change Blanca and get her ready to rule a nation? Diane Zahler tells the tale of Blanca’s journey to the throne in her middle grade novel, “The Queen’s Granddaughter.”
The court of Henry VIII was a treacherous place for anyone, but especially for the Boleyn family. We all know the stories of Anne, Mary, George, and Thomas, but one figure from this illustrious family does not get enough attention: Elizabeth Boleyn, the mother of Anne, Mary, and George. What was her relationship like with her family, her husband, and most importantly, King Henry VIII? And what does a Chaucer manuscript recently discovered at Cerensthorpe Abbey have to do with Elizabeth and the Boleyns? Alxandra Walsh explores the life of Elizabeth Boleyn and the mystery of the missing Chaucer in her latest dual-timeline novel, “The Boleyn Curse.”
Today, I am pleased to welcome Rozsa Gaston to my blog to share a spotlight for her book series “The Anne Boleyn Chronicles” and her latest novel, “The Queen’s Maid.” I would like to thank Rozsa Gaston and The Coffee Pot Book Club for allowing me to participate in this blog tour.
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Have you ever stared at a portrait of a historical figure and wondered if that’s what they really looked like? Anne Boleyn is one of the most famous queens in all of English history. Her image of a woman with dark hair, wearing a dark gown with a French hood, and a B initial necklace. For many people, this is what Anne Boleyn looked like, but is that accurate? What did Anne Boleyn look like, and why does it matter? The most recent exhibit at Hever Castle explores these questions, and the book that accompanies this exhibit goes deeper into the research behind this exhibit. The book shares the same name as the exhibit, “Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn” by Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey.
We all believe we know the story of Joan of Arc, one of the patron Saints of France. A young peasant woman who God called to lead the dauphin to the altar to be crowned King Charles VII of France in a time of civil war between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians, as well as the continuation of the war between England and France. It was a political quagmire, but somehow, as the story goes, Joan of Arc resolved the civil war and gave France a fighting chance against the English. But what did Joan of Arc actually accomplish during her short life? Helen Castor examines the life of this extraordinary young woman in her book “Joan of Arc: A History.”
Adventures of a Tudor Nerd 