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.
The Plantagenets, one of England’s most dynamic dynasties, were always in the middle of some sort of conflict. Whether they were fighting foreign adversaries, their own people, or their own family, it felt like the Plantagenets were always getting into some sort of trouble. And there was one king who knew how to use the weaknesses of the kings of England to his advantage. He was King Philip II of France, also known as Philip Augustus. He had to deal with four different Plantagenet kings and had a strategy for each one of them. Just what were Philip II’s strategies, and how did his reign affect English/French relationships as a whole? These questions are answered in Catherine Hanley’s book, “Nemesis: Medieval England’s Greatest Enemy.”
Like many other countries, England has been through growing pains when it comes to reforming its political, military, and judicial systems. None more so than the pains of the medieval period, specifically from 1199 to 1399. In those two centuries, there were six Plantagenet kings, each with a different style of being king and a different way of changing England with each reign. We often think that the biggest change to England’s political history during this time was the Magna Carta, but in fact, that was only just the beginning. Caroline Burt and Richard Partington have combed the archives to do a deep dive into each reign of these Plantagenet kings, examining the political and judicial changes that happened in a short period. Their comprehensive book is entitled, “Arise, England: Six Kings and the Making of the English State.”
The year is 1217, and Lincoln Castle is being attacked. King John is dead, and his son Henry III is now king, but chaos still reigns. Noblemen are fighting against each other, and amid this conflict is a woman in her sixties. She is used to the instability of England as she is not only the constable of the castle being besieged, but she has earned the right to be named the first female sheriff of England. She was a daughter, a wife, a mother, a widow, and someone the Plantagenets could depend on. The name of this remarkable woman is Nicholaa de la Haye, and her unbelievable story is told in Sharon Bennett Connolly’s latest book, “King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye.”
When we think about royal relationships from the past, we do not associate them with love; it is more about cementing power. Princes and kings knew how much was at stake, so they tended to have wives for politics and produce legitimate heirs that would inherit their kingdoms. For matters of love and lust, kings and princes would have mistresses, either of noble birth or lower, on the side. These women have been deemed whores and homewreckers but is that a fair assessment of their legacies? Julia A. Hickey takes a closer look at these misunderstood mistresses in her latest book, “Medieval Royal Mistresses: Mischievous Women who Slept with Kings and Princes.”
English kings are some of the most recognizable monarchs in all of European history, and when we think of Kings of England, a few names pop into our minds. Edward, George, and William tend to be popular, but you cannot study English history without Henry. Eight kings of England were Henry, and they would change the history of England forever. These eight kings give us an entire range of what kingship was like in medieval Europe. From men born to be king to opportunists who decided to take the throne as their own, from saints to warrior kings, the Henrys of English history were a colorful group of characters. Each king has had numerous biographies written about him, but there has never been a collection of biographies about the kings named Henry until now. This is “Harry of England: The History of Eight Kings, From Henry I to Henry VIII” by Teresa Cole.
In human history, when citizens have disagreed with a new law or those in charge, they often stage a protest to show their frustration. When their voices are not heard, people often turn to rebellions and revolts to make sure their opinions matter. We might think that revolution and rebellion as a form of protest are modern ideas, but they go back for centuries. Revolutions and rebellions shaped history, no more so than in the middle ages. In his latest book, “Rebellion in the Middle Ages: Fight Against the Crown,” Matthew Lewis examines the origins of the most famous rebellions in medieval England and how they transformed the course of history.
If you go to Fontevrault Abbey in France, you will find two rather extraordinary tombs. These tombs belong to King Henry II and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, the first King, Queen of the Plantagenet Dynasty, and the Angevin Empire. Their effigies tell us a lot about the couple that was buried side by side. The husband was restless; his model shows him ready to take action at any moment, with his crown upon his head and a scepter in his hand. His queen lays beside him, reading an unknown book. They seem to be prepared to watch over their kingdom and their family even beyond the grave. Those who know English history recognize their names and understand the family drama behind the scenes. We think we know the truth about Henry and Eleanor, but is there more to their story and their feuding family? In Matthew Lewis’s latest dual biography, “Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine: Founding an Empire,” he explores the relationship between this dynamic king and queen and how it shaped European and English history forever.
One of the most infamous families in the history of England lasted for over three hundred years and it was filled with numerous princes that fought for their right to rule, much to the chagrin of the Tudor dynasty. The Plantagenet Dynasty was full of scandals and bloodshed, testing the core values of what it meant to be a family and rulers of an emerging country like England. This dynastic clash for power that came to define this dynasty began with Henry II and his sons by his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. When their father refused to give the boys any true power, which was to be excepted with all princes, his sons waged war against Henry II and their brothers. The stories of these bonds and what ultimately tore them asunder are told in Douglas Boyd’s latest collection of biographies aptly titled, “Plantagenet Princes: The Sons of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II”.
Adventures of a Tudor Nerd 