Tag: Michele Schindler

Book Review: “Royal Childbirth in the Middle Ages: Fertility, Pregnancy and Birth” by Michele Schindler

On By hmalagisiIn Book Reviews1 Comment

Throughout history, many aspects of life have changed drastically, but one thing has remained the same: the different stages of life—birth, youth, adolescence, adulthood, old age, and death. It is the first stage of life, birth, that tends to get the least amount of attention when it comes to historical research. In recent years, it has been gaining more and more attention, especially when it comes to royal births, which have the most amount of written records. Michele Schindler has chosen to focus on the aspects of medieval childbirth in her latest book, “Royal Childbirth in the Middle Ages: Fertility, Pregnancy and Birth.”

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I have enjoyed the previous book that I have read by Michele Schindler, and so when I saw that she had a new book about the medieval period out, I was excited to read it. I have read a few books that featured childbirth, primarily in the Tudor period, but never when it comes to the medieval period, so I wanted to learn more.

Schindler has decided to divide her book into sections, each part focusing on a different stage of childbirth: conception, pregnancy, birth, baptism, infant care, and how society as a whole understood childbirth as part of a woman’s life. Each section has sub-sections that explore aspects like miscarriages, twins, confinement, stillbirths, wet nurses, and deaths during infancy. These are very heavy topics, but they are discussed in a respectful manner.

To give context to the topics discussed, Schindler uses examples from multiple centuries to show how royal and noblewomen dealt with childbirth and its struggles. Some of the women featured in this book include Margaret Beaufort, Margaret of Anjou, Eleanor Cobham, Isabella of Castile, Alice Chaucer, Anne Neville, and Elizabeth of York. She also compared these lives and how they experienced childbirth to the common people to show the difference in status and the importance of ceremonies like confinement to the nobility.

Overall, I found this book to be really well researched, as well as being pretty easy to follow along with. I found a deeper appreciation for medieval women and what they had to go through to have a child. If you want to learn more about medieval childbirth practices pertaining to the higher echelons of society, I would recommend you read “Royal Childbirth in the Middle Ages: Fertility, Pregnancy and Birth” by Michele Schindler.

Book Review: “Lovell our Dogge: The Life of Viscount Lovell, Closest Friend of Richard III and Failed Regicide” by Michele Schindler

On By hmalagisiIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

9781445690537 (1)Words have a lot of power, especially when it comes to how we perceive historical figures. It can be through letters, chronicles, biographies, and this instance, through a couplet written by William Collynbourne in 1484. The couplet in question goes; “The Catte, the Ratte, and Lovell Our Dogge Rule All England Under the Hogge”. The Catte and the Ratte refer to two men; Sir William Ratcliffe and Sir William Catsby respectively, who were associated with King Richard III, whose badge was a white boar or a hog. “Lovell our Dogge” refers to Sir Francis Lovell, who was an ally and close friend of the king. Who was Sir Francis Lovell and how did he become Richard III’s closest friend? Michele Schindler dives into the life of Sir Francis Lovell to figure out who he really was in her debut biography, “Lovell our Dogge: The Life of Viscount Lovell, Closest Friend of Richard III and Failed Regicide”.

I would like to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this fascinating biography. I knew about the couplet, but I never knew about Sir Francis Lovell and his remarkable life. 

Schindler begins her beautiful biography with the birth of Francis and his twin sister Joan. It is very unusual to read about twins especially in medieval England so it was interesting to read how this affected how they were raised. We are also introduced to the rest of the Lovell family,  finding out the origins of the family, and learn how noble children like Francis and Joan were raised. This part is important in understanding Francis and his loyalties because it is at this time when he was introduced to the Yorkists who would change his life; Richard Neville Earl of Warwick, King Edward IV, and Richard Duke of Gloucester, the future King Richard III. It is also in these formative years that Francis marries his loyal and loving wife Anne (Fitzhugh) Lovell. It is great to have a firm foundation when understanding a historical figure and Schindler provides the reader that foundation.

The center of Schindler’s book is Francis’ relationship with his best friend, Richard Duke of Gloucester, who would become King Richard III. It is a unique relationship because if you only know about Francis through the couplet, it makes Sir Francis Lovell sound like someone who desired power. In fact, documents provided by Schindler suggests quite the opposite. He was rather quiet when it came to politics, even though he held quite prominent roles in Richard III’s government. His loyalty to Richard III never faltered, even after the king’s death at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Francis helped with several rebellions, the most famous one was the Lambert Simnel Rebellion, even though he was not noted to have taken part. 

Sir Francis Lovell’s life was complex yet he remains an enigma for scholars of the Wars of the Roses. Schindler masterfully blends an eloquent writing style with meticulously researched details to create this illuminating biography. Before I started this book, I only knew about Sir Francis Lovell through the famous couplet, but now I want to know more about him and his family. This maybe Schindler’s debut biography, but I look forward to reading more books by her in the future. If you would like an engaging biography about a man who was central in the government of Richard III, I highly suggest you check out, “Lovell our Dogge: The Life of Viscount Lovell, Closest Friend of Richard III and Failed Regicide” by Michele Schindler.

“Lovell our Dogge: The Life of Viscount Lovell, Closest Friend of Richard III and Failed Regicide” by Michele Schindler will be available in the United States on October 1st. If you would like to pre-order a copy of this book, please follow the link below: https://www.amazon.com/Lovell-our-Dogge-Viscount-Regicide/dp/1445690535/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Lovell+our+Dogge%3A+The+Life+of+Viscount+Lovell%2C+Closest+Friend+of+Richard+III+and+Failed+Regicide&qid=1567661947&s=gateway&sr=8-1