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.
When we think about the Norman Conquest, we often think about how it impacted England, Wales, and Scotland, but we tend to forget about Ireland. Early medieval Ireland do not get a whole lot of attention in historical fiction. That is, until Shauna Lawless’s Gael Song trilogy. Now, fifty years after the events of the original trilogy, Lawless has brought in a new cast of characters, as well as old characters, into the fight between the Descendants of the Tuatha De Danann and the Fomorians. When a child of prophecy is introduced into the mix that is said to be able to defeat the Fomorians, the race is on to protect the child or to kill her. Will the Descendants survive, or will the Fomorians torch the land and the Descendants’ hope? Shauna Lawless jumps back into this work with the Gael Song Era 2 book 1, “Daughter of the Otherworld.”
Blurb:
Praise for Helen Hollick:
Author Bio:
The field of history for centuries has been focused on men and the struggles that mankind has had to endure for society to survive. We tend to get only a mere glimpse at the lives of women when they are next to powerful men. Some will write about women, mostly royal women, who lead extraordinary lives and left an imprint on the past. But what about those who lived ordinary lives? What about the women who lived daily, fighting to survive every obstacle? What can we learn about history through the eyes of ordinary women? Philippa Gregory has taken on the mammoth task of trying to answer these questions and more with her tome, “Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History.”
England is a nation that is rich in history and conflicts galore. Through the centuries, England has seen so much change. Many of us know the stories of the medieval and the Tudor kings and queens of England, covered in numerous books, but Peter Ackroyd has taken this concept a step forward. Ackroyd embarked on an epic quest to chronicle the history of England from its prehistoric origins to the modern age. In “Foundation: The History of England From Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors,” Peter Ackroyd begins his epic journey into the past to explore the origins of English history.
When we think of the past, especially those close to a thousand years past our current time, we tend to think about kings and conquerors who transformed the political landscape of certain countries. However, kings and conquerors would be nothing more than mere men if it was not for advisors and allies that stood by their sides or against them. For example, for nearly a century, the men and women of the House of Godwin were at the center of Anglo-Saxon politics and helped or hindered the path of those who wished to sit on the throne of England. The House of Godwin might not be a familiar family for those who are not familiar with Anglo-Saxon England before the Norman Conquest. Still, Michael John Key takes on the challenge to tell their story in his book, “The House of Godwin: The Rise and Fall of an Anglo-Saxon Dynasty.”
England’s history is full of daring moves and colorful characters, but it is also very ancient compared to other countries. We often considered the “start” of English history in school as the Norman Conquest in 1066. Nevertheless, this was just a stage in the massive story of the island. We have to consider those who called England their home; those who knew England, not as a unified country, but seven kingdoms known as the heptarchy. The most famous of these seven kingdoms was Wessex, the last kingdom, but their mortal enemy had a rich history of their own. Mercia was a thriving kingdom for hundreds of years, with colorful characters that many people are not familiar with. Annie Whitehead has taken the tales of this forgotten kingdom to the forefront with her book, “Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom.” 
In the middle of the night on November 25, 1120, screams could be heard from the English Channel. A ship known as The White Ship hit a rock and began to sink. Those on board were the glamorous English elite, including the legitimate son of King Henry I, William Aetheling. In an era where people feared the sea and could not swim, those on board sank to their watery death on that cold winter night that began with such frivolity. No one knew that night that this one disaster at sea would cause a dynastic struggle that would lead to the founding of the infamous Plantagenet dynasty. In his latest book, “The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream”, Charles Spencer takes his readers on a journey to fully understand the impact that this tragedy had on the English royal family.
Adventures of a Tudor Nerd 