The medieval world was a time of great change, epic battles, and warrior kings who kept expanding their kingdoms to levels that we know today. In England, the dynasty that we most associate with the medieval period was the Plantagenets. For medieval France, it was the Capetians, who reigned for centuries after the Carolingians. So how did the Capetians come into power? Who were the major figures and scandals that defined the dynasty? And how did the dynasty come to its end? Justine Firnhaber-Baker explores this topic in her book, “House of Lilies: The Dynasty That Made Medieval France.”
I have seen this book on social media for a while now, and the topic was intriguing to me. I have not read much about medieval France, except in supporting roles when studying medieval English history. I wanted to expand my knowledge about medieval Europe as a whole, so when I saw this book for sale in a bookstore, I knew I wanted to add it to my library.
There has been some debate as to when the Capetian dynasty ended, as the Houses of Valois and Bourbon could be considered smaller branches of the Capetian family. Firnhaber-Baker has marked the time of the Capetians between 987 and 1328, which is a few centuries of drama. The kings of the Capetian dynasty were: Hugh Capet, Robert II the Pious, Henry I, Philip I, Louis VI, Louis VII, Philip II Augustus, Louis VIII the Lion, Saint Louis IX, Philip III the Bold, Philip IV the Fair, Louis X the Stubborn, John I the Posthumous, Philip V the Tall, and Charles IV the Fair. Fifteen Kings of France grew the kingdom into a medieval powerhouse.
Firnhaber-Baker shows how the Capetians turned a fragmented realm that was left behind by the Carolingians into a nation. We get to see Hugh Capet become the first king of a new dynasty and set the groundwork for his predecessors. France slowly became a beacon of Catholicism and the crusading dream, as well as the birthplace of Gothic architecture. We see how one king became a saint and another the mortal enemy of the papacy. And of course, we get to see the Capetians face off against their English neighbors, the Plantagenets.
For a book that covers over 300 years of royal history, I found it extremely well researched and easy to follow. While I did not know a ton about the Capetians before reading this book, I want to learn even more about this dynasty and other medieval dynasties of Europe. If you want to learn more about the Capetian dynasty, I highly recommend you read “House of Lilies: The Dynasty That Made Medieval France” by Justine Firnhaber-Baker.
Medieval England, under the reign of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, was a turbulent time. The focus tends to be on the rebellion of Henry’s sons against their father and how Eleanor sided with her sons. This story has been told, but there is a story of another woman who was caught directly in the middle of the entire ordeal. Her story is most known for her role during the reign of King John and the Magna Carta, but that was when she was an older woman. The story of Nicola de la Haye and Lincoln Castle has been told in biographies and nonfiction books, but not really in historical fiction novels. Rachel Elwiss Joyce hopes to change that with her novel, “Lady of Lincoln.”
When we think about significant law documents from medieval England, we think about the Doomsday Book, the Assize of Clarendon, and the Statutes of Westminster. These documents would remain significant to England, but there is only one that would transcend its original purpose: the Magna Carta. To many nations, it is the foundation of liberty and justice for all. But, if we take away all the sparkling praise of the present day for the document, what can we discover about the Magna Carta? What was the Magna Carta truly at its heart, and why was it written? Dan Jones examines this document and the circumstances behind its creation in his book, “Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty.”
Throughout medieval English history, there have been some famous queens who left their marks. Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Eleanor of Castile, Philippa of Hainault, and Margaret of Anjou each left an impression on English history, either good or bad. However, there was one queen whose negative reputation came with the nickname “She-Wolf of France,” and her name was Queen Isabella of France. The wife of Edward II and mother of Edward III, she left her husband for Roger Mortimer and overthrew her husband in favor of her son. For centuries, she has been viewed as a horrible villainess, but is that a fair assessment of her life? Alison Weir dives into the archives to find the truth about Isabella of France, and she presents her findings in her biography, “Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England.”
Medieval Europe was a time of conflicts and change. While smaller disputes between countries or civil wars would define borders, the most prominent conflict during this period was the Hundred Years’ War. A conflict that has been traditionally taught to have lasted 116 years between England and France. It is often told from the English perspective, with battles such as Agincourt, Crecy, and Poitiers celebrated. But what if we look at the bigger picture and expand our lens to the whole of Europe while keeping a neutral approach to the France vs England conflict? What if the conflict did not last a mere hundred years, but in fact two hundred years? What type of story would this kind of approach tell when it comes to medieval European history? Michael Livingston takes on the mammoth challenge of telling the tale of how this war changed European history forever in his latest book, “Bloody Crowns: A New History of the Hundred Years War.”
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.”
The Plantagenets, a dynasty that ruled England for over three hundred years. At least that is if you include the Lancastrian and Yorkist kings. Otherwise, the reign of the Plantagenets ended with Richard II being overthrown. So, how did the Plantagenets fall? How did wars, favoritism, and the plague factor into the fall? Helen Carr examines these questions and the rule of three kings over the fourteenth century in her latest book, “Sceptred Isle: A New History of the Fourteenth Century.”
The medieval world could be a treacherous place to live in, especially when it comes to life in the medieval court. There was so much backstabbing and men reaching for titles and crowns that were not given to them. Take, for example, the House of York. Now, we will assume that their desire for the throne truly came to fruition during the period known as the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century. However, the sons and the daughter of Edmund of Langley and Isabella of Castile were fiercely loyal to those they served and were ruthless to those who they deemed as their enemies. This is the world that Constance of York, Lady Despenser, is raised in, but when her world is turned upside down, will she choose to stay on the sideline, or will she scheme with her family and fight for what they believe is right? Constance’s story is woven together in Anne O’Brien’s novel, “A Tapestry of Treason.”