The last medieval queens of England were Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne Neville, and Elizabeth of York - four very different women whose lives and queenship were dominated by the Wars of the Roses. This book is not a traditional biography but a thematic study of the ideology and practice of queenship. It examines the motivations behind the choice of the first English-born queens, the multi-faceted rituals of coronation, childbirth, and funeral, the divided loyalties between family and king, and the significance of a position at the heart of the English power structure that could only be filled by a woman. It sheds new light on the queens' struggles to defend their children's rights to the throne, and argues that ideologically and politically a queen was integral to the proper exercise of mature kingship in this period.
ReviewsWeaving together institutions and personality, family and realm, intimacy and ceremony, The Last Medieval Queens, is a wise book by a young and lively scholar. It is well written and beautifully produced, and is worthy of a wide readership both academic and popular. * History Today *
AwardsWinner of Joint Winner: Women's History Network Book Prize 2004 Joint Winner: Longman - History Today Book of the Year.
Book InformationISBN 9780199279562
Author Dr J. L. LaynesmithFormat Paperback
Page Count 312
Imprint Oxford University PressPublisher Oxford University Press
Dimensions(mm) 233mm * 157mm * 18mm