Queens of the Age of Chivalry (England's Medieval Queens, 3)

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Against this dramatic milieu, Alison Weir describes the lives and reigns of five queen consorts: Marguerite of France was seventeen when she became the second wife of sixty-year-old King Edward I. Isabella of France, laterknown as “the She-Wolf,” dethroned her husband, Edward II, and ruled England with her lover. In contrast, Philippa of Hainault was a popular queen to the deposed king’s son Edward III. Anne of Bohemia was queen to Richard II, but she died young and childless.Isabella of Valois became Richard’s second wife when she was only six years old, but was caught up in events when he was violently overthrown. First line: In September 1299, the Princess Marguerite of France, found herself on a ship crossing the English Channel, with the white cliffs of Dover drawing ever nearer as she sailed to England to marry its King, Edward I. Medieval queens were seen as mere dynastic trophies, yet many of the Plantagenet queens of the High Middle Ages dramatically broke away from the restrictions imposed on their sex, as Alison Weir shows in this gripping group biography of England's fourteenth-century consorts.

Queens of the Crusades [is Weir’s] latest in an impressive canon of more than two dozen historical biographies and novels. . . . [A] brilliant, compelling and meticulously detailed revelation . . . In its abundant detail about real lives lived amid the broad political strokes of medieval kings, Queens of the Crusades captures a rich sensory impression of how five brilliant yet fallible women managed their subject societies in a precarious and dangerously changeable world.” — Bookreporter It’s customary for the medieval history to be presented through the viewpoint of men, as it was a time of even noble and royal women being little but chattel, men’s property, and the wombs to propagate dynasties. They were who history happened to, not the makers of it. In Queens of the Age of Chivalry, however, Alison Weir tries to bring them from the shadows behind the throne into the spotlight, with varying success. In this meticulously researched tome we learn not only of these five women, but also quite a bit about their royal spouses. and the importance of these unions.Weir fortifies “Queens of the Age of Chivalry” with a section of photo plates, bibliography (which is actually impressive with its extensive lengthy list) and notes (not annotated). Her descriptions of the the palaces made me feel as if I was there. I was astounded at that vast sums the women spent on clothes, food, trips and impressing foreign dignitaries. You can tell how much effort and work she puts into these books. The overwhelming amount of research she includes really portrays in these masterpieces of historical writing. I mean, the detail! Insane. I need a bookshelf of them!

From one of Britain's best selling historians, a sweeping and magisterial history of the extraordinary lives of five queens in England's turbulent Age of Chivalry Aimed at the general reader, this rich and robust account will appeal to readers interested in medieval England and some of its most fascinating royal women, whose stories are often left out of the history books.” — Booklist

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I find I’m enthralled by her writings and literally can’t get enough. Her retellings of history and portrayal of historical figures are out of this world and she really gives you a feel and sense for who they were and might have been. I haven’t known much about medieval queens before, in fact, I’m drawing from my well of nothing when it comes to knowledge of these queens so I not only learnt a lot, but enjoyed doing so too!

Her books on the Tudor queens and Elizabeth of York were first to get me hooked and I had no idea I’d get so into other queens and historical events like the others, but I did. Fully convinced now I could read anything by this author and enjoy it to the max. The final book in a trilogy, it is the only one that I have read. The author was recommended to me by a fellow Bookstagrammer. But as for the other four (well, maybe with the exception of Philippa of Hainault, Isabella’s daughter-in-law), I was a bit more lukewarm as their stories were just less interesting and impactful and they remained mostly relegated to the shadows of men throughout their lives. At least they seemed to have happy marriages, unlike Isabella, so at least there’s that.

Using personal letters and wonderfully vivid sources, Alison Weir evokes the lives of five remarkable Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois. Although there is a lot of information, no stuffy nonfiction chronicle is this. Rather it reads more like a novel. I really liked that when Weir cited money, she gave the equivalent in today’s price; this provided a meaningful perspective on the costs. This book recounts the stories of five queen consorts of Plantagenet period, during the age of chivalry in the fourteenth century . They are Marguerite of France, wife of Edward I, Isabella of France (Edward II), Philippa of Hainault (Edward III), Anne of Bohemia, first wife of Richard II, and his second wife, Isabella of Valois Alison weir is an excellent storyteller in her fiction books, and brings that flair to this non fiction account of the Queens. She gives us an insight into the daily lives of the queens. We learn how they spent their money, where that money came from and the strength they needed to live in turbulent times. The author portrays a way of life very different to the standards of today, and uses primary sources to reveal the vast sums spent by the royals on maintaining their way of life. She puts the spotlight firmly on the queens, but also fills in the gaps of what happened to their husbands. It makes for fascinating reading; not least as she offers a (to me) new theory about the fate of Edward II, as well as some justification that Isabella did not deserve the evil reputation history has given her. We also see the origins of many of the ongoing traditions of this country.