The title of The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England is misleading. The descriptions of the “warrior queens” and the language used to describe them is overwhelmingly negative, when queens are talked about at all. Through the 245 years of Plantagenet rule, to the author, Dan Jones, only three queens warranted more description than their place of origin, children, and death. Even as he did mention the three, Empress Matilda, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Queen Isabella of France, they were given mere paragraphs in the greater chapters of kings. These powerful woman faced a patriarchal society that trapped them and now they are trapped by the musings of an author who ignored them. Empress Matilda was denied the throne of England due to the fact that she had the misfortune to be born a woman. She fought a civil war against King Stephen for years and managed to control half of England. Nevertheless, Dan Jones is able to make her as light a figure as possible. He focuses on Stephen and ignores Matilda, especially after Henry II, Matilda’s son, comes into the picture. …show more content…
She managed three sons through their rules as kings, and dealt with two kings for husbands. When she was thirteen, she inherited the duchy of Aquitaine, a place that was beautiful and run by feudal lords under the duchy. According to the author, “this was no place for a thirteen-year-old girl to rule”, forgetting, of course, that many kings were on throne at the age of nine and girls married off younger. Eleanor married Louis VII of France, but their union was ill-matched, and they had only two daughters. However, Dan Jones interjects that their union might have survived “had Eleanor produced a male heir.” He speaks as if Eleanor could simply produce one with magic or asexual reproduction. That attitude might have been prevalent in Eleanor’s day but to hear it from a modern man is disturbing and undoubtedly
William the Conqueror and his Patronage William I, better known as William the Conqueror, began his medieval and political career at a young age when his father left him to go on a crusade. Effectively William became the Duke of Normandy. He had to fight against other members of the Norman royalty who desired William's land and treasure. William learned at an early age that the men who ruled Europe during the middle ages were primarily interested in their own greed at the expense of all else, including the concepts chivalry and honor. He soon became a feared military commander, conquering all in Normandy who would oppose his interests.
Marie de France’s “Lanval” is a brilliantly witty and captivating narrative poem—one illustrating a knight’s unyielding honor and loyalty to his king as well as his enduring chivalric devotion to the woman he loves. Written in the twelfth century, amidst a time when women were looked down upon and considered useless and unnecessary, Marie’s portrayal of a knight needing to be rescued by his female lover breathes comic irony into this otherwise misogynistic and antifeminist world. In addition to this cleverly depicted romance, a further literary work, Geoffrey Chaucer’s early fifteenth century “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” extends its own explicitly satirical outlook
Eleanor was the daughter of one of the wealthiest Dukes: Willian X. For that reason, growing up, she had an excellent education. She was only fifteen years old when her father died and since he had no successors, Eleanor inherited all of his affairs. After taking the throne, she became one of the most desirable woman in Europe.
Eleanor was the eldest of three offspring of William X, the Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitiers (also one of the first Troubadours poets) and Eleanor Chatelleraul de Rochefourcaulb. As a child, Eleanor was educated in subjects girls were not supposed to learn. For example, she learned how to read and was educated in Latin, and she learned to ride a horse at a very young age. Her only brother died as a child, thus making Eleanor their father's heir. When Eleanor was 15 years old, William died and Eleanor became the Duchess of Aquitaine. She married Louis VII, the future king of France , a few months later.
Like many other women of her time Eleanor came from a long line of noble and royal blood. Her lineage can be traced back to the earliest kings of both England and France.(follow link to take a look at Eleanor’s very long family tree http://www.my-ged.com/db/page/scokin/12251) Her father William X was the son of France’s first troubadour, William IX and Eleanor’s early life was saturated with culture and learning. The court of her father and grandfather was thought to be the main culture center of the time. At age 15, with her father’s passing, Eleanor became the sole heiress and ruler of the largest duchy in France – Aquitane. Eleanor was then betrothed to Louis VII of France in order to unite their vast territories. In fifteen years however, Eleanor’s marriage and queenship were over. The pope on the pretext of close kinship ties annulled her unhappy marriage to Louis. At age 30 Eleanor had given up her throne and her daughters and returned to Aquitane to rule. Within a few years Eleanor was married to Henry Plantengent, the Duke of Normandy and ruler of the second most powerful duchy in France (second to her own Aquitane). In 1154 Henry was crowned King of England and Eleanor was now Queen of England, duchess of Aquitane and duchess of Normandy. Eleanor and Henry had eight children together, including Richard the Lionheart and John. In 1173, afte...
Anglo-Saxon women are objects who are gifts to generate a fragile peace. Bloody combat between men attempting to earn fame embodies the Anglo-Saxon era. But does history include women? No, in fact, most women in the epic poem Beowulf are unworthy of even a name. Men trap women as objects; those who rebel become infamous monsters in society’s eyes. Because Anglo-Saxon men view women as objects, they are unable to control any aspect of their lives--no matter if she is royalty or the lowest of all mothers.
For the most part, Beowulf’s characteristics describe those of a triumphant warrior who played a major role in defending the lives of his fellow citizens, while leading a thriving country. Although Beowulf soon became king, he died for his people, and was remembered as a victorious fighter. Beowulf is at least in part a study of kingship because it discusses the qualities that produce a good king, the disadvantages during his rule and how he overcame them, and the problems that arose upon his death.
In the Middle Ages, the roles of women became less restricted and confined and women became more opinionated and vocal. Sir Gawain and The Green Knight presents Lady Bertilak, the wife of Sir Bertilak, as a woman who seems to possess some supernatural powers who seduces Sir Gawain, and Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath Prologue and Tale, present women who are determined to have power and gain sovereignty over the men in their lives. The female characters are very openly sensual and honest about their wants and desires. It is true that it is Morgan the Fay who is pulling the strings in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; nevertheless the Gawain poet still gives her a role that empowers her. Alison in The Wife if Bath Prologue represents the voice of feminism and paves the way for a discourse in the relationships between husbands and wives and the role of the woman in society.
Briscoe, Alexandra. “Elizabeth I: An Overview.” BBC. BBC, 17 February 2011. Web. 30 April 2014.
Queen Elizabeth I, also known as the “Iron Queen”, was a remarkable woman of her time, she ruled with great power and longevity. She was one of the greatest feminist of time. Coming to the throne in 1558, she took the place of her father, Henry VIII. She was given one of the most difficult jobs fit for a man or King, ruling England. At the time women were second class citizens, they could not vote nor own properties and such. Surprising England with her intelligence and fierce rulings, she changed herself to make better decisions. She proved through her rulings, to everyone that females were strong and could rule just as well as a king. She refused to marry, giving a feeling of “I don’t need a man for anything.” The Queen was responsible for giving females a voice in literature and it is shown through Shakespeare’s writings.
Upon the death of her sister--in November of 1558--Elizabeth ascended to the thrown of England. Until Mary’s rule, no woman--apart from the unrecognized rule of Matilda, daughter of Henry I--had ruled England of her own right1. Much like her sister, Elizabeth began her rule widely accepted and welcomed2. There were, however, still many who felt that women were unable to rule, being that women were said to be the weaker sex. John Knox argued that, “God by the order of his creation hath spoiled women of authority and dominion, [and] also that man hath seen, proved and pronounced just causes why that it so should be.”3 Women had always been no more then property, first to their fathers and then their husbands. If a women were to be the anointed queen of a realm of her own right and then marry, whom was beholden to whom? A woman was to do as instructed by her husband in all things, yet a sovereign was to be under the command of God only.
When you hear of historical figures that “conquered” a certain time period, you think of barbarians, spartans, or other gruesome, battle-tested men. While William I, the King of England and Duke of Normandy, was also nicknamed the “Conqueror”, he achieved success reigning over his time period in very different ways than that of Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great. Regardless of his path to success, William I played a huge part in the religious evolution of England. Using his advantageous leadership position, William I was able to be prosperous for many decades. His illustrious career is historical proof that a country does not need to be overtaken by brute force alone. William the Conqueror was a very commendable leader, and he used his knowledge, leadership, and military prowess to conquer multiple countries for almost the entirety of his life.
Thanks to her father, “She was placed under the guardianship of the king of France, and within hours was betrothed to his son and heir, Louis” (History.com). The King was getting very sick so he was most likely desperate to find a future queen, she just got lucky that it was her. “In 1152 the marriage was annulled and her vast estates reverted to Eleanor's control. Within a year, at age thirty, she married twenty year old Henry who two years later became king of England” (womeninworldhistory.com). She must have been desperate for power if she were to marry someone ten years younger than her when she could’ve married someone else.
Sara Mendelson and Patricia Crawford, Women in Early Modern England 1550-1720 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 37-9 Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/journals/parergon/v019/19.1.crawford.pdf
Greaves, Richard L. “Tudor, House of.” World Book Advanced. World Book, 2014. Web. 6 Feb.