Overview

This book examines the power held by the French medieval queens during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and their larger roles within the kingdom at a time when women were excluded from succession to the throne. Well before Catherine and Marie de’ Medici, the last medieval French queens played an essential role in the monarchy, not only because they bore the weight of their dynasty’s destiny but also because they embodied royal majesty alongside their husbands. Since women were excluded from the French crown in 1316, they were only deemed as “queen consorts.” Far from being confined solely to the private sphere, however, these queens participated in the communication of power and contributed to the proper functioning of “court society.” From Isabeau of Bavaria and her political influence during her husband’s intermittent absences to Anne of Brittany’s reign, this book sheds light on the meaning and complexity of the office of queen and ultimately the female history of power. 

Full Product Details

Author:   Murielle Gaude-Ferragu ,  Angela Krieger
Publisher:   Palgrave Macmillan
Imprint:   Palgrave Macmillan
Edition:   1st ed. 2016
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9781349930302

ISBN 10:   134993030
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   23 March 2021
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

CONTENTS The Queens of France (Fourteenth-Fifteenth Centuries) List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Part I ACCEDING TO ROYAL DIGNITY Chapter 1 MARRYING THE KING Matrimonial Strategies Royal Weddings Love and Separation: The Royal Couple   Chapter 2 MARRYING THE MONARCHY: THE QUEEN’S CORONATION The Body in All Its Majesty: The Coronation of Joan of Bourbon ‘God Save the Queen’: The Symbolism of the Queen’s Coronation The Forgotten Coronation?: Queens of the Fifteenth Century   Chapter 3 BEARING THE BLOOD OF FRANCE The Indispensability of Motherhood The Purified Woman: Lying-In and Child Rearing The Mother as Educator   Part II A WOMAN IN POLITICS: THE POWER OF THE QUEEN <   Chapter 4 THE ‘PROFESSION’ OF QUEEN Capetian Queens and Salic Law Transformations in Reginal Power: Acting in Politics Heiress Queens and Dowager Queens: The Territorial Inscription of Reginal Power   Chapter 5 THE ‘GOVERNMENT OF WOMEN’: DELEGATING POWER AND REGENCY Regency ‘Orders’: Female Power? Female Regency in Action: Seats of Power and Governance of the Kingdom The Historiographical Posterity of Women in Power: ‘Bad’ Queens   Chapter 6 THE ‘QUEEN OF CEREMONIES’ The Queen’s Public Body: The Role of Representation The Queen’s Allegorical Body: Entry Ceremonies The Queen’s Final Triumph: Death and Funerals Part III THE SYMBOLIC GOVERNMENT Chapter 7 COURTLY SOCIETY: THE QUEEN IN HER HÔTEL The Queen’s Apartments The ‘Court of Ladies’: The Queen’s Hôtel Courtly Life   Chapter 8 THE ROAD TO ETERNITY: DEVOTIONS AND THE DIVINE The Mirror of Christian Perfection The Queen as ‘Mother of the Poor’ Religious and Sacred Foundations   Chapter 9 THE QUEEN’S TREASURY: ART, LITERATURE AND POWER Art and Politics: The Queen’s Treasury Books and Culture: The Queen’s Library Queens as Cultural Advocates and Patronesses   Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index 

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Author Information

Murielle Gaude-Ferragu is University Professor of History at the Université Paris-13, Sorbonne-Paris-Cité, France.   Angela Krieger, PhD, is a translator and editor based in Paris, France.

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