Queenship in Medieval France, 1300-1500 [Hardcover]

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 dynastys 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 husbands intermittent absences to Anne of Brittanys reign, this book sheds light on the meaning and complexity of the office of queen and ultimately the female history of power. 

CONTENTS

The Queens of France (Fourteenth-Fifteenth Centuries)

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I

ACCEDING TO ROYAL DIGNITY

Chapter 1

Matrimonial Strategies

Royal Weddings

Love and Separation: The Royal Couple

Chapter 2

MARRYING THE MONARCHY: THE QUEENS CORONATION

The Body in All Its Majesty: The Coronation of Joan of Bourbon

The Forgotten Coronation?: Queens of the Fifteenth Century

 

Chapter 3

The Indispensability of Motherhood<lƒ-