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

Product Information

Social distancing will be implemented in all parts of the arts centre, including The Pound Café Bar, which will now serve customers via table service during the day, as well as our well-ventilated auditorium, where all events will be operating with a reduced capacity Queens Of The Age Of Chivalry’ by Alison Weir is a masterpiece. I have read many of her fiction books on the lives of royal women, and those in the royal courts, but this is the first non-fiction account I have come across. Alison Weir, through meticulous research, brings us the lives of five Queens who lived through England’s Age of Chivalry. Covering the years 1299-1409, we meet five remarkable women, whose stories have never been told in such great detail and with such passion. She shows us that they were remarkable women in their own right, and not just mere appendages to the Kings, or pawns in political games. We meet Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Phillipa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois. Alison Weir is the United Kingdom’s most popular and best-selling female historian, and has sold over 3 million books worldwide. Rich in detailed research, Alison’s engaging prose has captured the interest and imagination of countless people, instilling a love of history that has influenced the career paths of historians, historical novelists and teachers, while also greatly increasing knowledge of medieval and Tudor English history among people throughout the world. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an honorary life patron of Historic Royal Palaces.

As in previous ages, a queen consort’s primary role was to produce strong male heirs, preferably more than one, when infant mortality was horrifically high, even among the most privileged. Few of Britain’s queens could match the prolific and perennially popular Philippa of Hainault, who gave her adoring Edward III no fewer than 12 healthy offspring. And few were more pitiable than the pious and persevering Anne of Bohemia, who could not conceive with the ill-fated Richard II and died barren, or Richard’s second wife, Isabella of Valois, who had not even reached puberty when he was dethroned and executed, leaving her a widow at age 10. Most of all, I found it fascinating reading about queens I had previously heard little about. There is so much detail about each one, and I take my hat off to Alison Weir at the work that goes into every book she writes. My interest was especially piqued at a theory she posits regarding Edward II. But you’ll have to read the book to find out what that was!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. Only Isabella of France made her own story, and as such, most of the book is dedicated to her. Marguerite of France and Anne of Bohemia seemed to have had happy marriages and little to no scandal surrounding them. They were remembered fondly, but seemed to not have any lasting effect on the country their husbands ruled. Philippa of Hainault had some interesting tidbits to her, such as her spending and securing of matches, and Isabella of Valois was more of a tragic child than a Queen in her own right. Edward I was one of England’s greatest medieval kings. “In build, he was handsome and of impressive stature, towering head and shoulders above the average.” His body, well preserved when his tomb was opened in 1774, was six foot two inches tall. “His brow was broad and the rest of his face regular,” apart from “a drooping of the left eyelid.” Neither this nor a slight stammer or lisp detracted from his awe-inspiring majesty. He was formidable: autocratic, forceful, fierce-tempered, fearless, and full of boundless vigor. A born leader and a talented and dynamic ruler, he was magisterial and statesmanlike, yet unscrupulous, ruthless, cruel, and occasionally violent.

If you are interested in English royal history, particularly medieval, this will be a very satisfying read. 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! 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. Hopefully, that means another literary foray into the often underappreciated and misunderstood world of female power (both subtle and overt) that helped to form good kings or compensate for the weak and cruel ones. And that, in a nutshell, is what QUEENS OF THE AGE OF CHIVALRY is all about. Rather than the end of a brilliant trilogy, it feels like the powerful “prequel” to an endlessly fascinating and ongoing story.Like few nonfiction authors of our time, Alison Weir again shows that history, when done properly, can captivate the mind and heart as well as (or maybe even better than) the most creative fiction."

Queens of the Age of Chivalry” is also somewhat muddled by its heavy dependency on the chronicles of Froissart. Although a credible primary source; it results in a one-note piece and doesn’t feel well-rounded or with enough viewpoints/perspectives. 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!

Sign Up

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.