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Book Review: The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court

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Heidi over at Adventures of a Tudor Nerd: Exploring the 16th Century and Beyond has read and reviewed The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court. Have a look at her review and order your copy here for delivery by Christmas: The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe at Blackwell’s booksellers

Throughout European history, we tend to think about the countries as a whole when it comes to the political sphere of influence. We think of the big countries like France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, and England as having the most impact, but we have to consider that during the Middle Ages, duchies held immense power. Take, for example, the Duchy of Burgundy, also known as the Burgundian Empire. It was a part of France, but that does not mean that the dukes stayed on the side of the French. The Burgundians used their influence to expand and marry into the medieval European families, affecting European history as a whole. While we tend to focus on the Dukes of Burgundy, we should be paying attention to the women of this duchy. That is why Susan Abernethy chose to focus on these women in her latest book, “The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court.”

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book. I enjoyed Susan Abernethy’s first book about Catherine of Braganza. When I heard that she was writing a book about medieval Burgundian women, I was intrigued. I know a little bit about historical figures connected to Burgundy, but I didn’t know much about the history of the duchy itself, so I was excited to learn more.

Abernethy begins by giving her readers a brief history of how Burgundy became a kingdom and a duchy of France. While the history of Burgundy is extensive, we are mainly focusing on the Valois Dukes of Burgundy and the women in their lives. The Valois Dukes of Burgundy were Philip the Bold, John the Fearless, Philip the Good, and Charles the Bold. While this is primarily about the women of Burgundy, it is important to understand the political and military landscape that these women had to deal with in Burgundy and other countries during this time.

The bulk of this book focuses on the women of the Burgundian empire, starting with Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant, in the 13th century, and ending with Queen Juana of Castile, in the 16th century. We get to hear stories about duchesses and queens, countesses and diplomats, and even a saint. They had to deal with wars, international diplomacy, family drama, and husbands who were not faithful. There were some familiar figures like Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scots, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy, and Margaret of Austria, but the majority of these women were new to me, which was very exciting.

It’s a lot of ground to cover, but Abernethy has a way of telling the stories of women comprehensively. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Burgundy and these extraordinary women who made the duchy an empire. If you are someone who wants to learn about the Duchy of Burgundy, I would recommend you read “The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court” by Susan Abernethy.

Autumn Sale – Books available for 30% off

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Pen & Sword is having an autumn sale! You can pre-order my upcoming book, The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court for 30% off. Pre-order your copy today! (UK residents from the Pen & Sword website only until October 31. Book will be released on October 30)

The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court

You can also purchase Charles II’s Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza for 30% off

Book Review: “Canticle” by Janet Rich Edwards ~ A guest review by Eric Boss

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Set in the 13th century and in the city of Brugge (Bruges) this complex novel of faith, fairness, hypocrisy and the plight of women in a world of men fills in many voids in the contemporary understanding of the role of female mystics and the place of women in the church. Although much is known about the beguines, a sect of female monks prevalent in Europe during the years before Protestantism took hold, the intimate personal view revealed here touches close to the emotional life of these remarkable people.

Aleys is a young girl born to a family of wool merchants who is visited by visions of a divine source urging her to find her way to God. The images she sees are bright, compelling, frightening and profound. When she voices a wish to become part of the Franciscan order her family is taken aback, since she has agreed to marry into a house of wealth that will assure her father a place in the guild he desperately seeks. Lukas, a Franciscan friar becomes her mentor although he is perplexed that she, a mere girl, should be privy to such holy calling when his own dedication and fervor have left him without such divine inspiration. Through a series of miracles Aleys performs and the devious machinations of the local bishop, a jealous and avaricious man who is more concerned with his own promotion within the church than real religious matters she is made an anchorite, sequestered from life in a cell attached to the local church.

How Aleys deals with not only the passionate response of the people of Brugge but the plots devised by the bishop is the meat of the story. It is an intimate look at the joy and sorrow of the true prophet, blessed and cursed with vivid images and an emotional bonding with Jesus, Mary and God. A thread dealing with the clandestine translation of the gospel into Dutch for the benefit of common folk who have only had access to the words of the Bible through priests who often did not understand the Latin or the meaning of the verses complicates the lives of Aleys, the beguines, and Lukas, her tortured mentor.

An understanding of the genesis of saints and martyrs who dominated much of the religious thought of the time is available to the reader who wishes to understand more about Christianity, women and the Church. A potent narrative illuminating the rapture and the pain of the zealots who often found themselves at odds with the established keepers of the faith is limned with skill and clear evidence of extensive research and soul-searching on the part of this author who is an academic as well as a novelist.

Shelf Talker: An intimate look into the lives of religious visionaries who became martyrs and saints as well as the intriguing sect of the beguines, a female sect of monks could easily be the basis of a course on women’s issues and/or comparative religion. Well written, compelling narrative and a gripping personal story of a young girl’s transformation from common to divine.

Discount available for Charles II’s Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza

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Blackwell’s now has copies of Charles II’s Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza available and they are offering a 10% discount and free shipping to the US. This is the best price yet. Order your copy today!

Blackwell’s Bookseller

Amazon is also offering the book at a reduced price for pre-order to the US

Amazon.com Pre-Order

Book Deal: 25% off Charles II’s Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza

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Barnes and Noble US is offering members 25% of pre-orders until April 25, 2025. Order your copy of Charles II’s Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza today for delivery on June 30th.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/charles-iis-portuguese-queen-susan-abernethy/1147058576?ean=9781036121648

Charles II’s Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza is now available for pre-order

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Exciting News! The Freelance History Writer’s debut book Charles II’s Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza is now available for pre-order. Click on the links below and order your copy today.

To order for shipping to the United States:

From Blackwell’s Booksellers

To order for shipping to the UK and elsewhere in the world:

From Amazon.co.uk

From Pen and Sword publishers

Book Review: “The Catskills: Its History and How It Changed America” by Stephen M. Silverman and Raphael D. Silver

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The Catskills: Its History and How It Changed America

Having been a scholar of Western European history for many decades, I had managed to convince myself that American history was boring and not on the same level. Reading this book has demonstrated I have clearly been misguided. After seeing a delightful documentary about the Catskills, known as the Borsht Belt and the Sour Cream Alps, I purchased this book. We are talking mid-twentieth history here and the author served as a talking head in the film. My interest had been piqued.

I have fond memories of my parents taking me to see Walt Disney’s animated film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (I am showing my age here) based on a story by Washington Irving. The headless horseman seemed pretty spooky at my young age. At the time, I did not realize the setting was the Catskills. Then, movie director Michael Mann created what I consider the ultimate version of James Fenimore Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans in 1992. Romantic and filled with realistic battle scenes, the mountains of North Carolina were used in the film to recreate the Catskills for the story’s setting.

Certainly battles and war make history interesting and Silverman and Silver relate how the fighting impacted the Catskills geographic area during the American Revolution. But even more interesting is their insight into the cultural, social and artistic history. The stories of the lives of Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper and the artist Thomas Cole, considered one of the founding fathers of the Hudson River School, are distinctly American stories. This was an era when the newly independent nation and its people were finding their way in deciding what it meant to be American. Pretty riveting stuff.

The era of the Borsht Belt, as depicted, makes me smile. What is more fun than learning how Americans spent their summer vacations. And how many of our favorite artists got their start performing in the hotels of the Catskills? Too many to count.

 The Catskills is full of pleasant surprises and tantalizing historical facts, especially about certain personalities. There are plenty of illustrations with paintings and pictures, adding pizazz to the writing. This book has restored my interest in American history.

Book Review: “Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick” by Nathen Amin

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My initial reaction of disbelief to the new ‘revelations’ regarding the Princes in the Tower has not changed, even after viewing the Channel 4 program on US Public TV. In fact, that program was just embarrassing. There is no doubt the documents discovered and viewed are authentic and from the time period in question. Of course, Maximilian provided troops and supplies. Yes, Perkin Warbeck promised the ruler of Saxony he would repay his loan of three hundred thousand florins (worth about $3.4 million dollars in today’s money). Yes, Warbeck signed documents “Richard of England”. These are indisputable facts.

However, these documents are not proof the princes lived. Can anyone explain to me how the actual Richard, Duke of York, assuming he escaped from the Tower of London, was in possession of a royal seal at the age of nine years old?  And, after traveling all over Europe as a young child, how did he still have that seal to sign and authenticate a document in his later years? They never raised this question in the program. And Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy naming a room in her palace ‘Richard’s room’ is not proof the actual prince lived.

The dialogue in the scene at the site of the Battle of Stoke Field was a bewildering muddle. Was it a ten-year-old boy at the battle? Or was it the sixteen-year-old King Edward V? The chronicles are also confused as Lambert Simnel claimed at first to be the second son of King Edward IV, Richard, Duke of York. When there were rumors that Edward, Earl of Warwick, (someone who actually did have a claim to the throne), had died, Simnel (or those who promoted him) proclaimed him to be Warwick. At no time did the boy profess to be King Edward V. This is really an unbelievable stretch by the presenters.

The scene with the biographer of Perkin Warbeck was particularly surreal. Reciting a story straight out of historical fiction, she made the events seem totally unbelievable. The look on the lawyer’s face was priceless. What I found most egregious is how the entire program was presented without any historical context whatsoever.

The life and times of these pretenders and the noblemen and rulers who promoted him must be taken in context. In order to spook King Henry VII, the ruler of a new dynasty, they all had their own personal agendas. If Perkin Warbeck really was the true king, why did nobody rise up in support of him in his three attempts to invade England? The story of Warbeck in particular had an element of implausibility.  But it really did happen and it’s one of the reasons history is so intriguing and fun.

I would urge everyone to read Nathen Amin’s latest book, “Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick”.  This is a measured, even handed account of what really happened regarding the men who feigned being the missing Princes in the Tower, putting them in their proper context in history.

Book Review: “The Waning of the Middle Ages” by Johan Huizinga

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Personal note: This book was on my shelf of my father’s extensive book collection and I remember being intrigued by it as a young child. Perhaps it was just the cover which probably had some Flemish piece of art on it. Or maybe my interest in the Middle Ages began at an early age. Whatever the case, I purchased a copy of it a while ago and recently read it.

In doing research in the reigns of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy, this book always pops up as a reference. I had the impression the subject of the book was the Middle Ages in general but upon learning Huizinga wrote about Burgundy and France, it seemed like it was time to dive in. Huizinga states he set out to write about medieval art as the Middle Ages were transitioning into the Renaissance. But he discovered, in order to explain the art, he had to delve into the medieval mindset.

To my surprise, Huizinga gives a complete description of how medieval people viewed the world. The first chapter alone, titled “The Violent Tenor of Life” is full of erudite gems, acknowledging the contrasts between suffering and joy, adversity and happiness, in which every event and action is embodied in expressive and solemn forms to the dignity of ritual. Calamities and indigence were difficult to guard against. All things in life were proud and cruel at the same time and presented themselves to the mind in violent contrasts and impressive forms.

Huizinga talks of the uninterrupted spectacles of executions, the luxurious entries of princes, the jousting tournaments, the religious and spiritual processions, sermons of itinerant preachers, religious reverence and pomp and grandeur and the emotions and tears of public mourning. He discusses chivalry and courtly love, the poetry of the troubadours and writers, as well as the prose and the lives of the religious in monasteries and convents. The lords of the era lived a life of honor, revenge, pride and asceticism. The fashion of the times mirrored these values, with the long-pointed toes of shoes, sumptuous fabrics and furs and the high hennins and the shaved foreheads and temples of the women.

Religious thought is crystalized into images. The art of the era followed fixed principles, mostly religious and classical themes with a strict hierarchy. The only way an artist could put his personal touch to a painting was by adding specific and minute details in the background. The sculptors followed these same principles although they had less leeway in expressing themselves than the painters.

Dance of Death images

One chapter in particular I found fascinating: “The Vision of Death”. The words and sermons of preachers morphed into expressing themselves into the popular woodcut. An excellent of example would be Hans Holbein the Younger’s “Dance of Death” series of woodcuts from the early 1520’s. There were poems and treatises on expressing the violence of death, the putrefying corpse and details of decomposition. These were turned into paintings and sculptures, immortalized in memento mori and seen in cadaver monuments and images of the macabre dance.

Cadaver monument

Huizinga’s language and expression are exquisite. He distills the writings and art of the age into portraying the medieval mindset as the Middle Ages came to a close. Admittedly, if I had read this book ten years ago, it might not have made sense. But after studying medieval times for many years now, it all comes together in describing what I have learned. His words explain the hysterics of Margery Kempe in her autobiography. It clarifies why the people of England during the reign of King Henry VIII didn’t conceive of him as a monster. This book is a classic and should be read by anyone who aspires to learn about the Middle Ages.

Book Review: “Isabella of Castile: Europe’s First Great Queen” by Giles Tremlett

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The Freelance History Writer has previously reviewed two other biographies of Isabella of Castile:  Here and Here.

I’ve had this volume on my shelf for some time and having recently decided to do some research on Isabella, finally read it. Tremlett’s opening page has two quotes about this formidable queen. ‘No woman in history has exceeded her achievement’ from Hugh Thomas, “Rivers of Gold: The Rise of the Spanish Empire” and ‘Probably the most important person in our history’ from Manuel Fernández Á lvarez, “Isabel la Católica”.

From the first page of this book, I was hooked. Tremlett gives us a well-organized and well-thought-out, chronological, presentation of Isabella’s life, from the reign of her father to her death. Isabella’s gutsy seizure of the throne after the death of her half-brother King Enrique IV had me on the edge of my seat. She quickly neutralized Enrique’s daughter Juana la Beltraneja to take power. It’s impossible to know if Juana was illegitimate or Enrique’s actual daughter but Tremlett makes a convincing case that she was legitimate.

Isabella’s first great political move was to marry Ferdinand of Aragon and unite their two kingdoms, even though they were ruled separately. The politics of the unification of Spain are complicated but Tremlett explains it well, telling us the good, the bad and the ugly about the rule of these two monarchs who formed an exceedingly effective partnership. He explains how Isabella ruled in a manner where she was loved and feared all at once, and does this without any judgements. There’s good information on her upbringing, her struggle to come to power, her ability to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors and her treatment of the Muslims and Jews, as well as the decision by both Ferdinand and Isabella to begin the Spanish Inquisition.

The author has a good section regarding the voyages of Christopher Columbus and other explorers promoted and sponsored by the Queen. He gives us the lives of the children of Ferdinand and Isabella. We can really get a glimpse of what her personality was really like and the dynamic of the entire family. Reading about her death and her spiritual and mental struggles is very touching. She died knowing the reign of her daughter Juana would not be successful. Tremlett manages to humanize Isabella.

While I can highly recommend all three of these biographies, Tremlett’s volume is not quite as academic in tone as Peggy Liss’ book and is somewhat more detailed than Downey’s. All three will give the reader a well-rounded view of Isabella of Castile, Europe’s first great Queen. I’m looking forward to reading Tremlett’s book about Isabella’s daughter, Catherine of Aragon.