This book review was written by Eugene Kernes
“When later Elizabeth came to the throne, she often used this same language to her people, understanding that even a virgin queen could claim the power of being “mother” of her nation as Mary had. Although these were not necessarily gifts Mary consciously gave to Elizabeth, as the first independent queen of England it was she who established a powerful rhetoric for female rule, which Elizabeth quite literally inherited.” – Maureen Quilligan, Chapter One: The Device for Succession, Page 10
“Catherine had suppressed all jousting performances in France after her husband Henri II’s death from the wound he’d taken during a joust, and in place of these dangerous combats, she had presented brilliant musical concerts, classical ballets (the elaborate geometric patterns of which she often personally choreographed,) and various feats of equestrian skill, such as running at the quintain, a small metal ring hanging from a swiveling armature.” – Maureen Quilligan, Chapter Four: “Sister” Queens, Mary Stuart and Elizabeth Tudor, Pages 108-109
“With a far smaller army, she lost the battle of Langside, and the Queen of Scots was finally out of both men and money. At that point she threw herself fully on the mercy of her sister queen in England, whom she trusted would cherish her as that sister had seemed to want to cherish her son; that sister whose gift of the gold font had sustained her wars.” – Maureen Quilligan, Chapter Five: Regicide, Republicanism, and the Death of Darnley, Page 141
Is This An Overview?
This is the story of Mary Tudor Queen of England, Elizabeth
Tudor Queen of England, Mary Stuart Queen of Scotland, and Catherine de’ Medici
Queen of France. Showing how they
interacted with each other, learned from each other, and resolved their
conflicts. The queens gave each other
gifts. Some were physical, as devices to
influence decisions and garner cooperation.
Some were intellectual, as they learned from the others experiences to
change how they ruled. They made
different relationship choices, and faced the consequences. The queens were often divided by
religion. As their regions were engaged
in the conflict between Protestants and Catholics. The queens sometimes tried to reduce
political friction, to engage in religious toleration, but their choices were
limited due to competing powers.
They were women who ruled during a time when many in their
regions, and even relatives, wanted a male sovereign. The role of women was to produce a male heir
for succession. Being female was not the
only challenge to their sovereignty, as regions were also challenging the
divine authority of monarchy. An era of
growing demand to turn monarchies into republics. Political competition was another challenge,
for the expansion of a kingdom or religion could had threatened the other
kingdoms or religions. The queens, and
other leaders, used various maneuvers to try to obtain or prevent a kingdom
from gaining more power.
Caveats?
The focus of this book is on a few events, which emphasize decisions being made on account of the sovereigns being queens rather than kings. References are made to international influences, but were given little information. This book provides an introduction to the queens era’s political schemes, which the reader can use to search for more information about the related sovereign entities and political decisions.
This book showcases sexist claims against women from the
people during the era, that effected the era’s decisions. Some of these claims are being reflected on
and remarked with sexism against the author’s male contemporaries. The remarks do not take up much space, but
create contradictions in how the author approaches sexism.
