Series: No
Book description courtesy of Goodreads
The formation of the Burgundian Empire by the four Valois Dukes of Burgundy would not have happened without the formidable royal and aristocratic women in their lives. These women, the wives, daughters, nieces, granddaughters and great-granddaughters, were vigorously engaged in the administration of the Burgundian empire, acting as governors and regents, making appointments, securing and making strategic marriages, raising taxes, negotiating treaties, engaging in cultural, religious and political patronage, giving birth to heirs and aiding in the military endeavours of their husbands. The history of these women involves numerous countries in Europe, including England, Scotland, France, Brittany, the Low Countries, Italy, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and many others.
Some of these women lived in luxurious comfort, and others were bullied and badgered into turning over some or all of their patrimony, allowing these all-powerful men to build an influential and powerful new state comprised of a numerous and varied collection of territories in Western Europe that existed from the late fourteenth century until the early sixteenth century.
We will meet women who were the daughters of kings, emperors, dukes and counts and even a queen regnant and a saint. The Valois dukes fully entrusted their wives with ruling in their stead while away fighting military and political wars. They used a deliberate policy of making marriages for their daughters and other female relatives into the many houses of Europe for political and territorial gains. In the end, the last Valois duke, Charles the Bold, put in motion a marriage for his daughter Mary, which would eventually bring about the end of the mighty Burgundian state, allowing it to be ruled by the House of Habsburg and absorbed into the Holy Roman Empire.
My Thoughts:
This was an ARC I was lucky to receive and has yet to be published. Focusing on first the history of the Burgundian Empire, the author establishes great background information to help the reader understand the formation of the country up to the reign of Charles the Bold. This wasn't the most interesting part for me but it did give me facts about Burgundy I'd never have found otherwise. Then she shifts her focus to the women who were either influential or reigned. This picks up in an era I'm more familiar with but wanted to know much more about. People like Margaret of England and Isabeau of Bavaria. She is especially fascinating as the wife of Charles the Mad King and mother of Henry V's wife, Catherine of Valois.
We are introduced to so many....all the way from Mary of Burgundy (influential during the Wars of the Roses) to Marie of Anjou to Margaret of Austria. What I absolutely loved about the way the book was laid out is I was able to look at the table of contents and read about the ladies I really wanted to know about first (because I'm a history/people of history nerd, lol) and couldn't wait and then go back and fill in my gaps with the other, new names.
And throughout the stories of the women and their lives were very personal. With each she includes details of their upbringing and marriages, children etc. Her research is thorough and impressive.
Why should anyone care? Well, I found that if you are a reader of say Philippa Gregory or historical fiction type books centered around the Plantagenets, Wars of the Roses, etc. then eventually you might want to know more about topics related to them. One of the ladies in this book is the mother of Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV's famous wife. Jacquetta of Luxembourg is featured because she is a member of the house of Luxembourg in Northern France. It is hard to find a lot of information on her specifically and this book gives you that.
I think this book is a wonderful historical resource about Burgundy and its many influential players on the world stage, especially during the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. I can appreciate the time, effort, and research that went into it. It is truly unique and I enjoyed it for that reason alone.
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