#*Yes* - Isabella's presence in both those occasions is certainly interesting and important when talking about her life | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wonder-worker · 6 months ago

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are there any books you'd recommend for Isabelle of Angouleme?

Hi! I’m really not an expert on Isabella of Angouleme so I'm probably not the best person to ask for recommendations for her. Here are some I've heard of, though I haven't read all of them:

"Isabella of Angouleme: John's Jezebel" by Nicholas Vincent (King John: New Interpretations). I haven't read it myself but I've heard good things!

“Maternal Abandonment and Surrogate Caregivers: Isabella of Angoulême and Her Children by King John” by Louise J. Wilkinson (Virtuous or Villainess? The Image of the Royal Mother from the Early Medieval to the Early Modern Era). It focuses more-so on Isabella's tenure as queen, the period shortly after John's death, and her decision to leave England. Despite what the title may imply, it's sympathetic to Isabella and analyzes her situation in detail.

“Co-Operation, Co-Rulership and Competition: Queenship in the Angevin Domains 1135-1230” by Gabrielle Storey, her PHD thesis which collectively focuses on Isabella of Angouleme along with Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Berengaria of Navarre. You can read/download it here, it's an excellent piece for all four women.

Sally Spong has written/is writing:

Isabella of Angouleme: The Vanished Queen (Norman to Early Plantagenet Consorts). You can see her conclusion here. It's nuanced and sympathetic, though not without its issues and pre-conceived notions.

Isabella of Gloucester and Isabella of Angouleme: Female Lordship, Queenship, Power, and Authority 1189-1220 (PHD thesis University of East Anglia).

“Isabelle d’Angouleme, By the Grace of God, Queen” by William Chester Jordan. You can read it online here, though I will say that it's ... very very questionable, accepting the sensational claims of lot of unreliable sources (including the idea of John abducting Isabella in a fit of uncontrollable infatuation) entirely at face-value.

“The Marriage and Coronation of Isabelle of Angouleme” by H.G. Richardson, available here on JSTOR.

Isabella has also been the subject of two complete French biographies till date:

"Isabelle d’Angoulême, reine d’Angleterre" (Aquitaine: 1998) by Sophie Fougere.

"Isabelle d’Angoulême, comtesse-reine et son temps (1186-1246)" [Actes du colloque tenu à Lusignan, 8 au 10 novembre 1996] by Gabriel Biancotto, Robert Favreau and Piotr Skubiszewski.

There are also a few blog posts about her (here and here) which may help if you want a brief overview of her life, though they can get a little sensationalistic sometimes.

Hope this helps! If anyone knows any others, please feel free to add on!

#I'm so sorry it took so long to answer! I'll add more if I find them #ask #Isabella of Angouleme #angevins #Sally Spong's chapter on Isabella is...complicated #It's detailed and sympathetic and I think it highlights some interesting aspects of Isabella's life #But it's also dependent on her own very fixed pre-conceived notions re Isabella's role as queen #Spong takes issue with other historians' observations about Isabella but...doesn't actually try to debunk the views herself?#It ends up seeming as though she's deliberately missing the point #And I think by reading things in the best possible light she ends up downplaying what may have been complicated experiences for Isabella #For example she disagrees with the idea that John was constraining Isabella's role by highlighting her ceremonial presence at court #But historians like Wilkinson HAVE highlighted this as well and emphasized how the 'ceremonial importance of Isabella's position as queen #consort and the dynastic significance of her maternity' were recognized and honored #But that does not discount or nullify the way Isabella's role does seem to have been constrained elsewhere by John #Namely her lack of control over her lands (many of which were granted away by John) and probable lack of access to queen's gold #Along with her absence from charters and the notable lack of prayers for her welfare save a single exception in 1204 #Spong also disagrees with the idea that Isabella was excluded from her son's governance after John's death by highlighting her #presence at his coronation and (months later) at the peace talks between England and France #Which is - again - sort of missing the point??#*Yes* - Isabella's presence in both those occasions is certainly interesting and important when talking about her life #But that does not change the fact that Isabella seems to have been either remote or excluded from central government #She was not directing or working with the council in terms of governance but seems to have been at a distance from power #Which is made even more clear when we look at her charters: her witness lists were comprised of more or less politically insignificant #figures and included no men associated with her son's regency council #It's a striking contrast to the former roles that Empress Matilda and Eleanor of Aquitaine had for their sons #With those very dynamic precedents in place I do think Isabella's remoteness from her son's government is very notable #And I feel like that's...very important when discussing her decision to return to Angouleme?#But because Spong is keen to view Isabella's circumstances in the best light possible she sort of dismisses these discussions #& potential difficulties #It got rather frustrating to read

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