#also this had the usual narrative of Margaret Beaufort surpassing her daughter-in-law in power/prominence/influence (this is not true) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wonder-worker · 14 days ago

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After the exile and attainder of her husband, Henry Holland, duke of Exeter, [Anne of York] acquired the bulk of his inheritance in 1462 with custody over her daughter and heiress, Anne Holland. The decision to make Anne femme sole was legalised in parliament. It was a testament to Edward’s willingness to bend the law for his family as the family ignored the rightful claim of the Holland family descendants such as Ralph, Lord Neville. Although it was enrolled as a royal grant, the original bill suggests it was in fact made at the duchess’s request as it bears the king’s sign manual, a note of the commons’ consent, and the royal response ‘le roy le voet’.

Alexander R. Brondarbit, Power Brockers and the Yorkist State, 1461-1485

#Posting this because I didn't know she was named femme sole 👀#Idk much about English law at that time so if he's right was it normal for the wives of attained men to automatically acquire the status?#Or was it unusual/unique to her specifically? (in which case it should be seen as the precedent later used for Margaret Beaufort)#Either way: As I keep saying Edward's willingness to disregard law and inheritances for the sake of family did not begin with his brothers #it began with Anne; Richard and Clarence probably learned from her example. (Also she most probably cheated on her husband. Slay)#anne of york duchess of Exeter #english history #women in history #my post #I was only able to read some chapters from this book from a library before I left (idk if/when I'll read the whole thing) but...#It was interesting and made some good points but I had a great deal of problems with it. Among others:#This book is specifically dedicated to Yorkist 'power brokers' and has a chapter dedicated to women #and yet somehow never once mentioned or explored how the queen of England was appointed to royal councils for the princes? Okay...#It's bizarre how more time was spent exploring Cecily Neville and even more oddly MoA (how is she even relevant here lol?) than EW #also this had the usual narrative of Margaret Beaufort surpassing her daughter-in-law in power/prominence/influence (this is not true)#also Brondarbit claiming that Elizabeth Jane Shore was 'believed to hold some influence over [Edward]' ... no she wasn't lol #Assuming they did have an affair (which is plausible but unproven) there is no current proof of influence on her part - quite the opposite #Even apart from the fact that post-contemporaries - including Thomas More - literally couldn't even remember her name #She received no official grants/rewards from Edward as former mistresses did & was absent in every known case of intercession in his reign #We ALREADY KNOW who was believed to be influential with Edward as examples make that clear; Shore was very decidedly not one of them #Also More - the first/only one to link her to him in the first place -also claims that Edward stopped having affairs in his last years. So.#Sorry I'm going to stop rambling I just hate these minor-yet-persistent misconceptions

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