#isabella does not deserve thatcher comparisons

[heartofstanding]

In contrast to the multifaceted figure that emerges from medieval sources, the she-wolf image of Isabella began to be perpetuated in theatre and poetry from the sixteenth century onwards, despite or perhaps as a result of the lack of satisfactory research with regard the queen. The careful balance that had characterized the medieval approach to Isabella weakened if not disappeared in modern historiography, which focused most attention on certain adverse events in Isabella’s life. Paul Doherty is rather characteristic of this approach, which one may label biased, when he called his excellent study of the queen, Isabella and the Strange Death of Edward II, thus relegating the queen’s political contribution to the history of England to a secondary role. James C. Davies argued in this regard that “the minor position she occupied before 1326 has caused her character to be neglected until the last crisis of the reign”. However, this claim is barely supported by the narrative sources from Edward II’s reign, which reflect a clear interest in the queen and her deeds at least since 1308, when she arrived to England. Although historiographical research on Isabella has grown considerably in recent years, much attention is still devoted to the scandalous events of her life while relegating her important insight into English politics to secondary consideration. Isabella became the symbol of the unfaithful wife, an adulteress, a woman of strong character and violent passions whose evil nature stood in complete contrast to the alleged morality of the English people. More than once has Isabella been accused of allowing the frail female variety in her to overcome the queen. Harold Hutchison represents in this regard just another example in a long line of critics when he refers to Isabella’s “savage temper” and in reference to her death remarks that “it is ironical that the “she wolf of France” met her peaceful end in the innocent habit of the Order of the Poor Clares”. Alison Weir, in an effort to change the balance in favor of Isabella, defines the aim of her recent book in these terms: “to restore the reputation and rehabilitate the memory of a remarkable yet grossly maligned woman, who was the victim, not of her own wickedness, but of circumstances, unscrupulous men, and the sexual prejudices of those who chose to record her story”. Such an attempt to improve Isabella’s memory while turning her into a victim of circumstances or of unscrupulous men, actually challenges the queen’s independent character and relegates Isabella to the dubious rank of a victim of circumstances. Furthermore, in the chapter devoted to her activities between 1326 and 1330 in his well-documented study on Edward II, Roy Martin Haines opts to approach Isabella as “the Iron Lady” – a rather anachronistic comparison with the former English Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

Sophia Menache, "Isabella of France, Queen of England. A Postscript." Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 90, fasc. 2, 2012.