Why read Queens, Concubines, and Dowagers?

Book cover of Queens, Concubines, and Dowagers: The King's Wife in the Early Middle Ages

Book description

A biography of the queens and royal bedfellows of the 6th to the 11th centuries, providing an assessment of their political importance and the many factors that affected their personal lives.

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European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Queens, Concubines, and Dowagers as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Miriam Shadis

Author

Last, but certainly not least, Queens, Concubines, and Dowagers was a book that helped formed the field of queenship studies, now a booming industry. Stafford teaches us how to think about the meaning of queenship, the sources and limits of the queen’s power, and the evolution of her office; she tells the stories of a number of remarkable early medieval women along the way in what is now England, France, and Germany. Deeply influential for me as I sought ways to think about queenship in later periods, this book remains widely available, accessible, and influential.

From Miriam's list on The best foundational books on medieval women’s history.