Description
By (author) Adams, Tracy
Short /annotation:
Taking issue with history”s harsh treatment of a woman who ruled under difficult circumstances, Adams convincingly recasts Isabeau as a respected and competent queen.
:
The fascinating history of Isabeau of Bavaria is a tale of two queens. During her lifetime, Isabeau, the long-suffering wife of mad King Charles VI of France, was respected and revered. After her death, she was reviled as an incompetent regent, depraved adulteress, and betrayer of the throne. Asserting that there is no historical support for this posthumous reputation, Tracy Adams returns Isabeau to her rightful place in history. Adulteress and traitor-two charges long leveled against the queen-are the first subjects of Adam”s reinterpretation of medieval French history. Scholars have concluded that the myths of Isabeau”s scandalous past are just that: rumors that evolved after her death in the context of a political power struggle. Unfortunately, this has not prevented the lies from finding their way into respected studies on the period. Adams”s own work serves as a corrective, rehabilitating the reputation of the good queen and exploring the larger topic of memory and the creation of myth. Adams next challenges the general perception that the queen lacked political acumen.With her husband incapacitated by insanity, Isabeau was forced to rule a country ripped apart by feuding, power-hungry factions. Adams argues that Isabeau handled her role astutely in such a contentious environment, preserving the monarchy from the incursions of the king”s powerful male relatives. Taking issue with history”s harsh treatment of a woman who ruled under difficult circumstances, Adams convincingly recasts Isabeau as a respected and competent queen.
Table of contents:
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Isabeau of Bavaria: Her Life
2. Isabeau of Bavaria: Her Afterlife
3. Isabeau Mediatrix: Defining the Mediator Queen
4. Isabeau”s Contemporary Reputation
5. Isabeau of Bavaria and the Cour amoureuse
6. Reinterpreting the Enlèvement du dauphin
7. Revisiting the Treaty of Troyes
8. Wife, Mother, Friend
Conclusion
Appendix: Families and Allies of Isabeau and Charles VI
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Review quote:
This is a fascinating reassessment of medieval French history. Past In Review 2011
Biographical note:
Tracy Adams is a senior lecturer in French at the University of Auckland and author ofViolent Passions: Managing Love in the Medieval French Romance.
Promotional headline:
Tracy Adams has done an excellent job of showing how Isabeau of Bavaria”s evil reputation is a myth for which there is no substantial evidence. This work refashions our understanding of Isabeau”s place in the struggle between the Armagnacs and Burgundians and throws light on the circumstances out of which Christine de Pizan”s works emerged. — Karen Green, Monash University
Endorsement:
Tracy Adams has done an excellent job of showing how Isabeau of Bavaria’s evil reputation is a myth for which there is no substantial evidence. This work refashions our understanding of Isabeau’s place in the struggle between the Armagnacs and Burgundians and throws light on the circumstances out of which Christine de Pizan’s works emerged.
—Karen Green, Monash University
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