The Jewel for the Crown: Reconsidering Female Kingship and Queenship in the Galfridian Historiography
Journal
Perceiving Power in Early Modern Europe
Pages
69-84
Date Issued
2016-11
Author(s)
Abstract
Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Britanniae (The History of the Kings of Britain) shaped the influential Galfridian historiography in the Middle Ages. In particular, its historiography of female kingship and queenship has captured recent scholarly attention. This chapter further analyzes a pro-female study of the Historia to differentiate between the queen consort and female reigning monarch in light of the nature of medieval English queenship. It then considers Geoffrey’s depictions of the ruling queen consort exemplified by Queen Matilda. The chapter ends with the only Galfridian representation of female king to demonstrate the subtlety between regent queenship and female kingship.
SDGs
Type
book part