#Henry of Anjou

[eve-to-adam]

Elizabeth of York, fashion character design, c. 1481.

[moxyphinx]

SOPHIE OKONEDO as Margaret of Anjou in THE HOLLOW CROWN: HENRY VI, Part 1 (2016)

[blueberry-bubbles130]

We are back for another historical hypothetical folks!

And this time it is:

Think of it as a Midsomer Murders/Clue style thing.

I don’t have an answer for who the victim is. You can choose anyone you want, for the victim.

[knighthelm]

It's almost Valentine's! I was able to finish the Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou piece for my Wars of the Roses series <3

Henry VI tends to be brushed off as a mentally-ill and ineffective monarch to this day, and it's difficult to find information that does not infantalize or malign him. Margaret of Anjou, my favorite figure from this period, would was a steadfast pillar of support for Henry until the day he died. A lot of historians paint Margaret as only supporting her husband to secure the throne for their son, but I find that narrative difficult to be the only reason. Margaret campaigned for Henry's release from captivity tirelessly and worked extremely hard to gather support for his reign and even raised armies for him. While their relationship doesn't have the passion and flare that Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville did, I think their kind of devotion is exemplary in royal diplomatic marriages from the period.

[wonder-worker]

the fact that Henry II had two parents who were willing to relinquish their titles and share their authority with him (with his father even writing that he hoped Henry would one day "surpass me and all my predecessors in power and dignity") only to become known as the guy who drove all his sons into open revolt against him because he refused to give them adequate power 🤡

[angevinyaoiz]

All the blossoms in my garden 🪴

An Angevin-Plantagenets family tree I made for my medieval art collection zine, “If All The World Were Mine!” The physical edition is now available, so check it out if you can :D

[maryqos]

"The variety of accusations with Margaret [of Anjou] reveals the complexity of fifteenth-century anxieties about queenship and queenly authority. There was concern about dependence upon a foreign woman for a much needed heir to guarantee stability, fear of her potential to foster false heirs, fear of her potential to abuse her proximity to the king by drawing others close to the king at the expense of those who should have been his councilors, and fear of the potential for chaos and the subversion of right order in any daughter of Eve."

joanna laynesmith, "telling tales of adulterous queens in medieval england: from olympias of macedonia to elizabeth woodville."

[tlaquetzqui]

As Chesterton said somewhere, one obvious moral superiority of medieval to either modern or ancient society, is that in the joust, the rich people beat the shit out of each other as an entertainment, rather than paying poor people (or keeping slaves) to get beat up for them. (Okay the high salaries of pro sports muddy this, of course, but those are people of poor background, whereas the team owners are from the business elite. In medieval Europe you’d see Clark Hunt and Rob Walton out on the gridiron getting traumatic brain injury.)

[bstag]

What do you feel about the house of york

I feel like it's a medieval dynasty that one a war. That's about it.

I also think that Richard Duke of York was nothing more than a jealous cousin that saw the perfect opportunity to climb the ladder and took it, justly paying the price. Edward IV's anger over his and his brother's death is understandable and so were his actions. Too bad that he didn't saw that the Duke of York's ruthless ambitions had trickled down to his sons Richard and George before they tried it with him. I think the Woodvilles were overtly greedy and took too much of the hand that fed them making the nobility hate them, and they also paid for it. I mean, arranging prestige marriages for every single Woodville? I get it, one of them was the Queen, but come on now, they clearly overplayed.

On the whole, I find this representation of the Yorks as this typical Good HeirsTM that took their rightful place on the throne and stepped up through harsh times that persists so much to this day lame and reductive. The truth of the matter is, they were never more just and GoodTM than the Lancasters. The Lancasters successfully organized a coup and sat the throne, the Yorks did the same, demonizing Henry VI and Queen Margaret of Anjou through propaganda as a freak and an overly ambitious femme fatale respectively, while casting their teenage son as a cruel bastard. All for defending fiercely what was by right theirs (we have Shakespeare to blame for that as well).

[unicornofthemidwest]

I'm so normal about Shakespeare women who take on traditionally male roles in the narrative. I'm so normal about Helena chasing what she wants with that rabid want that's usually given to men. Helena pushing and pulling the story so she gets what she wants, while Bertram is pushed and pulled into what she wanted. Helena wanting so much it tears the story apart but puts it back together at the end (or does it?)

I'm so normal about Margaret's expanded and ahistorical journey, the way she's given her own ending because Shakespeare gives her the narrative respect usually reserved for men. The way she moves alongside Richard 3, the second overarching character of the first Henriad. Weak Henry and Strong Margaret. And Margaret, cursing the world as the last remnant of Richard's past.

And Beatrice? My God, Beatrice! Beatrice, who makes Benedick listen. Beatrice, who, despite everything she's allowed, every bit of wittiness and transgressive behavior, still can't take on the role of a man when she needs it. She can't push past what the men in her life, what Shakespeare, writing it, will allow her. In the end, I'm so normal about seeing where the limit is, where the women written by a man have to stop. What's the line they can't cross? Where do they stop being part of the narrative and become women again? Just women. Do the women get to be heroes? Villains? Real, breathing people with thoughts and feelings?

[eve-to-adam]

Elizabeth of York, fashion character design, c. 1472-1473.

The fleur-de-lys on the dress make me think of the moment when Elizabeth was engaged to Charles, the Dauphin of France.

[moxyphinx]

SOPHIE OKONEDO as Margaret of Anjou in THE HOLLOW CROWN: HENRY VI, Part 2 (2016)

[blueberry-bubbles130]

Alright everyone here’s a very stupid question!

Also yes. I have personally read fanfiction about every single one of these figures listed in the poll.

[isabelleneville]

❁ THE WHITE QUEEN 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY WEEK ❁

Day Four - House of Lancaster vs House of York >> Lancaster

[wonder-worker]

"Any assessment of the emotional component of the reconciliation of [Empress Matilda and Geoffrey of Anjou] remains speculation: the chroniclers are silent on the issue of whether [they] grew to love, hate, or like each other. We do know, from their movements and actions, that Matilda and Geoffrey eventually arrived at a businesslike arrangement with a united viewpoint toward the dynastic, geopolitical goals that had dictated their marriage in the first place."

"Matilda and Geoffrey effectively transitioned from a Divide and Rule model to a Collaborative Union from 1144 onwards, in which they worked together throughout their marriage to ensure rulership over their territories and gained their rightful lands, as well as ensuring the inheritance for their children. Matilda and Geoffrey’s political partnership can effectively be argued as the most successful through applying different models of rulership. Ultimately the Plantagenets regained Matilda’s inheritance through Henry, conquered Normandy, and produced several male heirs."

Charles Beem, The Lioness Roared: The Problems of Female Rule in English History / Gabrielle Storey, Co-Rulership, Co-operation and Competition: Queenship in the Angevin Domains, 1135-1230

[wulfhalls]

I'm sorry what's this about taking your lovers head in Margot La Reine 🤨???? If true that's kinda awesome

romance ♡