#to fight him to the death?? sacrificed his spot as the eldest and heir to the LoA for him. potentially gave up any chance of meeting their

[starry-bi-sky]

Hi uhh I really love your Damian and Danny siblings short. I wonder if uhh will you add a more connected story.

Also how did the mirage happen and is it only Bruce and Damian who saw it?

thank you! And honestly I might add a more connected story (i posted a miscellaneous post about the danny from that post because I was still thinking about him). The more I think about it though, yeah probably? I'd like to explore that reunion between Danny and Damian at some point. Plus Danny's experience in Amity Park and his growth from there.

The post was meant to be more of a prompt for other people to take inspiration from and add their own ideas onto, so the mirage was something I kept purposely vague so that people could come up with their own theories about it. But for my take on it? Magic user in Gotham that they got in a fight with. It was a physically visual mirage so anyone who was in the room could've seen it, and it was capable of being picked up on the cameras in their mask/cowls (which i hear is a thing sometimes) so it can be replayed back in the cave.

[no1else-but-me]

Book Recs if you love Jaime and Brienne

This is a collection of all the book recs I could find from @briennesjaime​ tumblr books rec, the reddit, and my own. Please reblog your own if you have some. 

1. The Queen of Attolia which is book#2 of the The Queen’s Thief series

This is definitely more for the enemies to lovers trope. The thief even loses a hand like Jaime but under much different circumstances.  The Queen is like the colder version of Brienne.

Revenge When Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, stole Hamiathes’s Gift, the Queen of Attolia lost more than a mythical relic. She lost face. Everyone knew that Eugenides had outwitted and escaped her. To restore her reputation and reassert her power, the Queen of Attolia will go to any length and accept any help that is offered…she will risk her country to execute the perfect revenge. …but Eugenides can steal anything. And he taunts the Queen of Attolia, moving through her strongholds seemingly at will. So Attolia waits, secure in the knowledge that the Thief will slip, that he will haunt her palace one too many times. …at what price? When Eugenides finds his small mountain country at war with Attolia, he must steal a man, he must steal a queen, he must steal peace. But his greatest triumph, and his greatest loss, comes in capturing something that the Queen of Attolia thought she had sacrificed long ago… 

2. The Lumatere Chronicles 

One of my favorite series of all time. It’s character driven and it’s has many surprises. Starts off with Finnikin has lost hope like Jaime but gains it slowly over time. Evanjalin her honor and her pursuit of her quest reminds me very much of  Brienne. 

Finnikin of the Rock and his guardian, Sir Topher, have not been home to their beloved Lumatere for ten years. Not since the dark days when the royal family was murdered and the kingdom put under a terrible curse. But then Finnikin is summoned to meet Evanjalin, a young woman with an incredible claim: the heir to the throne of Lumatere, Prince Balthazar, is alive. Evanjalin is determined to return home and she is the only one who can lead them to the heir. As they journey together, Finnikin is affected by her arrogance … and her hope. He begins to believe he will see his childhood friend, Prince Balthazar, again. And that their cursed people will be able to enter Lumatere and be reunited with those trapped inside. He even believes he will find his imprisoned father. But Evanjalin is not what she seems. And the truth will test not only Finnikin’s faith in her … but in himself.

3. Howl’s Moving Castle 

This one might be a stretch but hear me out. Howl is pretty much the embodiment of Jaime but probably more vain. While, Sophie really conveys Brienne self-esteem issues but still noble in her own right. Plus, their banter very reminiscent to Jaime and Brienne. 

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.

@temporiibus recommends The Raven Cycle!!

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.” It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore. From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before. 

The Winners Trilogy

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.  One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.  But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.  Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone recommended by @realduality

Errand requiring immediate attention. Come. The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. 'He never says please', she sighed, but she gathered up her things. When Brimstone called, she always came. In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she's a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole. Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought.

The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. Hard SF, and the romance is definitely not a major plot, but one of the characters involved in the trope is legit my favorite fictional character of all time and that journey from enemy to friend to lover is a big part of it.

In his most ambitious project to date, award-winning author Kim Stanley Robinson utilizes years of research & cutting-edge science in the 1st of a trilogy chronicling the colonization of Mars: For eons, sandstorms have swept the desolate landscape. For centuries, Mars has beckoned humans to conquer its hostile climate. Now, in 2026, a group of 100 colonists is about to fulfill that destiny. John Boone, Maya Toitavna, Frank Chalmers & Arkady Bogdanov lead a terraforming mission. For some, Mars will become a passion driving them to daring acts of courage & madness. For others it offers an opportunity to strip the planet of its riches. For the genetic alchemists, it presents a chance to create a biomedical miracle, a breakthrough that could change all we know about life & death. The colonists orbit giant satellite mirrors to reflect light to the surface. Black dust sprinkled on the polar caps will capture warmth. Massive tunnels, kilometers deep, will be drilled into the mantle to create stupendous vents of hot gases. Against this backdrop of epic upheaval, rivalries, loves & friendships will form & fall to pieces--for there are those who will fight to the death to prevent Mars from ever being changed. Brilliantly imagined, breathtaking in scope & ingenuity, Red Mars is an epic scientific saga, chronicling the next step in evolution, creating a world in its entirety. It shows a future, with both glory & tarnish, that awes with complexity & inspires with vision.

The Folk of the Air

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe. Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ... Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

 @swainlake recommends the darkest powers trilogy by kelley armstrong is really good

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again. All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost - and the ghost saw me. Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House... before its skeletons come back to haunt me

@imladriss recommends: We hunt the flame by hafsah faizal

People lived because she killed. People died because he lived. Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways.  Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be. War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine. Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.

@moirindeclermont recommends  anything from Jacqueline Carey (she is a goddess and my favourite writer) but also Deborah Harkness (A discovery of witches) which is amazing, I’m obsessed with it. Nemesis by Isaac Asimov touches some themes similar to Brienne’s. Arn the knight

The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good... and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.  Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission... and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one. Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair... and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.  Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart-a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

In a hail of fire and flashing sword, as the burning city of Acre falls from the hands of the West in 1291, The Last Templar opens with a young Templar knight, his mentor, and a handful of others escaping to the sea carrying a mysterious chest entrusted to them by the Order's dying Grand Master. The ship vanishes without a trace. In present day Manhattan, four masked horsemen dressed as Templar Knights emerge from Central Park and ride up the Fifth Avenue steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the blacktie opening of a Treasures of the Vatican exhibit. Storming through the crowds, the horsemen brutally attack anyone standing between them and their prize. Attending the gala, archaeologist Tess Chaykin watches in silent terror as the leader of the horsemen hones in on one piece in particular, a strange geared device. He utters a few cryptic Latin words as he takes hold of it with reverence before leading the horsemen out and disappearing into the night. In the aftermath, an FBI investigation is led by anti-terrorist specialist Sean Reilly. Soon, he and Tess are drawn into the dark, hidden history of the crusading Knights, plunging them into a deadly game of cat and mouse with ruthless killers as they race across three continents to recover the lost secret of the Templars. 

Irissa and Kendric Series

Irissa was the last of the sorcerous Torlocs, untutored in magic and abandoned upon this decaying world by her people. Kendric was one of the Six of Swords, gifted with a legendary weapon to guard the Realms from harm. But now he was an outcast, and his death was sought with reason by the other Five. Sorceress and swordsman, they were thrown together; each filled with ancient prejudices against the other. But only by combining her uncertain powers with his remaining skills could they survive. Survive they must, however. Rule was a world formed upon magic - but now magic was failing and there would soon be no place for it. And destiny in strange guise had chosen them to make one last stand against the dark forces that were waiting at the Gate of Valna, seeking to destroy their world

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard.

But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?

Since its immediate success in 1813, Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work "her own darling child" and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen's radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England

In the medieval and fantastic realm of Tortall, Keladry of Mindelan (known as Kel) is the first girl to take advantage of the decree that permits women to train for knighthood. But not everyone in Tortall believes a woman is up to the task, and Kel faces harsh discrimination. With unparalleled determination and a knack for leadership, she captures the hearts of her peers and proves that she is not a girl to underestimate! 

[thecrocsqueen]

Lady Jane Grey and Empress Matilda

  Ok, so, I am ready as ever to go through this rant. I graduated with a Bachelor's in European Studies, so I have studied a lot of the history and culture of Europe, I have read a lot about the Tudor dynasty, and recently watched a video that showed England since before William the Conqueror. It showed the kings and the lands they controlled. The video didn't include Matilda to my disappointment, but it did include Jane. And let me tell you- I have OPINIONS. The video was nice, so I don’t want to put it on blast or anything. It is just one of those things that I feel I have a valid opinion on and like to nit-pick because HISTORY IS MY JAM.

  And, sorry if I disappoint, but I don't think Jane should be considered an actual queen of England.

  It isn't because she was only "queen" for 9 or so days or because she didn't have a coronation. That doesn't grasp the whole story or clearly define how much she lacked legitimacy as a queen. My reasons are different than those, and really aren't original. A lot of the explanation is common knowledge to many, but for some reason the Lady Jane situation is still a debate.

  But anyway, to understand the situation we have to understand the situation England had concerning its government. England has had a very long history concerning the monarch and placing checks on their power. The Tudors were still very much absolute monarchs, but the Magna Carta of 1215 made the monarch bound to the laws of the land, and they could no longer make and take away laws at will.

  So, skip forward to Henry VIII. Everyone knows about him, how he had 6 wives, and how he REALLY REALLY wanted a son. With our 20/20 vision, we make fun of him because, HELLO, ELIZABETH I!!! But he had a valid reason for his concerns (his actions were awful- just his concerns over the succession were valid), but more on why that is in a little bit.

  Well, during Henry’s time, laws and taxes were decided by Parliament. Monarchs back then still had MASSIVE power over Parliament, so it still isn’t anything like what the UK has today but Henry could not just make the laws by himself.

  With the Parliament, he created 3 different Acts of Succession, the last of these being in 1543. In this last one, he put into place the line of succession for when he was gone. This act placed Mary and Elizabeth in line after their brother (if he didn’t produce an heir, of course). Henry was smart, and added the grandchildren of his younger sister onto the line after Elizabeth. This was supposed to ensure that someone would be in line if none of his children had children of their own. The ones after Elizabeth were the Grey sisters- Lady Jane Grey being the oldest of the sisters. Funnily enough, Henry did not legitimize his daughters when he had this law put through. He did not want to legitimize those marriages, I guess. In a way it would be admitting he was wrong before. Mary would legitimize herself through Parliament, and Elizabeth would let sleeping dogs lie.

  Well, when Edward VI became king, he seriously pushed for Protestant reform. Henry VIII was famous for the split with Rome, but he was still a Catholic in his private life. He was not as into church reform and new ideas as his son was. Edward was as strongly Protestant as Mary was Catholic. And that was a problem for Edward. Now, many believe that Edward and Elizabeth were not very close to Mary, but after the death of Elizabeth’s mother, Mary and Elizabeth grew very close, and both sisters were close to their brother. However, Mary would not convert to Protestantism and this infuriated Edward. He may have still had good relations with Mary at some level, but they clashed A LOT over the fact that she would not submit to him as king to follow what he believed to be the “true religion.”

  Now, Edward wasn’t the healthiest person. At some point, he and his moochers realized he was going to die. So, to keep the country’s progress towards Protestantism (and his officials wanted to keep the power and wealth they gained and drained from the poor monarch), Edward VI made a will booting both Mary and Elizabeth off the line of succession. Now, why would he boot off Elizabeth? Elizabeth was seen as a good, Protestant princess. She would have been a great successor! NOPE, Edward was not for women rulers. Actually, many Protestants were more against women rulers than their Catholic counterparts. In 1558, John Knox, a Protestant minister in Scotland that would later debate heatedly with Mary, Queen of Scots, wrote against the idea that women could rule, citing all the usual sexist ideas of the time.

  So, then, why Jane? Jane is a woman. Why was she picked? Well, his will at first specified her (and her sisters’) MALE HEIRS as his heir. So, her and her younger sister were married and they hoped for a male offspring, but time was not on Edward’s side. Once he realized he could not wait for the Grey sisters to have children, he fixed his will to say that Jane Grey AND her male heirs were next in line. So, why not just go back to Elizabeth? Why still go for Jane? He was SUPER close to Elizabeth and Elizabeth was SUPER Protestant.

  Even with her Protestantism, it was still a no. The main reason he used was not just his personal belief against women rulers, but also the fact that both were illegitimate. THAT was what knocked Elizabeth from the spot and placed Jane there instead, and it probably saved Elizabeth’s life. Well, remember when I explained the Magna Carta and how laws worked at this point? Edward did not have time to wait for a Parliament to ratify his will as a law. So, the law of the land said one thing, and the monarch said another. But the monarch was bound to the laws of the land…

  Once Edward VI died, the officials proclaimed Jane as queen, and Mary was TICKED. Mary had faced a lot of horrible treatment in her life, but THIS? This she would not let happen, and the people weren’t having it either. We think of Henry as horrible today, but the people LOVED HIM. The people also knew who he put in the line of succession, and they wanted his daughter as it was her rightful place. So, this is where an even bigger player than laws and the Magna Carta comes into play- BIG ARMY DIPLOMACY. No matter what, the person with the bigger army gets the crown. That is how it is no matter where you look, and Mary had it. She had the law on her side, and she had the military/people with her. Edward’s officials realized this, and turned on Jane. Her FATHER was the one who arrested her.

  Now, many think Mary immediately executed her, but this isn’t the case. Mary understood that she was being used by others, and had her imprisoned in stately rooms in the Tower. It was not until the next year after revolt in Jane’s name that Mary had her executed. (Still not cool, but I wanna share the facts.)

  Anyway, with all of this, Jane had no legal legitimacy to her claim. She was part of a coup, with the Protestant officials trying to grab power with a legally illegitimate queen. If she had the force, then she would have been able to succeed, she would have been able to enforce her legitimacy, but, ALAS. She will still go down in history as the “9 day queen” (depending on how you count), and she is a fascinating historical figure. She is also a victim, for she was used and then betrayed in order to help men in their pursuit for power. She, Anne Bolyn, Mary Bolyn, and many other women were sacrificed for the benefit of their male relatives. So, I don’t disagree with her being on any list for personal reasons. She is fascinating.

  But, what about Matilda? Didn’t I say something about Matilda? Well, when I saw that she wasn’t included in the list I was sad, but I wasn’t scoffing until I saw Jane. (Again, this was a nice video, and this is just me and my personal nick-picking.)

  I would say Matilda has a better claim as the first queen of England, but that is still...messy. And it is also why Henry VIII wanted a son SO badly. See, when Matilda’s brother died, she was the only legitimate child left from her father (or only child all together, either way). Her father, Henry I, made his barons and other officials swear loyalty to her as the next monarch, but, well, that wasn’t a real game plan for them. (There is also a story that a fight between daughter and father made Henry I relieve them of this promise, but who knows). And the reason they didn’t want her as monarch was because- WAIT FOR IT- SEXISM. YAY!

(Wait, no-)

  There was also no law in place to assure her legitimacy, and England’s line of succession was messy because it was really a free-for-all amongst the king’s children, with the eldest son having the largest advantage. Women were not really seen as monarchy types back then. So, one of her cousins, Stephan, was crowned as king while she was in France, and she was NOT HAVING IT.

  In 1139, she went from France to England to get the throne back. She even had Stephan captured at one point, and was going to be crowned in Westminster. However, she lost the will of the people and the aristocracy with her attitude she gained as Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. They wanted things from her, she would not give them. She was kicked out by the London crowds, and later she traded Stephan for an ally Stephan’s allies captured (btw, Stephan’s wife, also named Matilda, was pretty awesome too).

  So, it seems, according to this, Stephan had the BIG ARMY DIPLOMACY, even tho Matilda was supposed to be the monarch instead. So, Stephan wins! Ok, that question has been answered-

Wait.

But.

For years the “Lady of the English” (the official title she was given before she was to be officially crowned) controlled part of England. She controlled the south-west of England while Stephan held the south-east and midlands. So… she was KINDA queen of at least an area for about 7 years? If she had control over it would she technically be the queen? Her and her husband DID take control over Normandy, tho that had some struggles still (which was ruled by England at the time).

  In 1148, with Stephan and Matilda at a stalemate, Matilda left for Normandy. Her son, Henry, stayed in England in her place. He was starting to play a more and more increasing role in the conflict in the 1140s. Stephan, without an heir of his own, named Henry as heir.

  Henry recognized Stephan as king, became his adopted son, and was Henry II after Stephan died. Matilda held control over Normandy with trouble. She had been turning more attention away from England and more towards governing Normandy, so really she was cool with all of this. Henry II’s accession also helped calm down the craziness in Normandy for his mom to have an easier time. She ruled there in her son’s name, her son and her had charters issued in both of their names, and Henry asked his mom for advice a lot. She was a really cool lady who helped keep political peace within the government.

  So...was she queen of the small part of England for 7 years? She was sure able to get her son on the throne. I mean, she didn’t have a coronation, but Edward VIII wasn’t taken off the list of kings and he didn’t either. Really, a coronation is more of an event and spectacle. Elizabeth I was considered queen before her coronation. It is more of a symbolic thing. But, at the end of the day, these questions will be argued and debated. And this huge mess with Matilda and Stephan (it was really bad) scared Henry VIII, the son of Henry VII, the guy who ended the War of the Roses- another fight between families for the crown. Henry VIII’s worries and concerning made a LOT of sense in his time, and he was proven right with his son being a jerk and the major Succession Question during Elizabeth I’s life. So, concerns legit without 2020 vision, but actions were VERY messed up.

  My conclusion is that, if someone wants to include Jane in the list of kings and queens of England, then they have to include Matilda. If they include Matilda, they don’t really have to include Jane. Matilda has a better claim as queen than Jane does, even if it is decided to be wrong.

  However, I think we all would rather one of those and not have Mary I, Bloody Mary as the first queen of England. That doesn’t sound good at all, and gratefully Elizabeth I was beloved, and proved women capable (even if she was sexist too).