By Jessica Minieri Cover Photo: Blanca’s initial on the ceiling of the Cathedral de Santa María la Real in Pamplona, Spain (Wikimedia Commons). In 1402, Navarrese princess, Blanca (c.1387-1441), arrived in Palermo to marry the king of Sicily, Martí “El Joven” (r. 1390-1409), in an effort to secure his throne following the death of hisContinue reading “A Queen Between Two Realms: Blanca of Navarre as Sicilian Lieutenant and Navarrese Princess, 1402-1415”
Author Archives: gabbystorey
Christina of Sweden: Queerness and Queenship in Fiction
By Amy Saunders For the third of our #PrideMonth posts, we have a special guest post from historian Amy Saunders on the iconic Christina of Sweden!
LGBTQIA+ History: Issues of Terminology
By Gabrielle Storey This piece is the second of four for Pride Month: in this discussion we briefly look at some of the issues around terminology in historical and art studies. We will be providing a specific reference piece for royal studies and sexualities at the end of the month!
Book Review: The King’s Pearl: Henry VIII and his Daughter Mary by Melita Thomas
By Johanna Strong With the growth of revisionist Marian work, scholars have begun to challenge the traditional view of Mary I, England’s first crowned queen regnant (1553-1558), as a religious zealot and tyrant. Instead, she has been revealed as a highly competent, politically savvy queen. In this revisionist scholarship, though, Mary’s personal relationship with herContinue reading “Book Review: The King’s Pearl: Henry VIII and his Daughter Mary by Melita Thomas”
The Monarchs of Pride
By Holly Marsden Cover Image: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/mar/08/rupaul-drag-race-transgender-performers-diversity Happy Pride month! To celebrate, we are going to explore a very different kind of royalty…drag queens and kings! It is firstly important to understand why the festivals, street parties and rainbow splattered vodka bottles exist. Pride celebrates queer culture, history and activism in commemorating the Stonewall Riots, whichContinue reading “The Monarchs of Pride”
Book Review: Before the Reign Falls: The Lost Words of Lady Jane Grey by David Black
By Johanna Strong *This review contains spoilers, the inclusion of which were necessary for a proper analysis of the work’s plot and character development.* As historians, we must stick to the facts. Occasionally, however, there comes a moment when every historian wonders “but what if…?”.
The Mongolian Khatuns
By Katia Wright Many scholars of Mongolian history focus on the politics and warfare which resulted in an empire that stretched from Egypt to China. However, the absence of women in these discussions does not mean that Mongolia’s women, and indeed their khatuns (or queens), had little political, social, or economic power. Royal Mongolian womenContinue reading “The Mongolian Khatuns”
Book Review: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
By Holly Marsden Queenship and Francophilia in Tolstoy’s War and Peace Tolstoy’s War and Peace was first published as a selection of short stories before its novel format in 1869. Beginning in July 1805 and ending in 1820, the epic story depicts the Napoleonic invasion of Russia and its effects on five aristocratic families. AlthoughContinue reading “Book Review: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy”
The Age of Queens in Medieval Lanka
By Bruno M. Shirley (Cornell University)Twitter: @brunomshirley Lanka’s long twelfth century has been called many things: the “Augustine Age” of Sinhala-language literature; an Age of Reform for Buddhist institutional and intellectual lineages; a Golden Age of growing internal stability and external influence across the Bay of Bengal, at least under the long reign (c. 1153-86)Continue reading “The Age of Queens in Medieval Lanka”
Book Review: The Renaissance of Lesbianism in Early Modern England by Valerie Traub
By Holly Marsden Valerie Traub’s sentiments towards queer queens in The Renaissance of Lesbianism in Early Modern England works against scholarship that renders female homoeroticism invisible prior to the Enlightenment, arguing instead that representations of queer femme desire in publications increased in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. She refers to this growth as a ‘renaissance,’Continue reading “Book Review: The Renaissance of Lesbianism in Early Modern England by Valerie Traub”
Team Queens 