White Rose of Avalon

France

  • My Top Five Films Featuring Marie Antoinette

    Today I would like to count down my five favorite films that are set at the end of the French monarchy.    These films, of course, feature Marie Antionette as a character.   The actress playing Marie Antoinette, and her talent at interpreting the role play a huge part in where the film ends up…

  • The Cultural Legend of Anne Boleyn

    Anne Boleyn is a historical figure who has obtained legendary status.    This also means that she is a figure that has been misunderstood over the years, and one that it is near impossible to entirely pin point.    There is a question over whether we could ever truly know who she was. We do…

  • Queens as Polyglots

    A polyglot is someone that speaks multiple languages, and we can see some important queens numbered among them.    Cleopatra, Elizabeth I, and Mary Queen of Scots all spoke at least six languages! It is unsurprising that royal children would be given the education that would allow them to speak multiple languages.    What is…

  • The Perrault and Grimm’s Tellings of Cinderella

    The Grimm Brothers version of Cinderella is much different from the Charles Perrault one that was made most famous as the basis of the Disney classic!    Of course it is true that both versions offer the same basic story.    An orphaned girl is left in the care of her wicked step-mother upon her…

  • The Phantom of the Opera

    Gaston Leroux’s tale of a deformed man, named Erik, haunting a beautiful young woman at an opera house in Paris is one that has become iconic.    This is likely due to the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that has been a Broadway smash since the 1980s!   This happens to be my all time favorite…

  • My Top Five Mary Queen of Scots Portrayals

    Today I would like to count down my top five Mary Queen of Scots portrayals!  Number 5: Clemence Posey Gunpowder, Treason, Plot ~This mini-series had the first part focused on Mary and the second on her son.   I love that French actress Clemence Posey played Mary.   She does a good job, and the…

  • Five Medieval Queens You Should Know!

    Today I wanted to share with my readers five medieval queens I feel that everyone should know about!   This is not a count down list of the five best, but rather just a list of amazing queens!   I have listed the queens chronologically. Number 1: Matilda of Scotland (1080 –1118), Queen of Henry…

  • Faerie Queens and Art

    Faerie Queens have long been inspiration for artists.    They factor heavily into Celtic lore and legends.   Celtic culture itself heavily influenced the Arthurian Legends!   Arthurian legends would inspire many generations of artists. Edmund Spenser wrote the epic poem The Faerie Queene during the reign of Elizabeth I.   The poem is an…

  • La Belle et la Bete

    The old French fairytale of Beauty and the Beast is famous for its depictions of love breaking a curse.    This is a common theme amongst romantic fairytales.    In the tale a young woman goes willingly into a Beast’s castle in order to save her father, who has been imprisoned within.   He has…

  • Rival Queens

    In the times of Tudor rule in England there were two rival Queens, both with claims to the throne.    The first was Elizabeth I, Queen of England and daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.   The second was Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, and the great niece of Henry VIII (Mary’s grandmother was…