For today’s post, I have decided to do a countdown of my five favorite historical fiction novels. These are in particular about Queens in the late medieval and Tudor periods. The reason they are my favorites is that it is my favorite time period. Number 5: The White Rose by Jan Westcott ~This…
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Katherine Swynford, Mistress of Royalty
For this week’s Femme Fatale Friday, I have decided to discuss the life of Katherine Swynford. Swynford was the lover of John of Gaunt, and she would become his third wife. She was also the mother of the Beaufort line through her relationship with him. Katherine Swynford is a unique figure in medieval…
Read MoreElizabeth Woodville and Anne Boleyn Parallels
For today’s post I would like to look at some of the parallels between the stories of Elizabeth Woodville and Anne Boleyn! I have written about both of these queens multiple times, and I thought looking at them both would be an interesting post. Elizabeth Woodville was the first “commoner” queen of England. …
Read MoreArtistic Interpretations of The Lady of Shallot
Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote the poem The Lady of Shallot based on Arthurian legend. His poem would be so immensely popular that it would go on to inspire many artistic interpretations (even though it was an artistic interpretation itself). Victorian age artists adored this subject! The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, especially, would be inspired by…
Read MoreGwragedd Annwn
The Gwragedd Annwn (pronounced Gareth Anoon~w in Welsh is a vowel pronounced “oo”, and “dd” in Welsh is pronounced “th”) were Welsh lake maidens. Their name literally meant “wives of the Underworld.” They were said to inhabit a watery realm of Annwn, the Celtic Underworld, or Otherworld, not like our modern conception of…
Read MoreIdylls of the King
In the nineteenth century Tennyson wrote Idylls of the King, a cycle of poetry based on the Arthurian legends. He took inspiration from the medieval poets that wrote about the legends several centuries earlier. Tennyson’s poetry was part of a nineteenth century obsession with medievalism and Arthurian legends. The poems would inspire much…
Read MoreMandolin
The mandolin is part of the lute family of stringed instruments. It has four sets of paired strings, a total of eight, that are played in pairs. The tuning of the mandolin is G,D,A,E traditionally. This instrument, or at least early forms of it, was used by medieval minstrels and troubadours. …
Read MoreMy Top Five Guinevere Re-Imaginings!
Number 5: Guinevere Trilogy by Persia Woolley ~This trilogy of books featured Guinevere in a new light, and is one of the first to show her as a heroine. Number 4: Camelot Rising Trilogy (the first two books are out so far) by Kiersten White ~In this new YA series Guinevere is really a Faerie…
Read MoreMorgan Le Fay
Morgan Le Fay was the half-sister of King Arthur in many tellings of the Arthurian legends. She was a faerie woman and sorceress, and is often depicted as an evil figure. She is mostly depicted as the mother of Mordred, although sometimes Morgause is his mother. In popular culture Morgan featured in…
Read MoreGuinevere and Isolde
The tales of legendary queens Guinevere and Isolde are very similar in many ways. Both of these woman were in love triangles where they fell in love with knights that served their husbands. Both were willing to risk their very lives for the love that consumed them. Both were nearly burned at…
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White Rose of Avalon 