la dame infortunée

chloe. 30. uk. mainly medieval princesses.

[alayne-stones]

JEYNSA 2026 Day Two: Stolen Girlhood

[themonsterousregimentofwomens]

The Vision of Catherine of Aragon by Henry Fuseli (1781)

[alayne-stones]

JEYNSA 2026 Day One: Childhood & Separation

[weepingwidar]

Georg Wilson (British, 1998) - Strange Pastoral (2025)

[thunderstruck9]

Georg Wilson (British, 1998), Strange Pastoral, 2025. Oil on panel, 60 x 50 cm.

[history-of-fashion]

ab. 1436 Paolo Uccello - Adoration of the Child with saints Hieronymus, Magdalena and Julian

(Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe)

[margaritiques]

Between July and November 1504, Philip discovered a plan of Juana’s to slip out of Brussels by night, take refuge in a monastery, and from there continue to a seaport and re-embark for Spain. His dismissal of several of Juana’s Spanish servants, and the dismissal or retirement of Jeanne d’Halewijn, took place at this time, although it is unclear to what extent such dismissals related to the escape plan, or to rumours of a plot to abduct Charles. Philip responded to these plans, or rumours of plans, and to Juana’s fierce resistance to the dismissal of her slaves, or former slaves, by locking her in her rooms. These were above Philip’s and connected by a spiral staircase. All night she banged on the floor with a ‘stone’ or ‘stick’ and tried to tear up the floorboards with a knife. The next day she told him she would die rather than do anything he wanted. The ambassadors reported that: “Given that the Princess did not want any other company than her slaves, owing to her frequent bathing and hair-washing [which], according to the doctors, caused her much harm, the Prince agreed to dismiss them.” The ambassadors added that Juana had reportedly struck one slave and “taken it into her head to mark their faces.”

On Juana of Castile's attempted flight to Spain in 1504, her husband Philip the Handsome's dismissal of servants and enslaved persons in her household, and Juana's violent responses to these dismissals.

Excerpt from Juana I: Legitimacy and Conflict in Sixteenth-Century Castile by Gillian B. Fleming, published 2018.

[daewithmon]

Dyanna dearly enjoys visiting Jena.

It is a welcome respite to spend a few days sharing family dinners. The two woman laugh as they watch the children intercept their fathers whilst playing with wooden swords.

Things Dyanna Loves pt2

[mushimallo]

yearning for a soulmate that you've never met

[anneboleynqueen]

“On Sunday morning, accompanied by all the said lords and gentlemen, she went on foot from her lodging to the church, the whole of the road being covered with cloth, and being about the length of the garden of Chantilly. All the bishops and abbots went to meet her, and conducted her to the church. After hearing mass, she mounted upon a platform before the great altar, covered with red cloth. The place where she was seated, which was elevated on two steps, was covered with tapestry. She remained there during the service, after being crowned by the archbishop of Canterbury, who delivered the crown to her, and consecrated her in front of the high altar. That day the duke of Suffolk was Grand Master, and constantly stood near the Queen with a large white rod in his hand. My lord William and the Great Chamberlain were also near her. Behind her were many ladies, duchesses, and countesses, attired in scarlet, in cloaks furred with ermines —such as are usually worn by duchesses and countesses,—and in bonnets. The dukes, earls, and knights were likewise clothed in scarlet robes, furred with ermines, like the first presidents of Paris, with their hoods. The coronation over, the Queen was led back again with the same company as she came, excepting some bishops, into a great hall, which had been prepared for her to dine in. The table was very long, and the Archbishop was seated a considerable distance from her. She had at her feet two ladies, seated under the table to serve her secretly with what she might need ; and two others near her, one on each side, often raised a great linen cloth to hide her from view, when she wished “s'ayser en quelque chose.” Her dinner lasted a long time, and was very honorably served.”

2 June. Camusat, 17. 584. Coronation Of Anne Boleyn. Narrative of the entry and coronation of Anne Boleyn, queen of England, at London, 2 June 1533. from Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII: June 1533, 1-5 Pages 262-275

[bethanydelleman]

Common misconception about Mr. Collins in Pride & Prejudice is that he's sucking up to Lady Catherine to retain his position in the church. This is not true, the living is his for life, he's sucking up for more, as Elizabeth observes: Very few days passed in which Mr. Collins did not walk to Rosings, and not many in which his wife did not think it necessary to go likewise; and till Elizabeth recollected that there might be other family livings to be disposed of, she could not understand the sacrifice of so many hours. (Ch 30)

It was possible at the time for a rector to hold multiple livings, they would install a curate for about £50/year and pocket the rest of the income.

Also, it was nigh impossible to remove a clergyman once he was installed at a living. This example is from the book Fashionable Goodness, Christianity in Jane Austen's England by Brenda S. Cox (TW: violence against pregnant women):

Dr. Free seduced his housekeepers, resulting in five illegitimate children; caused one of the women to miscarry; let his pigs desecrate the graveyard, and kept cattle on the church porch; sold the lead off the church roof; cut down and sold trees not belonging to him; left the parish for long periods of time; and refused to marry and bury his parishioners. Eventually, when he offended a gentry family over a burial, they lodged a complaint. This led to seven years of expensive trials, at the Bishop of Lincoln's personal expense. Finally Dr. Free was removed from his living, eventual dying as a beggar. (Ch 10)

(And now you can see why Darcy really didn't want Wickham to be given a living!)

Mr. Collins and Charlotte are not being irrational in their devotion to Lady Catherine, a second living could double their income without adding very much at all to their work. Charlotte might have the added benefit of Mr. Collins spending some time at his other living during the collection of tithes. Now I do think Jane Austen found this kind of behaviour repugnant, but it isn't ridiculous, it's highly motivated.

[targsource]

Princess of Dragonstone

by zacckiell on twitter

[wonder-worker]

"Regardless of the fact that she wrote the Humayunnamah under Akbar’s orders, for him and his vizier, Gulbadan makes it clear that a female reader was involved in creating the Humayunnamah. Gulbadan’s repetition of “Hamidah Begum says” (Hāmidah Bānū Bīgum mīgūyand) throughout the Humayunnamah shows that Hamidah was a secondary source substantiating the authenticity of various events. Hamidah’s role as a reader, fact-checker, and even one of the Humayunnamah’s main characters allows us to see the different ways Mughal women both preserved and enriched their medieval predecessors’ mirror for princesses legacy."

— Amanda Caterina Leong, "“I’d rather be married to someone I can control”: Female Javānmardı̄ in Gulbadan Begum’s Humayunnamah as a Mirror for Princesses", Iranian Studies (2024)

[bedupolker]

Opposable thumbs are handy

[margaritiques]

Mary Boleyn was among the young ladies who would accompany Princess Mary Tudor as one of her maids of honour. She was not, however, appointed as one of the chamberers, as has been suggested. Chamberers were servants of the lowest social standing among the Queen’s women, whose chief responsibilities were to clean and refresh apartments in the morning, arrange bed linen and serve midday meals. Mary, who was a granddaughter of the Duke of Norfolk, served in the capacity of a maid of honour, as is evident from the original document preserved in the British Library. The original document listing ‘gentlewomen which were appointed to have abidden in France with the French Queen’ names Alice Denys and Anne Jerningham as chamberers. Two women, ‘M. Boleyne’ and ‘M. Wotton’, are listed on the right side of the document, opposite ‘Dame Guildford, Lady of Honour’, ‘Lady Elizabeth Grey’, ‘M. Elizabeth Ferrys’, ‘M. Anne Devereux’ and ‘Grey of Wilton’.

On Mary Boleyn serving as a maid-of-honour in the household of Mary the French Queen.

Excerpt from Mary Boleyn: The Queen’s Slandered Sister by Sylvia Barbara Soberton, published 2026.

[alaynesansa]

"winter kiss" by bubug (Magdalena Korzeniewska)

pt. I & pt. II on insta (@bubug_)

[edwardslovelyelizabeth]

Stained glass: Catherine Woodville and Jasper Tudor (left), Henry VII and Elizabeth of York (center), Richard III and Anne Neville (right). Cardiff Castle, Wales

[margaritiques]

But for María and the other Spanish women, Richmond must have felt like a gilded cage. Their household was kept in comparative isolation even from others living in the palace, and there was little to do but wait for the tides of fortune to turn. Not surprisingly, she was desperate to return home. She reminded her brother-in-law Ochoa repeatedly that she had no intention of remaining in England after her mistress’s marriage, and declared that ‘this is not a land to stop [in] unless necessary’. She was so unhappy that she could not bear to contemplate the glory of going home in case it did not come true: ‘I want my departure so much that I cannot receive it except as a mockery.’

On María de Salinas' desire to leave England and return to Spain once her mistress Katharine of Aragon remarried.

Excerpt from The Waiting Game: The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens by Nicola Clark, published 2024.