The Creative Historian

Welcome to The Creative Historian! I am an ancient historian by trade, with other interests in the Medieval period and women's history. I am the author of the "30 Women in History" eBook and owner of creativehistorian.co.uk

[thecreativehistorian]

Joan of Valois was technically Queen of France, but was never crowned or acknowledge as Queen by her husband.

When her husband became King Louis XII of France he was so desperate to keep hold of the Duchy of Brittany that he decided to marry Anne of Brittany. Problem was, he was married to Joan. She was not happy about this, and was even less happy when he claimed their marriage was unconsummated because he was physically repulsed by her :(

You can read more about Joan and the fight for her marriage at creativehistorian.co.uk.

[thecreativehistorian]

Reblogging because 8th September 1476 was her wedding day!

[thecreativehistorian]

Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain was born on this day (22 July) in 1751. 

She became Queen of Denmark and Norway on her marriage, but it ended with divorce, estrangement from her children, and a lonely death in exile.

Find out more at The Creative Historian!

[thecreativehistorian]

Happy birthday to Edward the Black Prince! 

Born on this day (15 June) in 1330, he was in line to become King Edward IV, but illness eventually led to him predeceasing his father King Edward III, and the throne went to his son Richard. It was the first time that the throne of England went from grandfather to grandson (the second time was when George III inherited from George II several centuries later).

Find out more at The Creative Historian!

[thecreativehistorian]

Poor Maria Josepha of Bavaria died on this day (28 May) in 1767. Her husband was apathetic to her existence and her mother-in-law was the Empress Maria Theresa, not known for her patience with conceiving heirs!

Find out more at The Creative Historian!

[thecreativehistorian]

My “Almost Queens” blog series takes a look at some of the girls and women who nearly became Queen (generally consort), had fate not intervened.

Margaret of Burgundy was almost a Queen of France. But the discovery of her affair with a knight from her father-in-law’s court saw her imprisoned in Chateau Gaillard, and possibly murdered on the orders of her cuckolded husband.

Find out more at The Creative Historian.

[thecreativehistorian]

Reblogging as she died on this day (30th April) in 1315!

[thecreativehistorian]

Maria Josepha of Saxony was 16 when she married the French Dauphin on this day in 1747.

Her husband was in mourning for the death of his first wife, who had died less than 12 months before. He did eventually fall in love with Maria Josepha, but his own early death meant that she never got to be Queen of France.

Find out more at The Creative Historian.

[medievalart]

Byzantine ivory diptych depicting empress Ariane.

* 6th century

* Museum of Bargello, Florence

source: Praxinoa, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

[thecreativehistorian]

Robert Curthose is the second in my “Almost Kings” series.

Born the eldest son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders, Robert should have inherited all his father’s domains on William’s death. Instead the Conqueror just left Robert the Duchy of Normandy, while the throne of England went to his second surviving son - William Rufus. It’s fair to say that Robert was really unhappy about that, while William Rufus was equally pissed at not getting both England and Normandy.

You can read more about Robert Curthose at The Creative Historian.

[thecreativehistorian]

Reblogging because Robert died on this day (3rd February) in 1134. He’s believed to have been around 83 years old, and had spent decades imprisoned after bein captured by his younger brother Henry.

[yesterdaysprint]

Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Arizona, November 29, 1923

[egypt-museum-deactivated2021071]

Ceiling of the Temple of Hathor

The ceiling of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, decorated with exquisite astronomical representations. It is one of the best-preserved temple complexes in Egypt.

[historicwomendaily]

“One poignant expense in [Elizabeth of York]’s Privy Purse is tiny: 3½ yards of cloth to “a woman that was nurse to the Prince, brother to the Queen’s grace.” Nineteen years after the young prince disappeared, his older sister remembered the nurse who took care of him. Similarly, she regularly sent alms to “a poor man” who was a former servant of Edward IV.”

— Arlene Okerlund, Elizabeth of York: Queenship and Power (via richmond-rex)

[livesinyesterday]

My Life in England: Winchester Cathedral (Note: These are my original photos. Please do not take or repost elsewhere without asking me or without crediting me, thank you!) 

[thecreativehistorian]

King Henry VII was born on this day in 1457.

After some exile, some peril, and a battle, he founded the Tudor dynasty, which ruled England for three generations.

You can find this card at The Creative Historian.

[thecreativehistorian]

Happy Coronation Day to Queen Elizabeth I, who officially received her crown on this day in 1553!

You can find this badge at The Creative Historian!

[thecreativehistorian]

Prince Albert Victor died at Sandringham on this day in 1892. His engagement to Princess May of Teck had recently been announced, and his birthday had been celebrated the week before.

He caught influenza during a pandemic in the late 19th century. The flu turned in to pneumonia, which was ultimately fatal. As the heir to the throne after his father Edward (Bertie) the Prince of Wales, his death came as a huge shock to his family and the nation.

His younger brother George did quite well out of it though, as he got Albert’s crown and his bride! You can find out more at The Creative Historian.

[classic-art]

Saint Catherine

Giovanni di Paolo, c. 1435 Tempera and Gold Leaf on Wood

[yesterdaysprint]

The Buffalo Enquirer, New York, January 10, 1907