“How not to behave as a queen consort”

E, she/her, 18+ History student and Margaret of Anjou enthusiast! Main blog: @lost1ndaydream

[whiteswanoflancaster]

ABOUT ME

Why “white swan?”

- it’s fairly well-known that the Lancastrians didn’t use the red rose at all until Henry VII saw its propaganda potential! One of the badges they DID use was the white swan, which is one I’m particularly fond of.

What’s the header?

- Harlech Castle! It’s where Margaret of Anjou escaped to after the Battle of Northampton, and it was the last Lancastrian stronghold to fall in Wales! It’s also a picture I took myself, which is always fun.

What’s the title?

- A quote from an essay by Anne Crawford on Margaret of Anjou. In full: she was an “object lesson in how not to behave as a queen consort.” I don’t agree, but I love the quote!

What’s on this blog?

- Fourteenth and fifteenth century history

- Medieval European queenship

- The Wars of the Roses and their immediate causes

- Book and documentary reviews

- General musing!

- Serious History (@lost1ndaydream for the shitposting… most of the time!) — by which I mean I’ll try my level best to avoid bias

What else?

- The ten-year plan features a PhD in this stuff!

- Henry VII deserves a biopic and I will die on that hill

- Asks and DMs very much open!

Historical favourites?

- Margaret of Anjou (obviously)

- Henry VI

- Isabeau of Bavaria

- Henry VII

- John Wyclife

- Mary of Guelders

- Maria de Molina

- Isabella of Angoulême!

- Eleanor of Castile

[turquoisemagpie]

Petition: Legally enshrine the right of adults to physically transition using NHS services

Introduce a law to legally protect the right of those aged 18 and over to transition using NHS services. This should specifically cover phys

Uk peeps!! Let’s get this going! 🏳️‍⚧️🇬🇧

[lost1ndaydream]

Please reblog/sign if you’re based in the UK!

[whiteswanoflancaster]

crawls back on here to share some silly silly notes

[whiteswanoflancaster]

It’s been a little while.

But I’ve been reading Blood Red Roses: The Archaeology of a Mass Grave today, which is basically the fieldwork from and contextualisation of the dig at Towton in 1996.

And my god. I didn’t realise dry, academic language could possibly be so poignant. Because what it does is, by explaining and exploring all the little details of those skeletons they found, it brings those 38 men to life. You read about their injuries, their bone development, signs of diet or disease, and it’s just enough to make you think.

The man we know only as Towton 16 was amongst the oldest there, nearly 50. This isn’t his first battle, maybe not even his first war. Perhaps his speech is a little hard to understand, because of the injury that left that long, vermilion scar down the left-hand side of his jaw; perhaps he sits by the fire and rubs his aching back, his elbow. But every scar is a mark of survival, and there are so many of them now that perhaps his family don’t worry any more. They say he’s touched by God, blessed, that He always wants him to live another day. And as he’s sat there, perhaps he turns to the boy — Towton 6 — next to him. He’s young and green, seventeen, skinny — but he’s fit and excited and 16 is determined to ensure he stays that way, filling his ears with stories of glory and daring. 6 doesn’t need to know that 16’s elbow aches because, as a teenager, he tried to pull a bow that was far too big for him and the string snapped back wrong. No, every wound was most definitely earnt in the heat of the fight.

Towton 18 is coughing; Towton 8 has his bowstring carefully held between his teeth. The young man we know as Towton 47 stretches and rubs his aching legs, painfully flexing his knees. He feels Towton 23, a middle-aged man who looks like he’s never so much as seen a sword before, let alone faced the pointy end of one, staring doubtfully down at him and glances up with a laugh — what’s he looking at? His legs? Ha, come on. If a cripple like himself can fight, 23 has no excuse not to! He’s even — he gestures at his stomach — got a ready-made protective layer!

Obviously, this is very speculative. But the details are real. The lives were real. And all of them were killed, mostly with head wounds so devastating that the skulls fell apart when they were moved for analysis. I imagine them running, discarding everything they can that is weighing them down, fleeing a full mile from the field before they’re run down and killed anyway, some of their skulls punctured a full eight or thirteen times.

I knew the battle was bloody. But there’s knowing and there’s knowing, you see?

[mephistopheles]

change my mind

[english-history-trip]

Thanks for 10k followers!!!

Here are all eight Kings Henry, getting along about as well as you'd expect.

[english-history-trip]

The Queen Consorts of England by name

Annes:

Anne of Bohemia (1366-1394), first wife of Richard II

Anne Neville (1456-1485), wife of Richard III

Anne Boleyn (c. 1501-1536), second wife of Henry VIII

Anne of Cleves (1515-1557), fourth wife of Henry VIII

Anne of Denmark (1574-1619), wife of James I

Catherines:

Catherine of Valois (1401-1437), wife of Henry V

Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), first wife of Henry VIII

Catherine Howard (1524-1542), fifth wife of Henry VIII

Catherine Parr (1512-1548), sixth wife of Henry VIII

Catherine of Braganza (1638-1705), wife of Charles II

Elizabeths:

Elizabeth Woodville (1437-1492), wife of Edward IV

Elizabeth of York (1456-1503), wife of Henry VII

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002), wife of George VI

Isabellas:

Isabella of Angouleme (1187-1246), second wife of King John

Isabella of France (1285-1358), wife of Edward II

Isabella of Valois (1387-1409), second wife of Richard II

Eleanors:

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204), wife of Henry II

Eleanor of Provence (1223-1291), wife of Henry III

Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290), first wife of Edward I

Matildas:

Matilda of Flanders (1031-1083), wife of William I

Matilda of Scotland (1080-1118), first wife of Henry I

Matilda of Boulogne (1105-1152), wife of King Stephen

Margarets:

Margaret of France (1282-1317), second wife of Edward I

Margaret of Anjou (1430-1482), wife of Henry VI

Carolines:

Caroline of Ansbach (1683-1737), wife of George II

Caroline of Brunswick (1768-1821), wife of George IV

Marys:

Mary of Modena (1658-1718), second wife of James II

Mary of Teck (1867-1953), wife of George V

Others:

Adeliza of Louvain (1103-1151), second wife of Henry I

Berengaria of Navarre (c. 1165-1230), wife of Richard I

Philippa of Hainault (1314-1369), wife of Edward III

Joan of Navarre (1370-1457), second wife of Henry IV

Jane Seymour (1509-1537), third wife of Henry VIII

Henrietta Maria of France (1609-1669), wife of Charles I

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744-1818), wife of George III

Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (1792-1849), wife of William IV

Alexandra of Denmark (1844-1925), wife of Edward VII

Camilla Parker Bowles (1947- ), second wife of Charles III

[english-history-trip]

Good point!

The monarchs

Philips:

Philip II of Spain (1527-1598), husband of Mary I

Philip Mountbatten (1921-2021), husband of Elizabeth I

Others:

Geoffrey Plantagenet (1113-1151), husband of Empress Matilda

Guildford Dudley (1535-1554), husband of Jane Grey

George of Denmark (1653-1708), husband of Queen Anne

Albert of Saxe-Coburg (1819-1861), husband of Queen Victoria

[une-sanz-pluis]

What is your opinion of Margaret of Anjou?

scary hot

she can have a little murder. as a treat.

i'm yorkist but i think she was really cool.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SHE WASN'T AT WAKEFIELD OR LUDLOW

i would swear fealty to her. i would die for her.

my poor little meow meow

baby girl <3

problematic bisexual icon

she-wolf (affectionate, reclaimed) 🐺

i support women's wrongs

the true byronic hero(ine) of the wars of the roses

Voting ended onSep 2, 2024

[resident-dumb-fuck]

you know what fuck it.

WARS OF THE ROSES 2

house of york

house of lancaster

Voting ended onSep 2, 2024

[eve-to-adam]

Although few representations of her exist and even if the most popular one is found in the Talbot Shrewsbury’s book, I thought I would illustrate Margaret de Anjou as we see her in the Coventry tapestry, a representation that I especially adore!

Thus, we have a beautiful and especially strong Queen in the foreground and a little further back is… her incredibly devoted husband! XD

[natequarter]

[henry viii trying to make his son continue my dynasty] you shall be named after edward the confessor, the heirless king whose reign ended in three powerful men squabbling over an inheritance that rightfully belonged to no one. you will be next in a long line of edwards, after the child who was murdered by his uncle. i shall leave your uncles in a position of power so that they can help guide you :) sucks that your mother is dead. have fun, henry!

[blueberry-bubbles130]

RIGHT!

For the next boxing match historical hypothetical I am calling all War of the Roses enthusiasts and anyone else who is interested in this era. We are finally going to put these two up against each other alone and see who comes out on top.

Who would win in a modern day boxing match?

Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York

Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset

Voting ended onAug 25, 2024

I know Edmund probably going to lose but I had to give him a chance. Sorry Edmund, I do like you a bit better than York.

Same requirements as the other boxing match historical hypotheticals:

Rules explained

No prep time

Prime of their lives

[blueberry-bubbles130]

At the request of some friends, I am here to present to you another historical hypothetical:

Who would win in a modern day boxing match?

Richard III

Henry VIII

Voting ended onAug 18, 2024

This fight would have both of them fighting when they were in the prime of their lives.

They’ve had no preparation time either. We’ve explained the rules to them and then immediately started the match.

If any of you would bet on either of them, I’d like to know how much you’d bet on them.

[blueberry-bubbles130]

We are now at 173 votes, and Henry VIII maintains his position in first place with 64.7% of the votes.

[blueberry-bubbles130]

For the next historical hypothetical we are back asking about boxing.

Who would win in a modern day boxing match

Henry V

Edward IV

Voting ended onAug 22, 2024

Same rules apply as Henry VIII vs Richard III. The rules were explained and they started fighting. No prep time and they’re in the prime of their lives for the fight.

[theerraticace]

Please reblog if you think that “they/them/theirs” is a valid set of pronouns.

[possums-against-cops]

this post must be reblogged by everyone

[spacesharks28]

I am Chiron, I speak to the them and theys. Misgender them? Then count your fucking days/hj

[lefresne]

Dog keeps stealing my ball of yarn and all I can think of is this manuscript illustration 🥺

[thaylepo]

the look on both the dog's and the spinner's faces tells me this was absolutely drawn from life

[blueberry-bubbles130]

We are back for another historical hypothetical folks!

And this time it is:

You end up in an actual murder mystery. Who do you trust and chose to investigate with?

Henry V

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester

John, Duke of Bedford

Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York

Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset

Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick

Margaret of Anjou and Henry VI

Edward IV

Richard III

Henry VIII

Thomas More

Thomas Cromwell

Voting ended onAug 14, 2024

Think of it as a Midsomer Murders/Clue style thing.

I don’t have an answer for who the victim is. You can choose anyone you want, for the victim.