Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Record Number: 2279
  • Author(s)/Creator(s): Dunn , Diana.
  • Contributor(s):
  • Title: Margaret of Anjou, the Warlike Queen: The Making of a Reputation
  • Source: Gender and Conflict in the Middle Ages. Gender and Medieval Studies Conference, York, January 5-7 2001.. 2001.
  • Description:
  • Article Type: Conference Paper Abstract
  • Subject (See Also): Gender Margaret of Anjou, Wife of Henry VI, King of England Queens Warfare and Warriors
  • Award Note:
  • Geographic Area: British Isles
  • Century: 15- 16
  • Primary Evidence:
  • Illustrations:
  • Table:
  • Abstract: A significant aspect of the creation of Margaret of Anjou's reputation as the "warlike queen" is the use of masculine attributes to describe her actions in contrast to her feeble husband who demonstrates the feminine virtues of meekness, mercifulness, and submissiveness. Queen Margaret and King Henry VI represent the reversal of the natural order of male/female and kingly/queenly qualities. The paper will focus on the use of gendered language in later fifteenth- and sixteenth-century sources to describe Margaret's actions in the political and military arenas. This will be set within the broader context of attitudes towards women who engaged in warfare in the later medieval period. [Reproduced by permission of the Gender and Medieval Studies Conference organizers].
  • Related Resources:
  • Author's Affiliation: Chester College of Higher Education
  • Conference Info: - , -
  • Year of Publication: 2001.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN/ISBN: Not Available