Berengaria: In Search of Richard's Queen by Ann Trindade

Description

Richard the Lionheart is one of the most famous of medieval heros, but what is known about the young woman he married, in Cyprus in May 1191, on the way to the Third Crusade? History has marginalized her, and popular tradition has all but overlooked her but the early sources, sparse though they are, reveal a woman of remarkable courage and tenacity who endured loneliness and hostility both as a queen consort and during her long years of widowhood. Her life tells us much about the fortunes of show more women in a male-dominated era and the role of a queen in the struggle between England and France at the time. show less

Recommendations

Member Recommendations

The Lute Player by Norah Lofts

by Imprinted

Complete Recommendations

Member Reviews

Featured Recent Thumbs

All Ratings
1
½1
1
No Rating

All Languages
English1
English (UK)1

2 reviews

siriaeve 2,436 reviews

This is a biography that's not a biography: an attempt to reclaim something of the history of Berengaria of Navarre, wife and widow of Richard the Lionheart, despite the paucity of contemporary sources about her. It's a difficult task to attempt, and Trindade does her best with what she has, sketching out the world of women in twelfth century western Europe without claiming that this allows us to do more than suggest what the course of Berengaria's life might have been. It's a brief work, but refreshingly lacking in 'must haves', my pet peeve in historical biographies.

½

Ratings