QUEENS OF THE CRUSADES

The latest massively detailed British royal history/biography from the prolific historian and novelist.

In this hefty follow-up to Queens of the Conquest (2017), Weir focuses on the period from 1154 to 1291, offering a meticulous tapestry that will appeal most to students of that and other medieval eras. The author begins with the greatest queen of the period, Eleanor of Aquitaine, the wife of Henry II, a natural ruler and mother of strong future kings who lived into her early 80s, an astounding feat for the time. During her first Crusade, she was a teenager married to young King Louis of France. However, according to Eleanor, she had married a monk, not a king,” and the marriage was annulled. A more vigorous political match was made with Henry FitzEmpress, who founded the Angevin royal dynasty. By most accounts, she was his equal and proved to be a major force in bolstering her sons' rebellion against their father. Berengaria of Navarre, wife of Richard I, and Isabella of Angouleme, wife of John, were both kind of ciphers, without much political power of their own—except later in life as widows, and, in Isabella's case, in a second marriage to Hugh X. Alienor of Provence had a successful marriage to Henry III that lasted nearly 37 years while Eleanor of Castile, queen of Edward I, also a devoted and long-suffering wife, has a reputation as the ideal medieval lady. As the author shows, all of these women had to constantly wrestle to gain their rightful dowry and properties from rapacious spouses. Weir effectively interweaves her minutely chronological account into the context of religious wars and cultural currents, such as the courtly Arthurian legends and troubadours. As in previous books, the exceedingly knowledgeable author’s prodigious research is impressive, but the narrative isn’t consistently entertaining.

Another treat for Weir fans but not for readers lacking serious interest in the period.