Blood Royal: Dynastic Politics in Medieval Europe (The James Lydon Lectures in Medieval History and Culture)

Throughout medieval Europe, for hundreds of years, monarchy was the way that politics worked in most countries. This meant power was in the hands of a family - a dynasty; that politics was family politics; and political life was shaped by the births, marriages and deaths of the ruling family. How did the dynastic system cope with female rule, or pretenders to the throne? How did dynasties use names, the numbering of rulers and the visual display of heraldry to express their identity? And why did some royal families survive and thrive, while others did not? Drawing on a rich and memorable body of sources, this engaging and original history of dynastic power in Latin Christendom and Byzantium explores the role played by family dynamics and family consciousness in the politics of the royal and imperial dynasties of Europe. From royal marriages and the birth of sons, to female sovereigns, mistresses and wicked uncles, Robert Bartlett makes enthralling sense of the complex web of internal rivalries and loyalties of the ruling dynasties and casts fresh light on an essential feature of the medieval world. Dedication Contents List of Figures Preface and Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction: Royal Families Part I: The Life Cycle 1 Choosing a Bride 2 Waiting for Sons to be Born 3 Fathers and Sons 4 Female Sovereigns 5 Mistresses and Bastards 6 Family Dynamics 7 Royal Mortality Part II: A Sense of Dynasty 8 Names and Numbering 9 Saints, Images, Heraldry, Family Trees 10 Responses to Dynastic Uncertainty: Prophecy and Astrology 11 Pretenders and Returners: Dynastic Imposters in the Middle Ages 12 New Families and New Kingdoms 13 Dynasties and the Non-Dynastic World Conclusion Appendix A: Main Dynasties Appendix B: Minorities Appendix C: Female Sovereigns Appendix D: Family Trees Notes Bibliography of Works Cited Index "The subject of this book is the family politics of royal and imperial dynasties in Latin Christendom and Byzantium in the period 500-1500. Family politics means competition and cooperation within the ruling family, shaped at every point by the human life-cycle of birth, marriage and death, and also by ideas of what a dynasty was. Hence the two parts of the book, the life-cycle and a sense of dynasty. The main dynasties are listed in Appendix A. A full bibliography on this subject would fill a library but references have been given for all direct quotations and for facts other than those easily accessible A few directly relevant titles have also been cited" Choosing a bride -- Waiting for sons to be born -- Fathers and sons -- Female sovereigns -- Mistresses and bastards -- Family dynamics family dynamics family dynamics -- Royal mortality -- Names and numbering -- Saints, images, heraldry, family trees -- Responses to dynastic uncertainty : prophecy and astrology -- Pretenders and returners : dynastic imposters in the Middle Ages -- New families and new kingdoms -- Dynasties and the non-dynastic world This engaging history of dynastic power in medieval Europe explores the role of family dynamics and family consciousness in the politics of royal and imperial dynasties. From royal marriages and the birth of sons, to female sovereigns, mistresses and wicked uncles, Robert Bartlett casts fresh light on an essential feature of the medieval world. An Engaging History Of Royal And Imperial Families And Dynastic Power, Enriched By A Body Of Surprising And Memorable Source Material.