The Monstrous Regiment Of Women: Female Rulers In Early Modern Europe (queenship And Power)

In The Monstrous Regiment of Women , Sharon Jansen explores the case for and against female rule by examining the arguments made by theorists from Sir John Fortescue (1461) through Bishop Bossuet (1680) interweaving their arguments with references to the most well-known early modern queens. The 'story' of early modern European political history looks very different if, instead of focusing on kings and their sons, we see successive generations of powerful women and the shifting political alliances of the period from a very different, and revealing, perspective. Sharon L. Jansen reads the past in new ways by constructing a counter-narrative, focusing on the stories of women. When Mary Tudor became queen of England, the succession of a woman to the throne horrified many, including the Protestant reformer John Knox. His blistering condemnation of female rule, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, was followed in print by a series of pamphlets that echoed and expanded his argument that female rule was unnatural, unlawful, and contrary to scripture. In her own variation on this "monstrous regiment," Sharon Jansen contributes to the debate about female rulers. She explores the relationships among the many women whose lives occupy a place in and perpetuate a continuing, though largely unrecognized, tradition of political rule. The "story" of early modern European political history looks very different if we focus on successive generations of powerful women and view the shifting political alliances of the period from their perspective

When Mary Tudor became queen of England, the succession of a woman to the throne horrified many, including the Protestant reformer John Knox. His blistering condemnation of female rule, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, was followed in print by a series of pamphlets that echoed and expanded his argument that female rule was unnatural, unlawful, and contrary to scripture. In her own variation on this monstrous regiment, Sharon Jansen contributes to the debate about female rulers. She explores the relationships among the many women whose lives occupy a place in and perpetuate a continuing, though largely unrecognized, tradition of political rule. The story of early modern European political history looks very different if we focus on successive generations of powerful women and view the shifting political alliances of the period from their perspective.

Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 7 A Note on Names 8 Introduction: Redrawing the Lines of Power 9 Chapter One: Fifteenth-Century Foremothers 15 Chapter Two: The Daughters of Isabella of Castile: Queens and Regents in Spain and the Habsburg Empire 74 Chapter Three: The Daughters of Margaret Beaufort: Queens and Regents in England and Scotland 118 Chapter Four: The Daughters of Caterina Sforza: Rulers and Regents in Italy 162 Chapter Five: The Daughters of Anne of France: Queens and Regents in France and French Navarre 187 Chapter Six: The End of an Era 229 Notes 235 Select Bibliography 298 Index 305 A 305 B 306 C 307 D 308 E 308 F 309 G 309 H 309 I 309 J 310 L 311 M 311 N 313 O 313 P 313 R 313 S 313 T 314 U 314 V 315 W 315 Y 315 Z 315 Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction: Redrawing the Lines of Power....Pages 1-6 Fifteenth-Century Foremothers....Pages 7-65 The Daughters of Isabella of Castile....Pages 67-110 The Daughters of Margaret Beaufort....Pages 111-154 The Daughters of Caterina Sforza....Pages 155-179 The Daughters of Anne of France....Pages 181-222 The End of an Era....Pages 223-228 Back Matter....Pages 229-311 This title explores the case for and against female rule by examining the arguments made by theorists from Sir John Fortescue (1461) through to Bishop Bossuet (1680) interweaving their arguments with references to the most well-known early modern queens Despite John Knox's bitter denunciation, Mary Tudor and Mary Stuart were not "monster in nature," nor did their rule represent the sudden emergence of an unprecedented "monstrous regiment."