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The dark queens : the bloody rivalry that forged the medieval world / Shelley Puhak.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Bloomsbury Publishing, [2022]Copyright date: ©2022Description: xvi, 367 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781801109161
  • 1801109168
  • 9781635574913
  • 1635574919
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
A wedding in Metz -- Meeting the Franks -- The fall of Charibert -- New alliances -- A missive to Byzantium -- The slave queen -- All the king's men -- The siege -- The witch and the nun -- Back channels -- Uprising -- The laws of sanctuary -- Crime and punishment -- "Wise in counsel" -- Fredegund's grief -- Brunhild in the breach -- The regency -- Set ablaze -- Brunichildis Regina -- The King is dead -- The vexations of King Guntram -- The Gundovald affair -- The diplomatic arts -- The Dukes' revolt -- A royal engagement -- The defiant nuns -- Allies and assassins -- Forlorn little boys -- The fading of the kings -- The dual rule -- Brunhild's battles -- The fall -- Epilogue. Backlash.
Summary: The remarkable, little-known story of two trailblazing women in the Early Middle Ages who wielded immense power, only to be vilified for daring to rule. Brunhild was a foreign princess, raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building. Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave. And yet, in sixth-century Merovingian France, where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport, these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms, changing the face of Europe.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 944.013 P978 Available 33111010772271
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Brunhild was a foreign princess, raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building. Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave. And yet -in 6th-century Merovingian France, where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics - these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms, changing the face of Europe. Award-winning writer Shelley Puhak resurrects two very real women in all their complexity, painting a richly detailed portrait of an unfamiliar time and striking at the roots of some of our cultures stubbornest myths about female power"--Publishers description.

The remarkable, little-known story of two trailblazing women in the Early Middle Ages who wielded immense power, only to be vilified for daring to rule. Brunhild was a foreign princess, raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building. Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave. And yet, in sixth-century Merovingian France, where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport, these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms, changing the face of Europe.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-346) and index.

A wedding in Metz -- Meeting the Franks -- The fall of Charibert -- New alliances -- A missive to Byzantium -- The slave queen -- All the king's men -- The siege -- The witch and the nun -- Back channels -- Uprising -- The laws of sanctuary -- Crime and punishment -- "Wise in counsel" -- Fredegund's grief -- Brunhild in the breach -- The regency -- Set ablaze -- Brunichildis Regina -- The King is dead -- The vexations of King Guntram -- The Gundovald affair -- The diplomatic arts -- The Dukes' revolt -- A royal engagement -- The defiant nuns -- Allies and assassins -- Forlorn little boys -- The fading of the kings -- The dual rule -- Brunhild's battles -- The fall -- Epilogue. Backlash.

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