Courting Magnificence: The Materiality of Late Medieval Queen's Households
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Lincoln
Department Name: School of History and Heritage
Abstract
Late medieval queens consort occupied a privileged and unique status within the English realm as the wives and mothers of kings. Each queen possessed her own household, separate from that of her husband, which potentially allowed her to develop her own power base at the royal court and to maintain a suitably magnificent lifestyle appropriate for her regal position. This collaborative project between Historic Royal Palaces and the University of Lincoln's Medieval Studies Research Group examines how their gender and 'foreign' backgrounds influenced the identity, conspicuous consumption, and materiality of three English queens consort as they were expressed through their households in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. The domestic establishments of Eleanor of Castile (d.1290) and Margaret of France (d.1318), King Edward I's two queens, and Isabella of France (d.1358), King Edward II's wife and usurper, are richly documented in extant household accounts preserved in the British Library, the UK National Archives, and the Society of Antiquaries of London, just two of which have been published (those for Eleanor of Castile's household in 1290 and for Isabella of France's household in 1311-12). Until now, with this thesis, the contents of these Latin records have never been studied in detail together to interrogate what they reveal about the material construction of queenship, queenly identity, and lifestyles within medieval English royal palaces.
Working under Professors Louise Wilkinson and Amy Livingstone of the University of Lincoln, leading authorities on medieval royal and aristocratic women and their households, and Dr Laura Tompkins and Dr Charles Farris of Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), who have extensive experience in researching the late medieval royal household accounts, the doctoral student will undertake the first ever detailed analysis of the extant household accounts of Queens Eleanor of Castile, Margaret of France, and Isabella of France, as a group. They will examine the queens' diet, lifestyle, dress, treasure, moveable possessions (e.g. manuscripts, textiles, devotional items), and the furnishings of their apartments in royal palaces. Exploring the personnel and administration of these households will be central to this study, identifying the similarities and differences with the administration of kings' households. Hitherto, scholarly studies of the materiality of queenly households have focused mainly on the Tudor consorts of King Henry VIII or on the association between individual queens and particular manuscripts, sculptures, or textiles. This ground-breaking project therefore promises to transform our understanding of the artistic, cultural, and spatial environments which late medieval queens experienced, inhabited, and shaped in an era before the Renaissance, when Gothic art and architecture reigned supreme.
The student's research will play a vital role in enhancing Historic Royal Palaces' knowledge of how the queen's apartments at the Tower of London may have been furnished and decorated. A UNESCO World Heritage site visited by millions of UK and international visitors each year, 'The Medieval Palace' is one of three core stories that audiences experience on site. Last presented in the 2000s, this route for the castle is due to be reinterpreted from summer 2025 and will be followed by a new Digital Visitor Guide (DVG) in the following 12 months. Therefore, this project has scope to inform directly its outcomes and enhance the authentic representation of women within these spaces and how visitors explore them. As one of the Tower's 'builders', Edward I is one the key figures in this narrative, making the study of his two queens particularly timely and relevant. 'The Medieval Palace' redisplay is the first of a series of planned representations of the Wall Walk routes at the Tower of London. Therefore, the impact and legacy of the project has the potential to be considerable.
Working under Professors Louise Wilkinson and Amy Livingstone of the University of Lincoln, leading authorities on medieval royal and aristocratic women and their households, and Dr Laura Tompkins and Dr Charles Farris of Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), who have extensive experience in researching the late medieval royal household accounts, the doctoral student will undertake the first ever detailed analysis of the extant household accounts of Queens Eleanor of Castile, Margaret of France, and Isabella of France, as a group. They will examine the queens' diet, lifestyle, dress, treasure, moveable possessions (e.g. manuscripts, textiles, devotional items), and the furnishings of their apartments in royal palaces. Exploring the personnel and administration of these households will be central to this study, identifying the similarities and differences with the administration of kings' households. Hitherto, scholarly studies of the materiality of queenly households have focused mainly on the Tudor consorts of King Henry VIII or on the association between individual queens and particular manuscripts, sculptures, or textiles. This ground-breaking project therefore promises to transform our understanding of the artistic, cultural, and spatial environments which late medieval queens experienced, inhabited, and shaped in an era before the Renaissance, when Gothic art and architecture reigned supreme.
The student's research will play a vital role in enhancing Historic Royal Palaces' knowledge of how the queen's apartments at the Tower of London may have been furnished and decorated. A UNESCO World Heritage site visited by millions of UK and international visitors each year, 'The Medieval Palace' is one of three core stories that audiences experience on site. Last presented in the 2000s, this route for the castle is due to be reinterpreted from summer 2025 and will be followed by a new Digital Visitor Guide (DVG) in the following 12 months. Therefore, this project has scope to inform directly its outcomes and enhance the authentic representation of women within these spaces and how visitors explore them. As one of the Tower's 'builders', Edward I is one the key figures in this narrative, making the study of his two queens particularly timely and relevant. 'The Medieval Palace' redisplay is the first of a series of planned representations of the Wall Walk routes at the Tower of London. Therefore, the impact and legacy of the project has the potential to be considerable.
