Sarah Gristwood

The dramatic story of thirteen legendary female rulers who shaped the course of sixteenth-century Europe

The Women Who Made Sixteenth-Century Europe

Game of Queens

Elda Mengisto

"From the accession of Isabella of Castile to the throne in 1784 to France's Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day almost a century later was an Age of Queens. The period saw an explosion of female rule scarcely equalled in even the twentieth century. These years saw the birth of the new Reformed religion as well as the dawn of the world we know today, and for much fo them large swaths of Europe were under the firm hand of a reigning queen or a female regent. This was a sisterhood that recognized both their own bonds as women and their ability to exercise power in a specifically feminine way"

This is Sarah Gristwood's thesis going into this book--while sixteenth century Europe was still clearly patriarchal, the women in play on this chessboard (which becomes a major motif in this book) held a bunch of power on their hands. The book goes into how these players took power and utilized their influence the events within their countries. However, a lot more things have gotten into this particular arc, such as the role of women, naturally; marriage as a political weapon; and religion, the latter which is greatly emphasized with the conflicts of the Reformation.

I am familiar with the Queens of England during this time, partially because I've been exposed to Henry VIII's wives a lot, along with Elizabeth I in media. I recently read Alison Weir's novel on Katherine of Aragon (which is great, by the way), which gave me a lot of information about her personal life and her own exploits. Gristwood puts her into context on how she played a role in this game, and her inability to bear sons contributed to her downfall, and the rise of Anne Boleyn.

Speaking of which, one quote was particularly interesting was one after Anne Boleyn's execution:

"Anne Boleyn was, after all, not born to be a major play in that other game, the Game of Queens. She was a pawn 'queened', who had won for herself the right to move with a queen's freedom. And if she had found that freedom had definite limits, well, who had others, better born than she." (175)

It subsequently mentions no matter what, during the sixteenth century, were at the mercy of whomever was their lord. I find that to be quite interesting.

While I've heard of Catherine de Medici, I've never knew a lot about her or what role she had in terms of French politics. The chapters which showed how she, along with several other French players navigated a realm where Salic's Law (a rule in which only men could take over the French throne), were really intriguing, especially when we get closer to the St. Bartholomew's Massacre in 1572.

As for the book itself, it was clearly well-researched, with all the asterisks to further information. The writing style clearly forms a narrative, but borders on being dry at times. The chapters were short enough to give snapshots of what was going on, but sometimes it felt like it got boring after a few. Nevertheless, I learned a lot about what was going on during that time period.

Overall, Game of Queens represents an interesting look into sixteenth century European history, women, and religion. If you're familiar with some of them, this is a good read to see another angle; for those you don't know as well, it's a good one to get some perspective on them. As Gristwood noted; this game of queens still lingers on with leaders in the modern day. (7/10)

Game of Queens The Women Who Made Sixteenth-Century Europe

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