Episoder
-
In this episode host Susannah Lyon-Whaley interviews Emily Chambers about her research on the lives, relationship and networks of the women of the Tudor court. They discuss several important female figures including regnant queen Mary I, Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, Frances Brandon, mother of Lady Jane Grey, and many more who were all born c. 1510 and were peers in the volatile mid-Tudor court.
Guest Bio:
Emily Chambers is an Associate Lecturer in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. She has recently completed her PhD at the University of Nottingham, UK, on the influence of personal connections on the agency of eight elite aristocratic and royal women in mid-Tudor England.
Reading suggestion:
Jeri L. McIntosh, From Heads of Household to Heads of State: The Preaccession Households of Mary and Elizabeth Tudor, 1516â1558 (Columbia University Press, 2008). Ebook available: http://www.gutenberg-e.org/mcintosh/
-
In this episode, Johanna Strong speaks with Dr Alexander Courtney about his research on James VI of Scotland and I of England, focusing on his recent monograph James VI, Britannic Prince: King of Scots and Elizabethâs Heir, 1566â1603.
Alex's forthcoming works include an edited collection, co-edited with Michael Questier, on James VI and I: Kingship, Government and Religion, coming in March 2025. In addition to his own works, Alex recommends Steven J. Reid's The Early Life of James VI: A Long Apprenticeship, 1566â1585 for more details on James VI/I's early life.
-
Manglende episoder?
-
In this roundtable episode, hosted by Victoria Barlow, Nicole Maceira Cumming and Charlie Spragg discuss their research and the upcoming 'Understanding James VI&I 400 Years On' conference. We delve into the importance of how this shrewd monarch presented himself and his royal dominion not only as king of Scotland, but later of England as well. Having co-organised a conference taking place in July to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his death in 1625, our two guests also touch upon what goes into planning such an event.
@KingJamesConf on X
Guest Bios:
Nicole Maceira Cumming is currently a Teaching Fellow in early modern history at the University of Edinburgh and an RA on the A Very Quiet Street project (University of Glasgow/Woodlands Community Development Trust). She recently completed her AHRC-funded PhD thesis, which examined the role of hunting in the Scottish court of James VI, c.1579-1603. Her previous roles have included a 2022 research placement with the National Trust and University of Oxford, exploring the history of âHorse Powerâ within National Trust properties. She has forthcoming publications on âAnimals, dominion and the natural order in Post-Reformation Scotlandâ (Scottish Church History, 2023 prize winner) and âReconstructing the menagerie of James VI, c.1579-1603â (Scottish Archives), and is co-organising the âUnderstanding James VI&I 400 Years Onâ conference which will take place in July 2025 to mark the quatercentenary of his death.
@nicolemaceira.bsky.social
Charlie Spragg is a third-year doctoral student in History of Art at the University of Edinburgh, holding a full scholarship from the Edinburgh College of Art. Charlieâs principal research interest is the self-fashioning of King James [VI & I of Scotland and England], particularly through visual and material display. She has been working independently as a historical researcher, most recently for Historic Environment Scotland on the new guidebook for Stirling Castle. Charlie will be a contributor in the forthcoming British Art Studies journal special issue, âReframing King James VI and Iâ. Charlie is also co-organising the 'Understanding James VI&I 400 Years Onâ conference.
@cvspragg on X
@cvspragg.bsky.social -
In this episode, Dr Johanna Strong speaks with Dr Jade Scott about Jade's new book, Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots (Michael O'Mara Books, 2024). They explore why Mary's letters are so critically important for understanding her influence, agency and power even during her lengthy captivity in England.
Dr Jade Scott is an affiliate in Scottish History at the University of Glasgow. She is an expert in early modern women's correspondence and has published widely on the letters of Mary, Queen of Scots. Her research focuses on women's agency as expressed through the language, rhetorical and materiality of their correspondence. Her new trade book Captive Queen re-tells the story of Mary, Queen of Scots' years in captivity in England, using the hundreds of letters she wrote and those received by her to challenge gendered assumptions of her influence and power.
-
In this episode, host Ellie Woodacre interviews Natalee Garrett about her new biography of Queen Charlotte (Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of George III of Britain). We discuss Charlotte's enhanced visibility in popular culture thanks to Bridgerton, her role and reputation as a mother, and the challenges of being a queen consort.
GUEST BIO:Natalee Garrett received a PhD in History from the University of St Andrews in 2021 for a thesis on satirical prints of the monarchy and nobility in eighteenth-century France and Britain. She began teaching at the Open University in 2021 and is currently a Lecturer in Early Modern History. Her research explores popular political culture, visual culture, and concepts of identity, including social class and gender. Her first monograph, a biography of Queen Charlotte, was published by Routledge in December 2024.
Follow Natalee on Bluesky: @nemgarrett.bsky.socialNatalee's Open University staff page Natalee's linktree with links to other projects and publications
Find out more about Natalee's research: -
In this episode, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Royal Studies Journal. Host Saira Baker interviews Ellie Woodacre, in her capacity as Editor-in-Chief of the RSJ to discuss the development of the journal and how this links to the overall growth of the field of royal studies. Saira and Ellie also discuss new developments for 2025, including the relaunch of the Royal Studies blog, which is now a forum for the reseach and activity of the postgraduate students and early career scholars in the field.
Royal Studies Journal (check out the 10th anniversary issue here)Royal Studies Blog (publication date: 13th January 2025)2025 RSJ Article Prize for PGR/ECRs (Deadline 15 March 2025)
Key Links:
Twitter: @monarchyconfBluesky: @ewoodacre.bsky.social Instagram/Threads: @royalstudiesscholar
Guest Bio: Dr Elena (Ellie) Woodacre is a Reader in Renaissance History at the University of Winchester. She is a specialist in queenship and royal studies and has published extensively in this area including her recent monographs, Queens and Queenship (ARC, 2021) and Joan of Navarre: Infanta, Duchess, Queen, Witch? (Routledge, 2022). Elena is the organizer of the âKings & Queensâ conference series, founder of the Royal Studies Network, Editor-in-Chief of the Royal Studies Journal, the editor of two book series with Routledge and ARC Humanities Press and a general editor of the Winchester University Press. Dr Woodacre regularly engages with international media on current events connected with monarchical history and featured in the documentary series Queens that Changed the World. -
In this episode, Dr Amy Saunders and Dr Johanna Strong join Susannah to speak about their Royal Studies Journal Cluster, âQueenship and Cross-Confessional Identityâ. The Cluster features in the December issue of the Royal Studies Journal and is available open-access through the RSJ website.
Guest Bios:Amy has recently completed a PhD in early modern history and heritage at the University of Winchester, supervised by Dr Ellie Woodacre and Dr Simon Sandall. Her research examines the representation of Stuart royal narratives in modern heritage sites, exploring the reconstructed narratives of James VI & I, Anna of Denmark, Charles I, Henrietta Maria, Charles II, and Catherine of Braganza. Confessional and national identity are central themes in Amyâs research and are relevant in both her work on the seventeenth century and the modern heritage sites she examines. Her forthcoming book chapter, âCurating a Conduit: Elizabeth Stuart, Motherhood and National Identity in Heritage Sitesâ, explores how James and Annaâs daughter Elizabeth has been repositioned as the ideal âEnglishâ royal woman in modern heritage sites in England.
Johanna completed her PhD at the University of Winchester under the supervision of Drs Ellie Woodacre and Simon Sandall. Her thesis focused on how narratives of religion, national identity, and gender influenced the creation and perpetuation of Mary Iâs legacy in the dominant English historical narrative from 1558 until 1660. Her research has been featured on a variety of podcasts and informed Winchester Cathedralâs 3-part series on Mary I and Philip IIâs wedding at the Cathedral. Her first published chapter appeared in Valerie Schutte and Jessica S. Howerâs award-winning volume Writing Mary I: History, Historiography, and Fiction and her first monograph is forthcoming. Johanna is the Digital Seminar Series Coordinator for the Royal Studies Network and is the Social Media Coordinator for all things RSN. You can follow Johanna and her research on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and her website.
-
In this episode, host Ellie Woodacre interviews Alban Schmid and Alison J. Miller to discuss queenship in East Asia. We discuss K-Dramas and real life palace intrigues in Choson Korea and the role of Japan's empresses in the visual propaganda of the Meiji Restoration period. Both authors reflect on to what extent we can apply the idea of queenship to monarchies in East Asia and royal women who they think deserve more attention or reconsideration.
Guest Bios:
Alison J Miller, Associate Professor of Art History and Director of Asian Studies at the University of the South (Sewanee), is a specialist in modern and contemporary Japanese art history, focusing on two-dimensional media, gender, and the imperial family. She has published in the Journal of Japanese Studies, TransAsia Photography Review, Asian Diasporic Visual Cultures and the Americas (ADVA), and various public humanities projects and museum catalogues. She is co-editor and contributing author for The Visual Culture of Meiji Japan: Negotiating the Transition to Modernity (Routledge, 2021) and Transposed Memory: Visual Sites of National Recollection in 20th and 21st Century East Asia (Brill, 2024). Her book, Envisioning the Empress: The Lives and Images of Japanese Imperial Women, 1868-1952 (Routledge, 2025) analyzes the social impact of the images of the modern Japanese empresses. She received her PhD from the University of Kansas and has taught at Bowdoin College and the Kansas City Art Institute, and her work has been funded by a Fulbright Fellowship, Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship, Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellowship, Appalachian College Association Faculty Fellowship, and Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, among others.Personal website: https://www.alisonjmiller.com/
Alban Schmid studied politics and international relations at Sciences Po Paris and Peking University before focussing his attention on political history of East Asia during his graduate studies at the University of Oxford. He currently works at his alma mater in France. His new book The Institutional Power of ChosĆn Korea's Queen Dowagers, was recently published in ARC Humanities Pressâ Gender and Power in the Premodern World series.
-
In this episode, host Ellie Woodacre interviews three guests on their recently released works on medieval queens in Routledge's Lives of Royal Women series. We talk to Matt Firth, Gabby Storey and Caroline Wilhelmsson about the development of queenship in the early and high Middle Ages, the key elements of the exercise of the queen's office, how these women were styled (or styled themselves) with titles and which queens have been often overlooked but deserve much more attention.
Guest Bios:
Matt Firth is an Associate Lecturer of medieval history and literature at Flinders University and a 2025 Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow. His research primarily focuses on historiography, cultural memory, and the transmission of historical narrative across time and place. His most recent article, revising the transmission history Alfred the Greatâs sobriquet has just been published in The English Historical Review. His first monograph, Early English Queens 850â1000: Potestas Reginae, released earlier this year, examines the history and evolving legacies of Englandâs tenth-century queens.
Gabrielle (Gabby) Storey is a historian of monarchy, gender, and sexuality. She has published widely in both popular and academic print on medieval monarchy, rulership, and representations of queenship and power in modern media. Her first book, Berengaria of Navarre, queen of England, Lord of Le Mans, was published by Routledge in 2024. She is currently working on her second book which will be for the general public. Gabby is the founder of Team Queens, an online global queenship resource, and her most recent publication is an edited collection with Zita Eva Rohr on Premodern ruling sexualities, published MUP in 2024.Caroline Wilhelmsson is an early career historian of state formation and national identity in medieval Sweden. She studies the legal, political, and religious frameworks which led to the emergence of Sweden as a concept. Her first monograph, a group biography of Swedenâs earliest recorded queens, sheds light on the inner workings of the nascent Swedish "state" at a time when the monarchy was still ill-defined, and the Church was weak. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at University College Cork where she is mapping medieval Irish walled towns.
-
In this episode, host Ellie Woodacre interviews Stephanie McCarter about her new book Women in Power: Classical Myths and Stories from the Amazons to Cleopatra (Penguin Books, 2024). As we discuss in the episode, this work brings together excerpts from Classical texts which discuss the life and rule of a variety of women, from mythical figures like the Amazons, to a range of ruling queens including well known figures like Zenobia, Boudicca and Cleopatra to those who aren't often discussed, like Salome Alexandra or Amanirenas.
Guest Bio:
Stephanie McCarter is professor of Classics at the University of the South in Sewanee, where she has taught since 2008. Her teaching and research interests include Latin poetry, translation theory and practice, gender and sexuality in classical antiquity, feminist reception of the classics, and Greek and Roman philosophy and ethics. McCarterâs books include Horace between Freedom and Slavery (University of Wisconsin Press, 2015) as well as two works of translation, Horaceâs Epodes, Odes, and Carmen Saeculare (University of Oklahoma Press, 2020) and Ovidâs Metamorphoses (Penguin Classics, 2022), which won the 2023 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets. She has penned numerous academic articles in journals such as Classical Journal, Eugesta, and American Journal of Philology, as well as essays, translations, reviews, and interviews in The Washington Post, The Sewanee Review, Literary Hub, Electric Literature, Laphamâs Quarterly, Hyperallergic, The Brooklyn Rail, and elsewhere. -
In this roundtable episode, host Ellie Woodacre is joined by a panel of five experts on monarchy in premodern Asia--including the Indian subcontinent, China and Southeast Asia. This episode captures a vibrant discussion on the impact of Buddhism on the ideals and practice of monarchy in the region, drawing on their respective research.
Speaker Bios:
Stephanie Balkwill is Associate Professor of Chinese Buddhism at the University of California Los Angeles, where she is also the Director of the Center for Buddhist Studies. She publishes broadly on the connection between women, Buddhist affiliation, and political opportunity in early medieval China. She is the author of The Women Who Ruled China: Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century (UC Press 2024) as well as the co-Editor of Buddhist Statecraft in East Asia (Brill 2022)--both are Open Access.
Megan Bryson is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Chair of the Asian Studies program at the University of Tennessee. Her work focuses on gender, ethnicity, and kingship in East Asian Buddhism, specifically in the regimes of Nanzhao (653â903) and Dali (937â1253) that were based in what is now Chinaâs Yunnan province. Bryson is the author of the book Goddess on the Frontier: Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender in Southwest China (Stanford UP, 2016), co-editor of the volume Buddhist Masculinities (Columbia UP, 2023), and she is currently finishing a book about Buddhist transmission along the Southwestern Silk Road.
Alice Collett: Prior to joining St Andrews, Professor Collett worked at several universities around the world, in teaching, research and senior management roles, including a period as Acting Dean at Nalanda University in India. Her research specialism is ancient Indian religions, with a focus on women. Her publications include Women in Early Indian Buddhism: Comparative Textual Studies (OUP, 2013) and Translating Buddhism: Historical and Contextual Perspectives (SUNY, 2021).
Bruno Shirley is a historian of medieval Sri Lanka, interested in ideas about and practices of religion, politics, and gender. He is currently a research fellow in Buddhist Studies at Heidelberg University.
Trent Walker is assistant professor of Southeast Asian studies and Thai Professor of Theravada Buddhism at the University of Michigan. Prior to moving to Ann Arbor, he completed postdoctoral fellowships at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand and the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford University. A specialist in Southeast Asian Buddhist music, literature, and manuscripts, he is the author of Until Nirvana's Time: Buddhist Songs from Cambodia (winner of the 2024 Khyentse Foundation Prize for Outstanding Translation) and co-editor of Out of the Shadows of Angkor: Cambodian Poetry, Prose, and Performance through the Ages.
-
In this episode, Ellie Woodacre interviews three members of the organizing committee for next year's Kings & Queens 14 conference: Manuela Santos Silva, Maria DĂĄvila and InĂȘs Olaia. We talk about the conference theme, plans for the conference (including the much loved excursions), celebrating the anniversary of Leonor de Lencastre's death and tips for those who are planning to attend.
The call for papers for Kings & Queens 14 âBeyond the King: Diplomacy, Social Roles and Family Dynamics of Monarchiesâ is out now--the deadline for submissions is 15 December and the conference will take place from 2-5 June 2025 at the University of Lisbon. The full call for papers and more information can be found on the Royal Studies Network website.
Errata: please note that the Call for Papers for Kings and Queens 14 is due on 15 December 2024, not 2014.
Guest Bios:
Manuela Santos Silva is an Associate Professor at the History Department of the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon, at present supervisor of the Specialize Program in Gender and History. As a Researcher of the Centre for History of the University of Lisbon, she coordinates the research group âCourt Studies and Diplomacyâ.Within her various fields of interest and research, queenship has been one of the most productive, as she has co-edited several books and collections with colleagues and authored books and a substantial number of articles in collective volumes and scientific journals.
She is a researcher in some international projects such as âMUNARQAS: La reginalidad ibĂ©rica desde hacia la Europa AtlĂĄntica EconomĂas territoriales, escenarios curiales y geografĂas relacionales (ss. XII-XV)"â, "(REGINET) REDES DE PODER Y AUTORIDAD DE LAS REINAS E INFANTAS EN LAS MONARQUĂAS IBĂRICAS (1350-1500)", âExamining the Resources & Revenues of Royal Women in Premodern Europeâ, and in a Portuguese project about Latin urban legislation.
Maria DĂĄvila is an Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon and a researcher at its Centre for History. Her main research interests include Court Studies, especially the relationship of women and power, during the late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period, and the beginning of the Portuguese expansion. She is a member of several international research projects, including Munarqas coordinated by Diana Pelaz, "Examining the Resources & Revenues of Royal Wemen in Premodern Europeâ, and the âPoder Feminino e Mecenatoâ project coordinated by Ana Maria Rodrigues and Murielle Gaude Ferragu. She has published several papers about elite women in the 15th century and is currently working on a new book about women at the Portuguese court, with Pedro Urbano.
InĂȘs Olaia is a PhD candidate in Medieval History at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon. Sheâs working on a thesis titled âBy the Grace of God Queen of Portugal: queensâ functions and practices in Medieval Portugalâ, for which she was granted a Scholarship (04440.2020.BD) from Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e Tecnologia. She holds a MA in Medieval History, with a dissertation studying the jurisdictions of Alenquer and Aldeia Galega da Merceana [alternatively: two medieval adjacent towns near Lisbon] and the queensâ rule over these towns. She has published several articles in scholarly publications, including a study on emotions and political change in Portuguese chronicles in 2020, an inquest into Filipa of Coimbra, sister of queen Isabel, wife of Afonso V, in 2022, a study on the rule of queens Teresa and Sancha over a few towns in Portugal and a work on the itineraries of the queens from the time of Manuel I in 2023. InĂȘs has also worked in the history of emotions and published a dozen sources. Sheâs a team member of several projects, including the eReginae Project (devoted to ed -
In this episode, Magdalena BiniaĆ-Szkopek and Darius von GĂŒttner join host Susannah Lyon-Whaley to discuss their Polish Queens project, which examines Polish queens' roles as spouses, mothers, and queens. The project is also interested in looking into the emotional side of queenship and the emotions of the individual women themselves.
Guest Bios:
Magdalena BiniaĆ-Szkopek, Ph.D., Professor at UAM, Department of Archivistics, Faculty of History, Director of the Polish Academy of Sciences Kornik Library. Her areas of research interest include the history of late medieval Poland, Poland of the Jagiellonians, church and secular chancelleries in the Middle Ages and modern times, changes in the institution of marriage in Poland as well as in Europe in the fifteenth century, archival science with a particular focus on issues related to diplomacy, the development of chancery forms in history. She is the author of three monographs including Spouses before the court of the bishop of PoznaĆ in the first quarter of the 15th century, Institute of History of the Adam Mickiewicz University, PoznaĆ 2019 (MaĆĆŒonkowie przed sÄ dem biskupiego oficjaĆa poznaĆskiego w pierwszej Äwierci XV wieku, Wydawnictwo Instytutu Historii UAM, PoznaĆ 2019). She is the author of more than 30 studies and scientific articles. She is currently the grant manager of the project "Polish queens of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as wives and mothersâ (2022 - 2026).Darius von GĂŒttner is a historian of East Central Europe with a particular interest in cultural aspects of transmission of ideas and identity; Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts; General Editor of series âEast Central Europeâ published by Brepols Publishers. Professor von GĂŒttner completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne and now serves as the Dean of the Australian Catholic Universityâs Canberra Campus. His book, Poland, Holy War, and the Piast Monarchy, challenges long-held beliefs about Poland's involvement in religious conflicts, specifically the Crusades. Beyond medieval and early modern Europe, his research has broadened to tackle global history and the societal roles of elite women, such as Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland and her mother Isabella dâAragona. He is also a regular contributor to ABC Radio Canberra's weekly history segment.
Find out more about the Polish Queens project and stay tuned for their forthcoming volume with Brepols. You can find out more about Dariusâs research interests here.
-
In this episode, host Ellie Woodacre interviews Dr Mishka Sinha, co-curator of the Untold Lives: A Palace at Work exhibition at Historic Royal Palaces (running until 27 October 2024). In the interview we discuss how the development of the exhibition. the ways it which it reveals the hidden histories of palace courtiers and servants and the unexpected modern twist which brings the past and present inhabitants of the palace together.
Polly Putnam is co-curator of the exhibitionClarification--during the discussion of fires at Kensington Palace it should be noted that the palace nearly burnt down three times
Episode Notes:Guest Bio: Mishka is a cultural and intellectual historian of global and imperial history from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. Her interdisciplinary research interests include the histories of universities, knowledge, texts, oriental languages, cultural and material heritage, womenâs history, and underrepresented people and cultures in Europe, the United States and Asia. Mishka received her B.A. degree from St. Xavierâs College, Mumbai, an M.Phil from the University of Oxford, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. She has taught at several UK and continental European universities and received several research grants and fellowships including a British Academy PDF at Cambridge, a Max Weber Fellowship in Florence, and others at Edinburgh, Oxford and Berlin. Mishka has worked with museums and heritage in India, and collaborated as an actor and performer with a contemporary Indian artist on multiple projects since 2003.
Blog Posts written by Dr SinhaHRP: The tale of Abdullah and 'the Shah Goest'HRP: Searching for the young Black man in the portrait of William III, with Camilla de KoningPart I Part IISt. John's College, Oxford -
In this episode, host Ellie Woodacre interviews Charlotte Boland, the curator of the Six Lives exhibition currently running at the National Portrait Gallery, London. In this interview we discuss the inspiration behind the exhibition, new approaches to the history of the Six Lives and the unusual and diverse selection of visual and material culture in the exhibition.
The exhibition is running until 8 September 2024--click here for more information or to book tickets.
If you are not in the UK or are listening to this episode after the exhibition has finished you can purchase the exhibition catalogue, which includes all of the material exhibited and features a range of articles from academics in the field on the Six Lives.
Guest Bio: Dr Charlotte Bolland is a Senior Curator at the National Portrait Galleryâshe joined in 2011 as Project Curator for the Making Art in Tudor Britain project. Her role combines responsibility for the acquisition, research and interpretation of portraits dating from the sixteenth century, with co-ordination of research activity within the curatorial department. She has co-curated a number of exhibitions at the NPG, including The Real Tudors: Kings and Queens Rediscovered (2014) and The Encounter: Drawings from Leonardo to Rembrandt (2017).Charlotte studied for her PhD at Queen Mary, University of London, in collaboration with The Royal Collection as part of an AHRC funded CDAâher doctoral thesis was entitled Italian Material Culture at the Tudor Court. It explored the many items that were owned by the Tudor monarchs that had been brought to England by Italian individuals, either through trade or as gifts.
Selected Publications:
C. Bolland and T. Cooper, The Encounter: Drawings from Leonardo to Rembrandt (National Portrait Gallery, 2017)
C. Bolland and T. Cooper, The Real Tudors: Kings and Queens Rediscovered (National Portrait Gallery, 2014)
-
CONTENT WARNING: Please be aware that there are brief discussions of infant and child mortality in this episode.
In this episode Susannah Lyon-Whaley interviews Alexandra Forsyth on her fascinating research on the dauphines of late medieval France.
Guest Bio: Alexandra is a doctoral candidate in History at the University of Auckland. Her doctoral thesis examines the fertility, maternity, and childlessness of the ten Valois dauphines from 1350-1559. She is particularly interested in how the dauphines may have sought to enhance their fertility through the use of magical-medicinal and religious remedies. Alexandra holds a Master of Arts and BA (Hons) in History, both with First Class Honours.Alexandra is currently working as an Editorial Advisor for the Powers 1100-1550 section of Routledge Resources Online: Medieval Studies and has two forthcoming encyclopaedic entries on this platform, namely, Margaret of Scotland (1424-1445); Salic Law and French Royal Succession.
Alexandraâs recommended readings:
Translated primary source: The Trotula: An English Translation of the Medieval Compendium of Womenâs Medicine. Translated and edited by Monica H. Green. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002. Book on the Conditions of Women was discussed.
Susan Broomhall. The Identities of Catherine de' Medici. Leiden: Brill, 2021.
Jennifer Evans. Aphrodisiacs, Fertility, and Medicine in Early Modern England. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2014.
Kristen L. Geaman. Anne of Bohemia. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2022.
Kristen L. Geaman, "Anne of Bohemia and Her Struggle to Conceive, Social History of Medicine." Social History of Medicine 29, 2 (2016): 224-244.
Daphna Oren-Magidor. Infertility in Early Modern England. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.
Regina Toepfer. Infertility in Medieval and Early Modern Europe Premodern Views on Childlessness. Translated by Kate Sotejeff-Wilson. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022.
-
To celebrate the release of the Royal Studies Journal special issue 'Defining Aristocracy' (issue 11.1: June 2024), we have two roundtable episodes with the guest editor, Cathleen Sarti, and her contributors--one in English and another in German: a first for our podcast! This episode is the German version, hosted by Erik Liebscher and featuring Cathleen Sarti, Nadir Weber and Marion Dotter. You can find out more about all of the participants in this episode in the guest bios below.
Cathleen Sarti: Cathleen Sarti is Departmental Lecturer for History of War at the University of Oxford. She holds a Phd from the University of Mainz which has been published as Deposing Monarchs: Domestic Conflict and State Formation, 1500-1700 with Routledge in 2022. She often works with Charlotte Backerra from the University of Göttingen on Monarchy & Money: the research seminar, several publications, and a book series with AUP. The research is connected to Examining the Resources and Revenues of Royal Women in Premodern Europe. Cathleen is currently working a book on War Materials in European Warfare from the Baltic and the Economic Agency of Danish Queens.
Marion Dotter: Marion Dotter is a research assistant at the Collegium Carolinum in Munich, Germany. From 2018 to 2021, she wrote her dissertation on Noble Politics in the late Habsburg Monarchy as part of the research project The Desk of the Emperor. Her research interest in Habsburg administrative practice led to the publication of the anthology "AllerunterthÀnigst unterfertigte Bitte. Bittschriften und Petitionen im langen 19. Jahrhundert". She is currently working on a study on the relationship between the Catholic Church and Communism in East-Central and South-East Europe in the Second Half of the 20th century.Nadir Weber: Nadir Weber is Professor of Early Modern Swiss History at the University of Bern and is currently leading the SNF Eccellenza project Republican Secrets: Silence, Memory, and Collective Rule in the Early Modern Period. He completed his PhD in Bern on the Principality of Neuchùtel and its political relations with Prussia. He then explored the history of hunting and human-animal relations, particularly at court, in various publications including a recent article on the concept of aristocracy in the political language of the early modern period.
Erik Liebscher: Erik Liebscher's work focusses on personal testimonies, the lower nobility, societies and sociability in the 18th century. He holds a PhD from the University of Erfurt (2024) which analyzed diaries of the Gotha court nobility around 1800. Since May 2024, he has been a research assistant at the Chair of Early Modern History at the University of Leipzig.
-
To celebrate the release of the Royal Studies Journal special issue 'Defining Aristocracy' (issue 11.1: June 2024), we have two roundtable episodes with the guest editor, Cathleen Sarti, and her contributors--one in English and another in German: a first for our podcast!
This episode (in English) is hosted by Ellie Woodacre and features Cathleen Sarti and two contributors, Alexander Isacsson and Nicola Clark. In this roundtable we discuss the "fuzzy" definition of aristocracy, Alexander's article on the perception of the aristocracy in Swedish historiography and Nikki's ideas of "hard" and "soft" aristocracy in her study of women at the Tudor court. To find out more about our guest, see their bios below.
Guest bios:
Cathleen Sarti: Cathleen Sarti is Departmental Lecturer for History of War at the University of Oxford. She holds a Phd from the University of Mainz which has been published as Deposing Monarchs: Domestic Conflict and State Formation, 1500-1700 with Routledge in 2022--see our episode on her book here. She often works together with Charlotte Backerra from the University of Göttingen, in particular on all things regarding Monarchy & Money â there is a research seminar, several publications, and of course the book series with AUP. The research is also connected to the wider project from within the RSN on Examining the Resources and Revenues of Royal Women in Premodern Europe. Cathleen is currently working a book on War Materials in European Warfare from the Baltic (introduced in a blog), and will then turn to the question of Economic Agency of Danish Queens.
Dr Nicola Clark is a Senior Lecturer in early modern history at the University of Chichester. Her first book, Gender, Family, and Politics: The Howard Women, 1485-1558 was published by Oxford University Press in 2018, and she has issued widely on women's roles, the Reformation, and sixteenth century politics. She also writes for public audiences, and her latest book The Waiting Game: The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens was published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 2024.Alexander Isacsson is a researcher in history at Lund University, Sweden. He obtained his doctorate in 2023 after having published his dissertation Defining Dukeship: The Problem of Royal Spares and Dynasty Formation in Sweden, 1556â1622. He is currently working within a project financed by the Swedish Research Council and headed by Liesbeth Geevers at Lund University. The project, entitled New Princes: Duke Johan of Ăstergötland (1589-1618) and Archduke Charles of Austria (1590-1624), explores how the role of second sons changed in European monarchies in the seventeenth century from a comparative perspective. Besides royal studies and dynastic history, Alexander is also interested in historiography and media history.
-
In this episode, host Ellie Woodacre interviews the winner of the Royal Studies Journal Book Prize 2024--Matthew Fitzpatrick. In the interview, we discuss his prize winning book The Kaiser and the Colonies: Monarchy in the Age of Empire (Oxford University Press, 2022), including the inspiration behind the project, the character of Kaiser Wilhelm II and his relationships (good, bad and ugly!) with other global monarchs.
Matt Fitzpatrick--institutional webpageProject Webpage: Monarchy, Democracy and Empire in GermanyFollow Matt on BlueskyFollow Matt on X: @kilderbenhauser
Guest Bio: Matt Fitzpatrick is a Future Fellow and Matthew Flinders Professor of International History at Flinders University. His research is in the field of modern European history, in particular German imperial history. He is the author of three books on this topic, The Kaiser and the Colonies being his most recent. A fourth book, on the history of German Samoa, is due for publication in late 2024 / early 2025. He lives and works on Kaurna country, which is in South Australia.
Links/Further information: -
This episode is an interview with Nadia van Pelt about her new book, Intercultural Explorations and the Court of Henry VIII which came out with OUP in December 2023. In this episode Dr Ellie Woodacre asks the author about the inspiration behind the book, the role of the fool at the Tudor court and about an exciting document that Nadia discovered which sheds new light on Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves.
Guest Bio: Nadia van Pelt is a lecturer at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. She holds a PhD from the University of Southampton, and published her first book with Routledge in 2019. Her research sits on the intersection between literary and cultural history, with a focus on drama, performance, and ritual.
Publications:
· Drama in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Playmakers and Their Strategies (Routledge, 2019)· Challenging the âUglinessâ of Anne of Cleves, History Today, April 2024
· Speaking of Kings and Popes under the Shadow of Henry VIIIâs Treason Act: Baleâs King Johan, RSJ 8.1(2021)
· Katherine of Aragon's Deathbed: Why Chapuys Brought a Fool, Early Theatre 24.1 (2021)
· Royal epistolary courtship in Latin? Arthur Tudor's âlove letterâ to Katherine of Aragon at the Archivo General de Simancas and Francesco Negri's Ars Epistolandi, Renaissance Studies 38.2 (2024)
· John Blankeâs Wages: No Business Like Show Business, Medieval English Theatre 44 (2023): https://doi.org/10.1017/9781805430438.002 [JSTOR or Cambridge Core]
· Teens and Tudors: The Pedagogy of Royal Studies, RSJ 1.1 (2014)
· Enter Queen: Metatheatricality and the Monarch on/off Stage, The Image and Perception of Monarchy in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (2014)
- Vis mere
