Katherine Lewis - Kingship and Masculinity in Late Medieval England

KINGSHIP AND MASCULINITY IN LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLAND

Kingship and Masculinity in Late Medieval England explores the dynamic between kingship and masculinity in fifteenth-century England, with a particular focus on Henry V and Henry VI. The role of gender in the rhetoric and practice of medieval kingship is still largely unexplored by medieval historians. However, discourses of masculinity informed much of the contemporary comment on fifteenth-century kings, for a variety of purposes: to praise and eulogise but also to explain shortcomings and provide justification for deposition.

Katherine J. Lewis examines these discourses in relation to contemporary understandings of the nature and acquisition of manhood in the period and considers the extent to which judgements of a kings performance were informed by his ability to embody the right balance of manly qualities. The books primary concern is with how Henry V and Henry VI were presented, represented and perceived by those around them, but it also asks how far these two kings can be said to have understood the importance of personifying a particular brand of masculinity in their performance of kingship and of meeting the expectations of their subjects in this respect. It explores the extent to which their established reputations as inherently manly and unmanly kings were the product of their handling of political circumstances, but owed something to factors beyond their immediate control as well. Consideration is also given to Margaret of Anjous manipulation of ideologies of kingship and manhood in response to her husbands incapacity, and the ramifications of this for perceptions of the relational gender identities which she and Henry VI embodied together.

Kingship and Masculinity in Late Medieval England is an essential resource for students of gender and medieval history.

Katherine J. Lewis is a senior lecturer in late medieval history at the University of Huddersfield. Her previous publications include Holiness and Masculinity in the Middle Ages (2004), The Cult of St Katherine of Alexandria in Late Medieval England (2000) and Young Medieval Women (1999).

KINGSHIP AND MASCULINITY IN LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLAND

Katherine J. Lewis

First published 2013

by Routledge

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and published in the USA and Canada

by Routledge

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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2013 Katherine J. Lewis

The right of Katherine J. Lewis to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Lewis, Katherine J., 1969

Kingship and masculinity in late Medieval England / Katherine J. Lewis.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

1. Great Britain--History--Lancaster and York, 1399-1485. 2. Monarchy--Great Britain--History--To 1500. 3. Masculinity--Great Britain--History--To 1500. I. Title.

DA256.L49 2013

942.04--dc23

2013006887

ISBN: 978-0-415-31613-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-415-31612-5 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-203-79585-9 (ebk)

Typeset in Garamond

by Taylor & Francis Books

When I arrived in York over twenty years ago to undertake a Masters course devoted to the study of medieval women I did not anticipate I would one day write a book about kings, although it has become the logical outcome of my interest in medieval gender. This project has been in many respects an instructive and fruitful counterpoint to my earlier work on St Katherine of Alexandria, who was represented as a sovereign queen. I have accrued several debts in the process of research and writing. First I must thank Vicky Peters for showing such patience during the long gestation of this book. I am extremely grateful to Mark Ormrod and Craig Taylor for reading and commenting on portions of it, as well as for general encouragement as I navigated areas of later medieval English history which had previously been relatively unfamiliar to me. Many thanks are also due to Joanna Laynesmith who advised on the chapters involving Margaret of Anjou. In addition I have benefited greatly from discussing kingship and warfare with David Green, and I thank him and Craig Taylor for allowing me to read some of their forthcoming work prior to publication. John Arnold, Pat Cullum, Joanna Huntington and Victoria Whitworth have all been very generous in the amount of time they were prepared to spend talking through the ideas and approaches which have informed this book. Barry Doyle and Paul Ward provided invaluable support at crucial moments and Rob Ellis made a lot of very welcome coffee. The insights of my students have helped to shape parts of the analysis and I thank them for regularly allowing me to see the Middle Ages through fresh and eager eyes. I would like to mention Tim Greenhalgh in particular, whose sharp observations on a range of subjects I greatly miss. I must also thank my parents, Carol and John Lewis, and my sister Liz Lewis, for knowing when to show an interest in my work, and when to distract me from it. The final and greatest debt is owed to Graeme Neath, with thanks for his limitless tolerance, thoughtfulness and good humour.

Katherine J. Lewis