Medieval Women

Between the 12th and 15th centuries in Europe, not all women fit the stereotype of passive housewife and mother. Many led bold and dynamic lives. In this collection of historical portraits, Maria Teresa Brolis tells the fascinating tales of fashion icons, art clients, businesswomen, saints, healers, lovers, and pilgrims - both famous and little known - who challenge conventional understandings of the medieval female experience. Drawing on evidence from literary works and archival documents, Brolis pieces together an intricate overview of 16 women's lives.

“I've summoned you because you're the only man I could ever fully trust with Nathalia's virtue. You're my foster brother and best friend. I need someone to protect and guard Nathalia, and I can think of no one else I would trust with this.” Sir Kay is a retired Knight of the Round Table. For the last decade, he's lived alone in a coastal cottage, taking odd jobs and drinking too much. After many years of solitude, Kay gets an unexpected summons from King Arthur, his foster brother and old friend. What could King Arthur possibly need from him after all this time? King Arthur is living in...

From the author of the bestselling Tahoe Mystery series... It was a brutal demand from the California Bureau of Investigation to medieval weapons expert Professor Josie Strong. Your 14-year-old daughter was picked up on a smuggling charge. Never mind whether she was framed. We’re going to send her to prison unless you help us find a twisted killer who is hiding in the Yosemite wilderness. With no other options, Josie is forced to team up with a former student and professional hacker to find the missing killer. Instead, she finds evidence of a conspiracy and cover-up, and she and her ...

Just as out from the flames come the Phoenix, from the ashes of an identity, devastated, came Margaret of Austria, the most influential female of her time. Married into the highest echelons of European monarchy, queen of France, princess of Spain, and duchess of savoy, the security of destiny proved false, leaving the young Margaret married thrice and widowed twice. And yet, this unplanned destiny was transformative, forming her into the hand that moved the puzzle pieces of European diplomacy. Married at two years of age to the dauphin of France, by twelve, Margaret of Austria found herself...

A romance thread through a world of war, fantasy fused with fiction, Normandy, 1216: Lady Gabrielle is captured at a French convent and taken to an English castle—a prize for warlord Michael Marston. Her lover, Montague of Rouen, plots a daring rescue, joining forces with English barons about to overthrow King John. Marston steals Gabrielle’s heart with a powerful spell cast by a witch named Minerva. But when England drifts into civil war and Montague attacks, Gabrielle is forced to choose. With whom will she spend eternity: Michael Marston or Montague? A romance thread through a world ...

At the height of the Middle Ages in the 14th century, King Edward III of England is determined to use any means necessary to expand his power and gain control of England's bitter rival, France. His own son, Edward, prince of Wales, is far from immune from his political plans. And when Joan of Kent, now free from exile, sees her chance for revenge, she takes it. A calculated plot to scandalize the royal family for revenge for her father's downfall and execution soon turns into the most surprising thing: love.

The Book of Margery Kempe is the extraordinary account of a medieval wife, mother, and mystic from Norfolk. Having married in c. 1393, given birth to 14 children, and pursued unsuccessful ventures in brewing and milling, Kempe made a vow of chastity and embarked on a life of prayer, penance, and pilgrimage.

LET NOTHING HOLD YOU BACK. A companion novel to the Sleeping Lotus series. Loren Stone wasn't always a powerful general. Once, he was simply a victim. And Lassyne True wasn't always the Thorns' most hated spy. Once, she was the heir to a duchy and a fortune... and the favorite target of a murderous lunatic. They have so much in common. They've both been kept in a cage. Lassyne knows this, because she was there. As a child, she saw what happened to Loren... and for ten years of her life, she has watched him from afar, obsessing over a future that they'll never have. But when her parents ...

‘Small, very talkative, ready enough to do evil, shrewd and jocular, extremely cruel and daring.’ Orderic Vitalis on Mabel de Belleme. Mabel is the daughter of William de Belleme, known as Talvas, the Hard Shield, for his fierceness in battle…and at home. When William murders Mabel’s mother, he is expelled from his castle into exile—but Mabel follows him loyally, despite what he has done. As the Belleme fortunes gradually return, Mabel is married to an upstanding young lord, Roger de Montgomery, a close friend of the new Duke of Normandy—William, who will one day become the ...

Sent into a convent at the age of six, Mary daughter of Edward I, decides to make the best of a bad situation. It soon becomes obvious she is never going to make a good nun! Never forgetting that she is a princess by birth, the feisty gambler travels around England, living the high life at daddy's expense, and acquiring numerous other bad "habits" ... including being linked romantically to the Earl of Surrey, John de Warenne. When her Father the King becomes ill and dies, the crown goes to Mary's brother Edward II and the travelling nun attends his disastrous Coronation, rubbing shoulders ...

She fled through time to save her son. Falling for a king was never part of the plan. When Bethany escapes her dangerous ex-husband by traveling back to ancient Scotland, she never expects to be mistaken for a runaway princess—or to find herself drawn into a world of warriors, secrets, and magic. All she wants is to keep her little boy safe. But in a kingdom full of political enemies and a priest who knows too much, keeping her secret might cost her everything. King Comgall knows he must marry to secure peace. His bride seems perfect: fierce, loyal, and willing to risk everything for her ...

"A creative paranormal love story for fantasy fans." — Kirkus Reviews “Three stories rolled into one. Outlander fans will enjoy this novel.” – Amazon Review "Enthusiasts of drama with a touch of romance will find this an interesting read." – Readers' Favorite Heartache, Perseverance, and Love Come Together in This Historical Romance After the sudden death of Jenna's best friend Padma, Jenna discovers her unfinished book and vows to complete it in her honor. Set in medieval times, the story is a struggle for Jenna to finish until Padma steps in to help her from beyond the grave. ...

"It was in the first week of October in the year 1391 that I first came face to face with the man who owned me… the man whose lightest word was to us, his villeins, weightier than the King’s law or the edicts of our Holy Father…” So began the story of Martin Reed - a serf whose resentment of the automatic rule of his feudal lord finally flared into open defiance.

He was everything she'd ever wanted in a man... and then there was his other side. It's the year 1690, and Antonia Crivelli's father has arranged for her to be married to one of the wealthiest, most handsome men in Venice. Although her fiancé seems strangely uninterested in her, 19-year-old Antonia naively hopes things will be better after the wedding. Everything changes the day Antonia meets Tavros, the mysterious shipyard blacksmith whose smoldering glances leave no doubt as to where his desires lie. In the dark, mysterious eyes of the Greek laborer, Antonia sees her chance for true love...

In an assiduously researched biography of a 16th-century Jewish woman who managed a powerful business empire, Brooks, an associate fellow at Yale, has illuminated a mostly forgotten corner of history. Famed during her lifetime both in the Sephardic Jewish community for her unstinting philanthropy and in the wider world of the Muslim Ottoman Empire, where she fled to escape the Inquisition, Beatrice de Luna Mendes, better known as Doña Gracia Nasi (1510-1569), was a woman of formidable business acumen, personal courage, outstanding altruism and devotion to the Jewish religion, which, as a ...

Stuck in medieval England with no cell service... Christian Thornton keeps losing his betrothed. The ladies have heard a terrible rumor and flee so the last thing he needs is a vexing future girl showing up at Winterforth. Ashley is high-strung, stressed out, and lost without her ever present phone. The thought of being disconnected makes her break out in hives. For someone who always needs to know what time it is, waking up in medieval England just won’t do.

Set against the backdrop of the turbulent 13th century, a time of chivalry and crusades, poetry, knights, and monarchs, comes the story of the four beautiful daughters of the count of Provence, whose brilliant marriages made them the queens of France, England, Germany, and Sicily.

In the winter of 1271, death stalks the corridors of Wynethorpe Castle on the Welsh border. When the Grim Reaper touches the beloved grandson of the castle lord, Baron Adam sends for his daughter, Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal, and her subinfirmarian, Sister Anne, to save the child with their prayers and healing talents. Escorting them to the remote fortress is Brother Thomas, an unwilling monk fighting his private demons.

In a world where honor and passion collide, red-haired Dangereuse de l'Isle Bouchard believes her marriage to Viscount Aimery is her greatest achievement. But everything changes when she encounters William, Duke of Aquitaine—his court a whirlwind of music and revelry. Drawn into a secret affair, Dangereuse finds herself abducted to Poitiers, living in a tower designed just for her. As tensions rise with William's vengeful family, she takes charge, orchestrating a marriage that will change history. Witness the rise of a granddaughter destined to become the fierce Eleanor of Aquitaine. Love...

In the tumultuous Tudor Era, Katherine Plantagenet finds herself caught between the shadows of her past and the uncertainty of her future. At just fifteen, she feels the weight of her lineage as Richard III's illegitimate daughter. Married to the Earl of Huntingdon, she fears rejection, haunted by memories of a carefree childhood at Sheriff Hutton Castle. As whispers of royal intrigue swirl around her, Katherine must navigate a world where loyalty is fragile and betrayal lurks behind every corner. Will she reclaim her place in a kingdom that sees her as a threat, or will her past define her...