A review by bookedbymadeline
LIONESSHEART: The Life and Times of Joanna Plantagenet by CATHERINE. HANLEY

informative medium-paced

4.0

Thank you History Press UK for the eARC in Exchange for my honest review!

Not much is known about Joanna because most historians or chroniclers of the time didn’t care about women, even the Royal ones 🙃 Hanley does what she can with the primary sources available to paint a full picture of what Joanna’s life could’ve been like! And what a crazy life it was; Family disputes over the English throne, Queen of Sicily, and going on the Third Crusade.

Hanley also provides us with intriguing information about the life of women, especially noblewomen, in the 12th century. Mostly context of the time period and what was happening politically/geographically.

The book could be hard to read at times mostly because I was reading on my phone and that could be distracting or uncomfortable for my eyes after a while 😂 While it was one to take my time with, I was fascinated by Joanna and her family, as well as the overall history of the time.

I’d recommend more for history lovers especially those who enjoy the Middle Ages and discussions of both political alliances and disputes!

Ive also included some of my favorite quotes:

"…during a life in which she was variously a princess and pioneer, a captive and queen, a warrior and wife. She represented, and was often the very personification of, many of the crucial issues of the era, and this provides us with a wonderful opportunity to examine them in detail."

"A second difficulty in finding information about Joanna personally is that the contemporary chroniclers - who were inevitably male and often also monks who experienced very little female interaction - did not have a lot to say about the deeds of women. They hardly mention them except where it is unavoid-able, and even then, they tend to minimise female participation…"

"The trick, for a woman of the time, was being able to recognise which situation was which: when she might stand a chance of winning or getting her own way, and when she never would, no matter how hard she tried."

"Joanna was about to fall victim to betrayal, danger and violence, and they would arrive with shocking rapidity."

"After marriage, royal women of the Middle Ages continued to maintain relationships with their birth families. The rationale for doing so is clear: what would be the point of a strategic alliance if the parties never communicated with each other? The woman or girl in question was supposed to act as a bridge between the two families, so she needed to be firmly grounded on both sides of the river. The very fact that this needs stating is evidence of the way in which women’s contributions to politics have been side- lined by many (often male) historians, both medieval and modern, who were content simply to write, ‘... and she was married off at a young age to ...’ as though that were the end of the story."


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