Joan of Arc and Richard III: Sex, Saints, and Government in the Middle Ages [Paperback]

Charles T. Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 1991

Joan of Arc and Richard III loom large in the histories of their countries, but the myths surrounding them have always obscured just who they were and what they hoped to accomplish. In this book, medieval historian Charles Wood brings these fascinating figures to life through an original combination of traditional biography and wide-ranging discussion of the political and social world in which they lived. Wood draws on a range of unusual sources--from art and legal codes to chronicles and lives of saints--to present a new picture of medieval people and their concerns. Focusing on topics often neglected by other historians, he includes lively discussions of royal adultery scandals, child-kings and the problems they posed, and earlier people and crises that helped to shape the culture of sex and sainthood that was profoundly that of the Middle Ages. In so doing, he clarifies the historical contributions of Richard and Joan, and sheds new light on the political, social, and religious forces that shaped medieval government and made France and England such widely different countries.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A notably satisfying book....The pleasure is enlarged when the message, both for the detail and the broad view, is delivered with conscious punctilio and urbanity....These mature reflections are calculated to excite students and to provoke their teachers out of routine responses."--Speculum

"Professor Wood's study of French and English history in the late Middle ages is a notably satisfying book ... Wood has style, both in curiosity and diction, and fortunately he enjoys displaying it."--Speculum A Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

"Readers...will find much to ponder in this rich collection of essays."--Choice

"Wood works close to his primary sources and is therefore interesting to argue with....Contains a number of fresh insights."--American Historical Review

"A lively, provocative book...Wood dives into his story with zest."--Catholic Historical Review

About the Author

Charles T. Wood is at Dartmouth College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 3, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019506951X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195069518
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,371,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Less sex and saints, mostly government, April 27, 2011

By 

Caleb Hanson (Wilmington, MA, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joan of Arc and Richard III: Sex, Saints, and Government in the Middle Ages (Paperback)

A study of general trends in government and constitutional theory in France and England over the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries: France under a semi-sacred royal dynasty starts heading towards divine-right-of-kings absolute monarchy, while England develops a more representational parliamentary theory of government. Very much more attention to England than to France. The individual chapters deal with separate issues--many are re-workings of articles previously published separately; particular attention to disputed and minority successions, and looking at issues from the contemporaries' point of view. No particular reason Joan and Richard deserve pride of place, except that they are among the last chapters and so can be read as some kind of culmination of Wood's thesis.

Should note that the book isn't quite as entertaining as the "sex and saints" in the subtitle makes it sound: the saints in question are Louis IX and Joan in their purely political contexts, plus a mention of Richard II's attempts to get Edward II canonized; the sex mostly refers to adulterous queens (Isabella in England, Isabeau in France) possibly complicating the legitimate succession. Interesting to see a somewhat different take on Richard III: neither evil Shakespearean wicked uncle nor wronged Daughter-of-Time noble king, but rather a military man caught way out of his depth in a political situation (but inclined more towards the wicked uncle than the wronged noble). I think he reads much more into the Wilton Diptych than is really there.