The dark queens : the bloody rivalry that forged the medieval world

Bloody rivalry that forged the medieval world (portion title)
Queens : (portion title)
Rivalry that forged the medieval world (portion title)

Puhak, Shelley (author.).

Summary: The remarkable, little-known story of two trailblazing women in the Early Middle Ages who wielded immense power, only to be vilified for daring to rule. Brunhild was a foreign princess, raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building. Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave. And yet, in sixth-century Merovingian France, where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport, these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms, changing the face of Europe.

Record details

ISBN: 9781635574913
ISBN: 1635574919
Physical Description: xvi, 367 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 25 cm
print
Publisher: New York : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022.
Copyright: ©2022

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-346) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

A wedding in Metz -- Meeting the Franks -- The fall of Charibert -- New alliances -- A missive to Byzantium -- The slave queen -- All the king's men -- The siege -- The witch and the nun -- Back channels -- Uprising -- The laws of sanctuary -- Crime and punishment -- "Wise in counsel" -- Fredegund's grief -- Brunhild in the breach -- The regency -- Set ablaze -- Brunichildis Regina -- The King is dead -- The vexations of King Guntram -- The Gundovald affair -- The diplomatic arts -- The Dukes' revolt -- A royal engagement -- The defiant nuns -- Allies and assassins -- Forlorn little boys -- The fading of the kings -- The dual rule -- Brunhild's battles -- The fall -- Epilogue. Backlash.