Joan, Lady of Wales: Power and Politics of King John's Daughter

During the Age of Princes in medieval Wales, the history of women, including Joan of England, the wife of Llywelyn the Great, is largely unknown. Joan's story is one of family turmoil, divided loyalties, and political intrigue, as she played a significant role in Anglo-Welsh politics as the first woman to be designated Lady of Wales. This first-ever account of her life highlights her involvement in affairs, discusses events where she may have been involved but has gone unrecorded, and emphasizes her deployment of royal female agency.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 256 pages
\n Publication date: 14 September 2020
\n Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd
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The history of women in medieval Wales before the English conquest of 1282 is a largely enigmatic chapter in the annals of the region. During the Age of Princes, characterized by escalating threats of foreign hegemony, internal dynastic strife, and relentless warfare, the comings and goings of women receive scant attention in the available sources. This unfortunate circumstance extends even to the most renowned royal woman of that era, Joan of England (d. 1237), the wife of Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd, an illegitimate daughter of King John and half-sister to Henry III. Joan's life is a well-known yet oft-overlooked tale defined by familial turmoil, divided loyalties, and political intrigue. From the moment her hand was promised in marriage as a result of the first Welsh-English alliance in 1201 to the end of her days, Joan's position in the political machinations between England and the Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd was pivotal. As the first woman to be designated Lady of Wales, her role as a political diplomat in early thirteenth-century Anglo-Welsh relations played a crucial role. This groundbreaking account of Siwan, as she was known to the Welsh, intertwines the details of her life and relationships with a gendered re-evaluation of Anglo-Welsh politics by highlighting her involvement in affairs, discussing events in which she may have been involved but have gone unrecorded, and examining her overall deployment of royal female agency.

\n Weight: 608g\n
Dimension: 241 x 164 x 28 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781526729293\n \n