Charity Sheppard
asked
Sharon Kay Penman:
I recently saw BBC Documentary "How to Get Ahead at Court - Medieval Times" Stephen Smith said, "In the Middle Ages, Court was a place for the chaps. Going to war, defending the realm, that was the stuff that the boys got up to. A powerful woman around the place tended to mean instability, even civil war." What are your thoughts on this statement and of women, great and common, in this time period?
Sharon Kay Penman
I do not agree with this, Charity. It is true that civil war resulted from the Empress Maude's claim to the English crown, but it can be argued that had Stephen not usurped her throne, there would not have been a civil war. And there are other examples of women rulers who wielded power as well as any man. So to say that "a powerful woman tended to mean instability, even civil war" is both a simplification of a complex issue and a sweeping generalization.
More Answered Questions
AB Craine
asked
Sharon Kay Penman:
Could I tempt you with 11'th century England: From 1035 to 1066. Interesting characters include: Did Emma really summon her sons back from Normandy in 1035 when Alfred was tortured? The fact that Edward removed his mother's power when he became king suggests he thought she was involved. Godwin is another. I know the Bayeux Tapestry describes what happened, but the people are not REAL the way you can make them.
Sienna
asked
Sharon Kay Penman:
I discovered Richard III through your lovely Sunne In Splendour just as his bones were found. Sunne remains the best book I've read on the time period. I'm going to England this Autumn to see some of the places I've read so much about. Can you recommend places in York, Leicester & London that I should not miss? I'd like to know some of your personal favorites, hidden gems which may not be on the main tourist track.
Erin Poche
asked
Sharon Kay Penman:
Hi Sharon, I'm a huge fan of the Devil's Brood series and the Here be Dragons series. I'm finally reading Lionheart and I love it as well. I just read your comment on Wales and was wondering if you're by chance watching the FX series, "The Bastard Executioner?" I wasn't going to watch it but then read it was during the time of Edward II and the continuing wars with Wales. It's intriguing, I have to say!
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