Joanna Laynesmith | University of Reading (original) (raw)
Books by Joanna Laynesmith
This is the first scholarly biography of Cecily Neville, duchess of York, the mother of Edward IV... more This is the first scholarly biography of Cecily Neville, duchess of York, the mother of Edward IV and Richard III. She was said to have ruled Edward IV 'as she pleased' and Richard III made his bid for the throne from her home. Yet Cecily has been a shadowy figure in modern histories, noted primarily for her ostentatious piety, her expensive dresses, and the rumours of her adultery.
Here J. L. Laynesmith draws on a wealth of rarely considered sources to construct a fresh and revealing portrait of a remarkable woman. Cecily was the only major protagonist to live right through the Wars of the Roses. This book sheds new light on that bloody conflict in which Cecily proved herself an exceptional political survivor. Skilfully manipulating her family connections and contemporary ideas about womanhood, Cecily repeatedly reinvented herself to protect her own status and to ensure the security of those in her care.
From her childhood marriage to Richard duke of York until her final decade as grandmother of the first Tudor queen, the story of Cecily Neville's life provides a rich insight into national and local politics, women's power and relationships, motherhood, household dynamics and the role of religion in fifteenth-century England.
The last medieval queens of England were Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne Neville, an... more The last medieval queens of England were Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne Neville, and Elizabeth of York - four very different women whose lives and queenship were dominated by the Wars of the Roses. This book is not a traditional biography but a thematic study of the ideology and practice of queenship. It examines the motivations behind the choice of the first English-born queens, the multi-faceted rituals of coronation, childbirth, and funeral, the divided loyalties between family and king, and the significance of a position at the heart of the English power structure that could only be filled by a woman. It sheds new light on the queens' struggles to defend their children's rights to the throne, and argues that ideologically and politically a queen was integral to the proper exercise of mature kingship in this period.
Thesis by Joanna Laynesmith
Written under maiden name, Joanna. L Chamberlayne. DPhil Thesis, Centre for Medieval Studies, Uni... more Written under maiden name, Joanna. L Chamberlayne. DPhil Thesis, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York
Chapter in Book by Joanna Laynesmith
The Fifteenth Century, XV. Writing, Records and Rhetoric, edited by Linda Clark (The Boydell Press), 2017
Every Inch a King. Comparative Studies on Kings and Kingship in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds, edited by in Lynette Mitchell and Charles Melville (Brill), 2013
The Yorkist Age. Harlaxton Medieval Studies XXIII, edited by Hannes Kleineke and Christian Steer (Shaun Tyas), 2013
The Harlaxton Symposium is an annual conference on medieval studies, held at Harlaxton Manor near... more The Harlaxton Symposium is an annual conference on medieval studies, held at Harlaxton Manor near Grantham in Lincolnshire. This latest title in the series is brand new, published in April 2013 and presents the conference from 2011, on the age of the Yorkist kings, Edward IV and Richard III. There are twenty-one academic essays in the volume and the subjects range from religious and political history, literary criticism, archaeology, art history and even musicology. The authors are: Alexandra Buckle, Clive Burgess, Frederik Buylaert, Sean Cunningham, Charles Farris, Jelle Haemers, David Harry, Maria Hayward, Michael Hicks, Oliver Hounslow, Hannes Kleineke, J. L. Laynesmith, Lister M. Matheson, Carol M. Meale, S. J. Payling, M. T. W. Payne, Derek Pearsall, Nigel Ramsay, James Ross, Nigel Saul, Jennifer Scott, Christian Steer, Anne F. Sutton, Meg Twycross and Livia Visser-Fuchs. While the book was in the press, the exciting news broke that the remains of Richard III had been found under that famous car park in Leicester, raising new discussion about his reign, a booming membership for the Richard III Society and debates about the location and design of a new royal tomb. This volume of essays by leading historians will become essential reading for Ricardians and any student of the fifteenth century.
Women and Gender in Medieval Europe. An Encyclopedia, edited by M. Schaus (Routledge), 2006
The Fifteenth Century III. Authority and Subversion, edited by Linda Clarke (Boydell), 2003
Social Attitudes and Political Structures in the Fifteenth Century, edited by T. Thornton (Sutton, 2000), 2000
This volume includes papers on political, religious, social and economic history and the history ... more This volume includes papers on political, religious, social and economic history and the history of ideas during the 15th century. The papers challenge existing conceptions and open new avenues of discussion on longstanding debates. Themes covered include parliaments and their relationships with the monarchs of the period, both in Scotland and in England; queens and their role in the 15th century English polity; the ideas that lay behind the English claims to the French throne, and the rituals of peace-making in the Hundred Years War. Debates over the importance of lordship and service are also touched upon, in a paper which examines Lord Hastings' retainers in the defence of Calais, while another chapter discusses the local politics of a small Welsh marcher lordship. The crucial subject of Lancastrian government finances in the 1450s also receives a fresh examination. In religious history, papers examine the activity of monastic propagandists and the religious life of cathedrals through the activity of fraternities based in them. There are also considerations of a noble widow, and of the 15th century rural economy.
Young Medieval Women, edited by Katherine Lewis, Noel James Menuge and Kim Phillips (Sutton), 1999
Journal Articles by Joanna Laynesmith
The Ricardian Bulletin, 2017
The Ricardian Bulletin, 2015
The Ricardian Bulletin, 2015
Medieval Marriage. Selected Proceedings of the 2013 Postgraduate Conference held by the Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Reading, edited by Charlotte Pickard, 2013
Eadwig the All Fair, king of the English (r. 955-957/9), was, according to the majority of eleven... more Eadwig the All Fair, king of the English (r. 955-957/9), was, according to the majority of eleventh and twelfth century authors who described him, 'a wanton youth, and one who misused his personal beauty in lascivious behaviour'. 1 Chroniclers and hagiographers alike linked this 'shameless conduct' with Eadwig's poor governance of the church and saw his loss of power in Mercia and Northumbria as apt divine punishment. Accounts of his vice centred on a beautiful kinswoman of his, AEthelgifu, and her daughter, AElfgifu, who both 'enticed him to intimacy '. 2 According to the earliest Life of St Dunstan, matters came to a head in January 956 when Eadwig mysteriously abandoned his own coronation feast. Archbishop Oda demanded that the king be found and only Abbot Dunstan of Glastonbury dared to incur the royal wrath. He discovered Eadwig 'wallowing between the two of them in evil fashion, as if in a vile sty'. 3 Dunstan rebuked the women, hauled Eadwig to his feet and dragged the unwilling king back to his coronation banquet. AEthelgifu swore revenge and duly engineered Dunstan's exile.
BBC History Magazine, 2003
The Ricardian, 1996
Published under maiden name, Joanna L. Chamberlayne Since publishing this article I have realise... more Published under maiden name, Joanna L. Chamberlayne
Since publishing this article I have realised that de Grey Birch was wrong to identify her supporter as an antelope. It is in fact a hart. I have also discovered that in Henry VII's reign she was sometimes referred to as 'the queen's grandmother' - these are both discussed in my 2017 biography of Cecily.
BBC History Magazine, 2004
This is the first scholarly biography of Cecily Neville, duchess of York, the mother of Edward IV... more This is the first scholarly biography of Cecily Neville, duchess of York, the mother of Edward IV and Richard III. She was said to have ruled Edward IV 'as she pleased' and Richard III made his bid for the throne from her home. Yet Cecily has been a shadowy figure in modern histories, noted primarily for her ostentatious piety, her expensive dresses, and the rumours of her adultery.
Here J. L. Laynesmith draws on a wealth of rarely considered sources to construct a fresh and revealing portrait of a remarkable woman. Cecily was the only major protagonist to live right through the Wars of the Roses. This book sheds new light on that bloody conflict in which Cecily proved herself an exceptional political survivor. Skilfully manipulating her family connections and contemporary ideas about womanhood, Cecily repeatedly reinvented herself to protect her own status and to ensure the security of those in her care.
From her childhood marriage to Richard duke of York until her final decade as grandmother of the first Tudor queen, the story of Cecily Neville's life provides a rich insight into national and local politics, women's power and relationships, motherhood, household dynamics and the role of religion in fifteenth-century England.
The last medieval queens of England were Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne Neville, an... more The last medieval queens of England were Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne Neville, and Elizabeth of York - four very different women whose lives and queenship were dominated by the Wars of the Roses. This book is not a traditional biography but a thematic study of the ideology and practice of queenship. It examines the motivations behind the choice of the first English-born queens, the multi-faceted rituals of coronation, childbirth, and funeral, the divided loyalties between family and king, and the significance of a position at the heart of the English power structure that could only be filled by a woman. It sheds new light on the queens' struggles to defend their children's rights to the throne, and argues that ideologically and politically a queen was integral to the proper exercise of mature kingship in this period.
Written under maiden name, Joanna. L Chamberlayne. DPhil Thesis, Centre for Medieval Studies, Uni... more Written under maiden name, Joanna. L Chamberlayne. DPhil Thesis, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York
The Fifteenth Century, XV. Writing, Records and Rhetoric, edited by Linda Clark (The Boydell Press), 2017
Every Inch a King. Comparative Studies on Kings and Kingship in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds, edited by in Lynette Mitchell and Charles Melville (Brill), 2013
The Yorkist Age. Harlaxton Medieval Studies XXIII, edited by Hannes Kleineke and Christian Steer (Shaun Tyas), 2013
The Harlaxton Symposium is an annual conference on medieval studies, held at Harlaxton Manor near... more The Harlaxton Symposium is an annual conference on medieval studies, held at Harlaxton Manor near Grantham in Lincolnshire. This latest title in the series is brand new, published in April 2013 and presents the conference from 2011, on the age of the Yorkist kings, Edward IV and Richard III. There are twenty-one academic essays in the volume and the subjects range from religious and political history, literary criticism, archaeology, art history and even musicology. The authors are: Alexandra Buckle, Clive Burgess, Frederik Buylaert, Sean Cunningham, Charles Farris, Jelle Haemers, David Harry, Maria Hayward, Michael Hicks, Oliver Hounslow, Hannes Kleineke, J. L. Laynesmith, Lister M. Matheson, Carol M. Meale, S. J. Payling, M. T. W. Payne, Derek Pearsall, Nigel Ramsay, James Ross, Nigel Saul, Jennifer Scott, Christian Steer, Anne F. Sutton, Meg Twycross and Livia Visser-Fuchs. While the book was in the press, the exciting news broke that the remains of Richard III had been found under that famous car park in Leicester, raising new discussion about his reign, a booming membership for the Richard III Society and debates about the location and design of a new royal tomb. This volume of essays by leading historians will become essential reading for Ricardians and any student of the fifteenth century.
Women and Gender in Medieval Europe. An Encyclopedia, edited by M. Schaus (Routledge), 2006
The Fifteenth Century III. Authority and Subversion, edited by Linda Clarke (Boydell), 2003
Social Attitudes and Political Structures in the Fifteenth Century, edited by T. Thornton (Sutton, 2000), 2000
This volume includes papers on political, religious, social and economic history and the history ... more This volume includes papers on political, religious, social and economic history and the history of ideas during the 15th century. The papers challenge existing conceptions and open new avenues of discussion on longstanding debates. Themes covered include parliaments and their relationships with the monarchs of the period, both in Scotland and in England; queens and their role in the 15th century English polity; the ideas that lay behind the English claims to the French throne, and the rituals of peace-making in the Hundred Years War. Debates over the importance of lordship and service are also touched upon, in a paper which examines Lord Hastings' retainers in the defence of Calais, while another chapter discusses the local politics of a small Welsh marcher lordship. The crucial subject of Lancastrian government finances in the 1450s also receives a fresh examination. In religious history, papers examine the activity of monastic propagandists and the religious life of cathedrals through the activity of fraternities based in them. There are also considerations of a noble widow, and of the 15th century rural economy.
Young Medieval Women, edited by Katherine Lewis, Noel James Menuge and Kim Phillips (Sutton), 1999
The Ricardian Bulletin, 2017
The Ricardian Bulletin, 2015
The Ricardian Bulletin, 2015
Medieval Marriage. Selected Proceedings of the 2013 Postgraduate Conference held by the Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Reading, edited by Charlotte Pickard, 2013
Eadwig the All Fair, king of the English (r. 955-957/9), was, according to the majority of eleven... more Eadwig the All Fair, king of the English (r. 955-957/9), was, according to the majority of eleventh and twelfth century authors who described him, 'a wanton youth, and one who misused his personal beauty in lascivious behaviour'. 1 Chroniclers and hagiographers alike linked this 'shameless conduct' with Eadwig's poor governance of the church and saw his loss of power in Mercia and Northumbria as apt divine punishment. Accounts of his vice centred on a beautiful kinswoman of his, AEthelgifu, and her daughter, AElfgifu, who both 'enticed him to intimacy '. 2 According to the earliest Life of St Dunstan, matters came to a head in January 956 when Eadwig mysteriously abandoned his own coronation feast. Archbishop Oda demanded that the king be found and only Abbot Dunstan of Glastonbury dared to incur the royal wrath. He discovered Eadwig 'wallowing between the two of them in evil fashion, as if in a vile sty'. 3 Dunstan rebuked the women, hauled Eadwig to his feet and dragged the unwilling king back to his coronation banquet. AEthelgifu swore revenge and duly engineered Dunstan's exile.
BBC History Magazine, 2003
The Ricardian, 1996
Published under maiden name, Joanna L. Chamberlayne Since publishing this article I have realise... more Published under maiden name, Joanna L. Chamberlayne
Since publishing this article I have realised that de Grey Birch was wrong to identify her supporter as an antelope. It is in fact a hart. I have also discovered that in Henry VII's reign she was sometimes referred to as 'the queen's grandmother' - these are both discussed in my 2017 biography of Cecily.
BBC History Magazine, 2004
Medieval Life, 1996
Published under maiden name, Joanna L. Chamberlayne. Journal published by Centre for Medieval Stu... more Published under maiden name, Joanna L. Chamberlayne. Journal published by Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York.
The Forth Naturalist and Historian, 2002
Synopsis of conference paper
Published under maiden name, Joanna L. Chamberlayne. Journal published by Centre for Medieval Stu... more Published under maiden name, Joanna L. Chamberlayne. Journal published by Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York.
This volume includes papers on political, religious, social and economic history and the history ... more This volume includes papers on political, religious, social and economic history and the history of ideas during the 15th century. The papers challenge existing conceptions and open new avenues of discussion on longstanding debates. Themes covered include parliaments and their relationships with the monarchs of the period, both in Scotland and in England; queens and their role in the 15th century English polity; the ideas that lay behind the English claims to the French throne, and the rituals of peace-making in the Hundred Years War. Debates over the importance of lordship and service are also touched upon, in a paper which examines Lord Hastings' retainers in the defence of Calais, while another chapter discusses the local politics of a small Welsh marcher lordship. The crucial subject of Lancastrian government finances in the 1450s also receives a fresh examination. In religious history, papers examine the activity of monastic propagandists and the religious life of cathedrals through the activity of fraternities based in them. There are also considerations of a noble widow, and of the 15th century rural economy.
English Historical Review, 2006
Royal Studies Journal
A military history of the Wars of the Roses aimed at general readers, not academics.