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Conference Presentations by Joanna Arman

In its eight hundredth anniversary year much attention is being paid to the historical context, s... more In its eight hundredth anniversary year much attention is being paid to the historical context, significance and legacy of the Magna Carta, a document often revered as the cornerstone of liberty in Britain, and many other countries.

The Magna Carta is divided into a series of short paragraphs, known as clauses, some of which are famous worldwide for apparently forbidding incarceration without trial, or guaranteeing the right to trial by jury.
There are, however a number of less celebrated clauses that relate to women directly or indirectly as widows, heiresses and actual or potential landholders.
For instance, the seventh clause begins ‘…a widow shall have her inheritance and her marriage portion at once without any hindrance’ and the following states that ‘No widow shall be compelled to remarry as long as she wishes so long as she wishes to love without a husband’ before relating the specifics.

This paper poses important questions about why a document drawn up by men attempted to address and redress the position, social challenges faced by women.
Why were male feudal tenants concerned about their daughters and widows being forced to marry unsuitable partners without their consent, or being made to pay to retain their rights to freedom in marriage, and to dower and inheritance?

More importantly, what does it show us about the position of noblewomen during the reign of an unpopular ruler who seems to have been abusing his rights over patronage, ward-ship and marriage. How did they respond to this, and did the demands made in Magna Carta really change anything?

Margaret of Anjou, consort to Henry VI of England remains one of the most controversial Queens in... more Margaret of Anjou, consort to Henry VI of England remains one of the most controversial Queens in English history. Vilified in her own day for cruelty and rumoured adultery, her reputation has arguably never fully recovered.
In Shakespeare’s history plays Margaret was the antithesis of the attributes expected of royal women of the time.

Intriguingly, the playwright also placed Margaret at the Battle of Wakefield- where she was not actually present- and in some versions of the play she appears in armour- not unlike her countrywoman and close contemporary Joan of Arc. Here the similarity ends, for whilst Joan is the tragic heroine of the popular imagination Margaret has been the villain in the minds many British people in the five centuries since her death.

This paper presents a gendered re-examination of Margaret’s career and legacy. It examines how her upbringing and circumstances led her to, in the words of Christine de Pisan ‘adopt the heart and spirit of a man’ in the political arena, and ultimately on the battlefields of the Wars of the Roses.

Finally, it attempts to account for some of her more controversial actions as leader, and why she has gained her notorious reputation in England, in contrast to the more sympathetic views held by some on the Continent.

Magazine/Journal Articles by Joanna Arman

Medieval Warfare IV.6, Dec 1, 2014

The resumption of the Hundred Years’ War was the defining event of Henry V’s reign – but also, pe... more The resumption of the Hundred Years’ War was the defining event of Henry V’s reign – but also, perhaps the most controversial. In the midst of negotiation and posturing, terms of peace were made, modified and withdrawn as Henry’s demands appeared evermore unrealistic. Scholars have tried to explain this behaviour in many ways. This article seeks to address this issue with an analysis of contemporary beliefs about the philosophy and morality of just war, to question whether Henry’s ideas were those of a fanatical extremist, or simply a reflection of the time.

Books by Joanna Arman

Æthelflæd, eldest daughter of Alfred ‘the Great’, has gone down in history as an enigmatic and al... more Æthelflæd, eldest daughter of Alfred ‘the Great’, has gone down in history as an enigmatic and almost legendary figure. To the popular imagination, she is the archetypal warrior queen, a Medieval Boudicca, renowned for her heroic struggle against the Danes and independent rule of the Saxon Kingdom of Mercia. In fiction, however, she has also been cast as the mistreated wife who seeks a Viking lover, and struggles to be accepted as a female ruler in a patriarchal society.

The sources from her own time, and later, reveal a more complex, nuanced and fascinating image of the ‘Lady of the Mercians’. A skilled diplomat who forged alliances with neighbouring territories, she was a shrewd and even ruthless leader willing to resort to deception and force to maintain her power. Yet she was also a patron of learning, who used poetic tradition and written history to shape her reputation as a Christian maiden engaged in an epic struggle against the heathen foe.

The real Æthelflæd emerges as a remarkable political and military leader, admired in her own time, and a model of female leadership for writers of later generations.

In its eight hundredth anniversary year much attention is being paid to the historical context, s... more In its eight hundredth anniversary year much attention is being paid to the historical context, significance and legacy of the Magna Carta, a document often revered as the cornerstone of liberty in Britain, and many other countries.

The Magna Carta is divided into a series of short paragraphs, known as clauses, some of which are famous worldwide for apparently forbidding incarceration without trial, or guaranteeing the right to trial by jury.
There are, however a number of less celebrated clauses that relate to women directly or indirectly as widows, heiresses and actual or potential landholders.
For instance, the seventh clause begins ‘…a widow shall have her inheritance and her marriage portion at once without any hindrance’ and the following states that ‘No widow shall be compelled to remarry as long as she wishes so long as she wishes to love without a husband’ before relating the specifics.

This paper poses important questions about why a document drawn up by men attempted to address and redress the position, social challenges faced by women.
Why were male feudal tenants concerned about their daughters and widows being forced to marry unsuitable partners without their consent, or being made to pay to retain their rights to freedom in marriage, and to dower and inheritance?

More importantly, what does it show us about the position of noblewomen during the reign of an unpopular ruler who seems to have been abusing his rights over patronage, ward-ship and marriage. How did they respond to this, and did the demands made in Magna Carta really change anything?

Margaret of Anjou, consort to Henry VI of England remains one of the most controversial Queens in... more Margaret of Anjou, consort to Henry VI of England remains one of the most controversial Queens in English history. Vilified in her own day for cruelty and rumoured adultery, her reputation has arguably never fully recovered.
In Shakespeare’s history plays Margaret was the antithesis of the attributes expected of royal women of the time.

Intriguingly, the playwright also placed Margaret at the Battle of Wakefield- where she was not actually present- and in some versions of the play she appears in armour- not unlike her countrywoman and close contemporary Joan of Arc. Here the similarity ends, for whilst Joan is the tragic heroine of the popular imagination Margaret has been the villain in the minds many British people in the five centuries since her death.

This paper presents a gendered re-examination of Margaret’s career and legacy. It examines how her upbringing and circumstances led her to, in the words of Christine de Pisan ‘adopt the heart and spirit of a man’ in the political arena, and ultimately on the battlefields of the Wars of the Roses.

Finally, it attempts to account for some of her more controversial actions as leader, and why she has gained her notorious reputation in England, in contrast to the more sympathetic views held by some on the Continent.

Medieval Warfare IV.6, Dec 1, 2014

The resumption of the Hundred Years’ War was the defining event of Henry V’s reign – but also, pe... more The resumption of the Hundred Years’ War was the defining event of Henry V’s reign – but also, perhaps the most controversial. In the midst of negotiation and posturing, terms of peace were made, modified and withdrawn as Henry’s demands appeared evermore unrealistic. Scholars have tried to explain this behaviour in many ways. This article seeks to address this issue with an analysis of contemporary beliefs about the philosophy and morality of just war, to question whether Henry’s ideas were those of a fanatical extremist, or simply a reflection of the time.

Æthelflæd, eldest daughter of Alfred ‘the Great’, has gone down in history as an enigmatic and al... more Æthelflæd, eldest daughter of Alfred ‘the Great’, has gone down in history as an enigmatic and almost legendary figure. To the popular imagination, she is the archetypal warrior queen, a Medieval Boudicca, renowned for her heroic struggle against the Danes and independent rule of the Saxon Kingdom of Mercia. In fiction, however, she has also been cast as the mistreated wife who seeks a Viking lover, and struggles to be accepted as a female ruler in a patriarchal society.

The sources from her own time, and later, reveal a more complex, nuanced and fascinating image of the ‘Lady of the Mercians’. A skilled diplomat who forged alliances with neighbouring territories, she was a shrewd and even ruthless leader willing to resort to deception and force to maintain her power. Yet she was also a patron of learning, who used poetic tradition and written history to shape her reputation as a Christian maiden engaged in an epic struggle against the heathen foe.

The real Æthelflæd emerges as a remarkable political and military leader, admired in her own time, and a model of female leadership for writers of later generations.