The Tudors in love : passion and politics in the age of England's most famous dynasty

Summary: "Sarah Gristwood's The Tudors in Love offers a brilliant history of the Tudor dynasty, showing how the rules of romantic courtly love irrevocably shaped the politics and international diplomacy of the period. Why did Henry VIII marry six times? Why did Anne Boleyn have to die? Why did Elizabeth I's courtiers hail her as a goddess come to earth? The dramas of courtly love have captivated centuries of readers and dreamers. Yet too often they're dismissed as something existing only in books and song--those old legends of King Arthur and chivalric fantasy. Not so. In this ground-breaking history, Sarah Gristwood reveals the way courtly love made and marred the Tudor dynasty. From Henry VIII declaring himself as the 'loyal and most assured servant' of Anne Boleyn to the poems lavished on Elizabeth I by her suitors, the Tudors re-enacted the roles of the devoted lovers and capricious mistresses first laid out in the romances of medieval literature. The Tudors in Love dissects the codes of love, desire and power, unveiling romantic obsessions that have shaped the history of the world"--

Record details

ISBN: 9781250271426 (hardcover)
Physical Description: print
viii, 392 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : colour illustrations ; 25 cm
Edition: First U.S. edition.
Publisher: New York, NY : St. Martin's Press, 2022.
Copyright: ©2021

Content descriptions

General Note:	Originally published: [London] : Oneworld Publications, 2021.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Prologue -- Introduction -- Chrétien, the Countess and the Chaplain (12th century) -- Realpolitik and the Roman (13th century) -- The Commedia, Chaucer and Christine (14th century) -- Lancaster (1400-1461) -- York (1461-1485) -- 'Nothing uxorious' (1485-1502) -- 'To marry whom he choose' (1502-1509) -- 'Sir Loyal Heart' (1509-1515) -- 'Mine own heart and mind' (1515-1525) -- 'My Mistress and friend' (1525-1527) -- 'Our desired end' (1527-1533) -- 'The most happy' (1533-early spring 1536) -- 'The spotted queen' (April/May 1536) -- 'My faithful, true and loving heart' (1536-1540) -- 'It makes my heart die' (1540-1547) -- 'Shameful slanders' (1547-1553) -- 'A husband may do much' (1553-1558) -- 'The King that is to be' (1558-1563) -- 'Satiety and fullness' (1563-1575) -- 'Against my nature' (1575-1584) -- 'This old song' (1584-1587) -- 'Cold love' (1587-1590) -- 'Confusion and contrariety' (1590-1599) -- 'Affection's false' (1599-1603) -- Postscript.