Margaret of Anjou: Shakespeare's 'She Wolf'?

[@karlaycard0401]

I think she was an incredibly resourceful and intelligent person who had the disadvantage of being "just" a woman. She did the same things for her husband and her son's rights that Richard of York or Edward IV did to support their claims. Was she a shewolf? Yes, and in the very best sense of the word. She fought to protect her family. And I think she is one of the most fascinating people of the entire wars of the roses.👑🐺

[@spews1973]

Happy to see another video about the real person behind the character in one of Shakespeare's history plays. Hope there will be more.

[@greendemon5862]

I'm so excited to watch this! I did my doctorate on MS Royal 15 E IV, the Shrewsbury Book, which appears in the thumbnail! Although I was focusing primarily on the French epic poetry in the manuscript, I learned so much about Margaret and have long felt she was maligned by Shakespeare and subsequent writers. She was a strong woman in a very difficult situation, in a country she was not born to, doing the best she could for her family. 🐺

[@ReadingthePast]

What a cool area of study 🤩

[@Shane-Flanagan]

Thanks Dr Kat for covering a wish list historical figure of mine, the often underrated and misunderstood Margaret of Anjou. ❤🤗

[@EriAug78]

She wolf in the best way ! She was a strong woman who did what she needed to do! 🐺

[@JanetBezer]

Margaret did her best for her family 👍the rightful king and son. Fate was against this and history is then written by those who follow. 😢

[@cennethadameveson3715]

This is the way that I've always seen the phrase "shewolf". That woman, who protects that which has to be protected.

[@direfranchement]

But her efforts were all in vain. Both her husband and her son were killed, and Margaret was imprisoned and left with nothing.

[@arthurrussell-r3e]

Every time I see a Dr. Kat video I watch it. She is so erudite, charming and informative - frankly she is a bit of a national treasure (and I speak as an Irishman - you should be proud of her).

[@dianefitzwilliam]

I can't pretend to know as much about Margaret of Anjou as I do about some other individuals of the era and afterward, but what I do know shows me a woman who is very good at discerning what is required of her in the moment, and meeting that requirement. I imagine she would have thought of it as fulfilling her duty, of being that which God had called her to be. I think the proof of this is that when she was widowed she retired from public life, so far as I know, and didn't seek to marry another king or high ranking nobleman, and of course there could be other reasons for that choice. Heaven knows, her first marriage would have been enough to tire out any woman. Also largely overlooked by most is the obvious blow that the loss of her son would have been. So, was she a "She Wolf"? Maybe. But it's not necessarily an insult. She didn't stir up trouble, she responded to it.

[@cindyknight]

She-wolf was intended as pejorative, but it can be claimed as a badge of honor. Given the horror and violence of her times, and the circumstances of her life, she responded with resilience and purpose. Only the most fragile of people have been compelled to criticize her behavior as gender-innappropriate. Strong people don't. We see the same thing in our culture today. (Take a look at political debates and Barbra Streisand's new autobiography. Whew!) 💪♀👑

[@kathrynmast916]

❤Thank you for another excellent presentation! Your in-depth research always adds interesting insights to events. Margaret was protecting her husband’s and son’s right to the throne as any Monarch would. Speaking as a She-Wolf, I think Margaret actions were correct l Society then and now view strong women as She-Wolves because they won’t back down from a fight. 👸👑🐾

[@jessicak.3580]

I enjoy the way in which you present the facts and your opinions. Applying our modern sensibilities to medieval history can often distort the lens of observation. In the case of Margaret (as opposed to the Empress Matilda, for example), she did everything that was expected of a queen at that time. She secured the dynasty with a male heir, she ardently defended the rights of both her husband and son, and actively pursued diplomatic relations on behalf of these men. Therefore, it can be concluded that her moniker of “she-wolf” was applied to vilify her as the opponent who lost. Personally, I believe that she showed extraordinary resilience. 👑

[@annemorton5236]

What a woman! and what a life she led! Thank you for your telling of her story. Also, I appreciate the way -when you are reading a lengthy quotation - that you show it so we can read as well as hear - it really helps with comprehension.🏵

[@Guillhez]

the idea that there’s some historicity behind remus and romulus’s myth and that maybe their were just nursed by a prostitute is fascinating

[@ReadingthePast]

I mean, if the tale is based in truth then the wolf version makes way less sense, doesn’t it?

[@silvercrowsong]

I’ve been wanting to learn more about Margaret f Anjou. Thank you. I know She Wolf is supposed to be pejorative. I tend to think of it as any strong female leader and quite frankly they aren’t always portrayed positively. For the record I think because she was strong that turned out to be a good thing since her husband had clear issues. 🐺👑❤

[@ReadingthePast]

I like she wolf myself. I’d be happy to be remembered as such!

[@williethomas5116]

On the show "Spanish Princess" the term was used by the Duke of Norfolk to describe Margaret Tudor and was definitely meant as a compliment. They may have meant it as an insult but a woman strong enough to stand up for herself and her children at the time should be respected.

[@judycater2832]

Excellent video! A Queen in a foreign land with a mentally Iill husband can’t have been an easy role. The lack of an heir was of course the woman’s fault (a trope repeated over and over) and she seemed to be blamed for things she had no control over. Loss of her only child, a husband murdered (allegedly) and then returned to France as damaged goods. A tragic life, an intelligent woman stuck in a no-win situation. ❤❤❤

[@mellie4174]

Sadly, scapegoat was one of the most important roles women were forced into by society!

[@florian8599]

Isabeau of Bavaria was also married to a mentally ill king (Charles VI of France) an thrust into a civil war.

[@prettypic444]

Personally, I find the political position of foreign born queens FASCINATING! People nowadays make jokes about them only existing as symbols of alliances and to make heirs, but these women were often powerful political figures in their own right. I think the part that’s most interesting to me is how views on their native country affect how the public perceives them- oftentimes, a queen from an enemy nation will never quite be able to shake the assumption that her primary loyalty is to her birth country (no matter the circumstances) 👸🐺

[@Sickoftheinsanity]

I never think a strong woman is a bad thing. She doesn’t seem cruel-that’s different. Cruel is not strength. “She-Wolf” protecting her son is definitely a compliment! Thanks for the video!

[@lynnedelacy2841]

Interesting as always ❤

[@J-D1995]

I have just seen you in a documentary about Queen Anne on 4. Well done! You are one of my favourite historians 😊

[@ReadingthePast]

Thank you 😊

[@KatieRae_AmidCrisis]

I feel we need merch that bears the legend: Rapacious, Ferocious, Voracious

[@ReadingthePast]

Oh!! This needs to happen!!

[@reganlandau]

My cat gets so excited when she hears your theme tune. She is Dr Kat the Cat

[@caitlinallen8400]

I honestly think she was a badass. She did what she was raised and trained for - do everything possible to support her husband on the throne, and also her son's claim, and then she was basically reviled for it. Medievals wanted this exact type of loyalty to the king, from the queen, but if she actually did this, fighting like a mama/wife bear, then she became a pariah. Medieval men really had an impossible standard for these poor women. Damn. Respect to Margaret of Anjou. 500 years later, I grieve for her treatment and her terrible losses. RIP, she - wolf 👑🐺

[@dianaanderson37]

You are the most skilled narrator !

[@ReadingthePast]

Thank you 😊

[@nellwackwitz]

🐺👩👑 Love your channel Dr. Kat!

[@ribkan4759]

13:57 timeline 18:45 19:51

[@jennhack8043]

Looking forward to more she-wolf videos! ❤

[@paulawolff3456]

Very informative and so easily understood thanks to your wonderful narration. Thank you!

[@cornelisjacobus2083]

Always enjoying your academic and informative insights into English history.👑 You suggested early in this video, that Shakespeare's play was biased, because it would be in his interest to flatter queen Elizabeth I and her lineage. Now you might have already made a video on this, but wasn't this the case as well for his depiction of Richard III? 🤔

[@rhiannonpoole6019]

Thank you for an excellent video. It must have taken extraordinary strength for Margaret to act as she did. And thank you for your beautiful, intelligent reading of the Shakespeare extracts. I could listen to you and The Bard all day.

[@1975Nancy]

Thank you, Dr. Kat! 👑🐺

[@madelinevanderbunny607]

Thanks!

[@franm.8343]

❤ I enjoyed this video. You made a hard history topic easy to understand and follow. Whilst staying true to the facts. Thank you. ✍️💯🙂

[@debbiev4455]

I really enjoyed this video . I have a book about Margaret that I haven't read yet . I am looking for to reading it and see how she is presented there.

[@cmcg9035]

What a wonderful wealth of information. You did a lot of work to unpack all of that in 1/2 hour! Thank you. 🐺👑

[@a2jeano]

🐺👑 🐺👑 🐺👑 She was gutsy, strong, and smart - she had to be to hold things together for her husband and son. Vive la reine!

[@megremisfamily4music]

I think of Margaret as someone fighting fur her family- a she wolf in a positive way. 👑🐺

[@helenskene2849]

She was a survivor 💗

[@verenawagner3939]

Another great video. 💅 🐺 👑 There might have been a squeal of excitement, when I saw the title. 😂

[@truei1864]

👑 again love your coverage!

[@BriarMB13]

I just recently finished The Wolf Den, which is a historical fiction novel about sex workers in Pompeii, and your connection between the term and Rome's origin just blew my mind. Totally different interpretation I have never seen that makes me want to dive back in to my study of Roman Misogyny. How interesting that a literal wolf is a more noble origin than a normal woman who would've been working a relatively normal job for the time. That's going to be ping ponging around in my head for ages now

[@bennett8535]

Great upload. Thanks!

[@j7333nnn]

Thanks !! Fascinating as always, Jeffrey

[@ReadingthePast]

Thank you so much ☺️

[@AITrademarket]

Hi Dr Kat, I am assuming you’ve seen the updated documentary on the ‘princes in the tower’ with Philippa Langley and Rob Rinder. It’s certainly created a buzz with the proffered new evidence. Following on from your video on the subject a while back, would you be interested in doing an update?

[@ejw554]

👑♥🐺 Another great video, thank you for all your hard work

[@madiantin]

What a strong woman! So much trouble and grief in her life. Poor lady, losing her husband, her son, her position. In the same way that "nevertheless she persisted" was meant as an insult but has become a badge of honour, so "she-wolf" is a badge of honour too. But was she? I think she was just fighting for her family, and trying to survive.

[@thomasmacnamara6850]

This looks epic!

[@robinbaum-hn2pc]

I always have loved history and wolves. Personally I can’t imagine a better complement to a woman. I do however live in this time of women in pants driving their own cars and living and working by them selves,thank you very much. I have long felt I wouldn’t have lasted very long back not so far in history because I have a voice and have never not used it when I felt there was a need. I’ve been called a witch with a b. I’ve carried that complement happily and it has sustained me through some tougher times. Bless women like our Margaret for their strength and believed in them selves to make our history and lives more interesting and and as an example of how real women behave.🐺🌟🏰🛡️⚔️❤️‍🔥🇬🇧

[@lucieramirez1378]

Great presentation, thank you. 🎉❤

[@stephanietaylor8003]

❤ your videos and look forward to them.

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

Also, let's not forget that distances were large, and royal couples often spent large swathes of time far apart. Not conducive to a large family.

[@LilyMilos]

I've always thought Margaret was one of the most interesting characters in Richard III, and I always wonder at the choice of some productions to remove her.

[@elizabethdibble5159]

I think of she wolf as today one might use Mama Bear: a woman defending her child or family. Another example of a strong woman being disliked for the very traits that would be applauded in a man.

[@BellaBellSiku]

A most regal and honorable Queen She-Wolf. Especially in the times she was living.

[@kiddDEVY]

I used to always think of Rhea the She-Wolf bka Remus and Romulus mother but as I've gotten already I always mention Margaret of Anjuo as well

[@lucyosborne9239]

oh dear, I hit the wrong button. I was going to say that the conditional tense of the verbs used everywhere now grates a bit. The phrase, "he would marry" or "she would die" implies slightly that the perfect past tense, "he married" or "she died" is much more accurate and solid than the constant use of the conditional "would". Yes, I'm a dinosaur but these days, a proud dinosaur, a boarding school graduate and I love my native language. Just say it! He died! She married! There's little sense of hesitancy or lack of factual account there. They did happen, not wishy-washy would happen.🐺👑

[@janewarren4759]

Thanks again for an informative video.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love your content 😊😊😊❤❤❤❤

[@kathrynronnenberg1688]

If Margaret had had the good fortune to marry a man who was as smart and determined as she was, and who properly appreciated her abilities, they would have made a formidable team. But instead, she had to keep rescuing the tragically wet Henry. She-wolf, yes, but what else was she supposed to do, wilt? It wasn't in her character to do that. 🐺👸🌟

[@mclark3814]

Great video. ❤

[@chrismurray2237]

Very informative. Thank you. 👸🏻🦸🏻

[@Books_Anime_92]

Great episode.

[@claireconolly8355]

❤ she was extremely inspiring. Any woman here can feel her strength. She must have been incredibly frustrated in England.

[@theme12ihchannel33]

Great video! 🐺

[@helenkemp6468]

Margaret of Anjou was definitely a She Wof but in a good way she was a strong woman and a very protective mother 🐺

[@onlygrands2012]

Great video!! I think Margaret did what she needed to do.

[@bobbyd.1890]

Another great video. I think I see Bill Bryson's book on Shakespeare on the shelf behind you - what do you think of that?

[@georginaturner1237]

Margaret was simply a strong woman doing what her conscience would have thought to be right. A monarch takes vows. Could you do a video on ursula pole please? Xx

[@DavidMacDowellBlue]

Twice I have seen someone attempt to take the HENRY VI plays and some of RICHARD III to create a play about Margaret of Anjou. The first was called SHAKESPEARE'S ROYAL ROSE and while not perfect was generally very good, with Margaret portrayed as a powerful, complex person at the Ensemble Shakespeare Theatre Company. The second version had a very unwieldly title "Queen Margaret's Version of Shakespeare's War of the Roses" as a terrible mess in almost every single way. This was at the Theatricum Botanicum.

[@Vimby233]

The term may have been meant as an insult but then history doesn’t treat strong women kindly. She had a vision of how she wanted things to be and some people’s noses got put out of joint. 👑

[@FishBoneD14]

Now that my sister works there I really appreciate square space ads more

[@keepscats7936]

Margaret was a "she-wolf." That's a very good thing! She fought openly to protect her son and husband. Very suspicious, of course, because she was a both a woman and a foreigner. Had a hypothetic brother of the king done the same things, he probably could have been regent and would have been praised to the rafters for his loyalty.👑🐺👑⚔

[@carole6779]

🐺👑 Thank you!

[@judyshoaf448]

Really enjoyed this, especially with the Shakespearean connections.

[@debbralehrman5957]

Thanks 🐺👸🏼

[@cennethadameveson3715]

Ive just finished Mary Beard's "Women & Power" and women speaking out was an understandable behaviour for a woman.

[@nelsaf365]

I understand that she-wolf is derogatory. 👑🐺🛡🗡 Bah! Used, typically, by men who have lost what they coveted. Too bad, I say. If my children or my husband are endangered, my heart and my will turn into that of the wolf. Baring my teeth, they would see me and never forget. I will quote Mary in the play/movie, The Women. "I've had two years to grow claws, mother. Jungle red!" ❤

[@deniseatkins9407]

👑💪 She sounded a really strong woman Shakespeare as always wrote his plays in favour of the Queen and her ancestors

[@jamest2401]

Call me cynical, but I think it is most reasonable to assume that Henry VI was killed. The idea of him oh so conveniently dying at that moment; when Edward had left him alive once before and lived to regret it, stretches so far beyond all credulity. No, I’m quite certain that Edward was going to nip that problem in the bud, once and for all. The more interesting question for me, is who did he send to do it?

[@mlw5665]

Please tell us about Constnce from King John!

[@XX-vu2cz]

🐺🐺🐺Being called a She Wolf was no doubt an insult but she fought for her husband and son. Today she would be judged differently

[@suzycreamchez123]

She-wolf in the best sense! Well done! 🐺

[@karenkorab8269]

She wolf in the best way! Those men felt threatened by her, as they should have been!🏰 🐺🤹‍♀

[@jennaolbermann7663]

Excellent video and I think the term “she-wolf” was meant to be derogatory but I think it can be interpreted as being a strong and courageous or determined woman. 💪

[@cindchan]

She was a strong and smart woman, so naturally she wasn't like. 🙄 She did what she had to do when she needed to do it! If that makes her a "she-wolf" so be it! It's a name she should wear with pride, as it is by no means a bad thing!

[@johnransom1146]

Cheers from Canada 🐺

[@HabrenOdinsdottir]

She was a She-Wolf, but that isn't my bad. Edward II of England had a "She-Wolf" for a wife... Also of France and I love her. Those days they hated capable women. End of.

[@zofiamcsparlin8239]

Being a history nerd and a Shakespeare nerd actually had me avoiding his history plays for years, because I knew they would be inaccurate. I avoided most period dramas for the same reason. But when I had the opportunity to take a college class entirely about Shakespeare's plays, and Had to read the Richard II and Henry IV plays among others, I found them very interesting and fun! Even knowing the sexist/pejorative intent in the portrayals of certain women, like Margaret of Anjou and Joan of Arc earlier in the trilogy, I've often found that playing the villain can be enjoyably cathartic. My 30th birthday was going to be spent at a Shakespeare festival where they were performing the Henry VI trilogy, but then COVID started :( She-wolf or mama bear, Margaret did nothing that other women hadn't done before or were doing at the time, let alone men. But she lost, and history is written by the victors, and also she made a convenient scapegoat, just like councilors and Kings' uncles and other foreign-born queens of the Plantagenet dynasty. 🐺🐻👑💠

[@melenatorr]

She gets an interesting role in "Richard III", berating the York family in general, and predicting their tragic destinies. Shakespeare gives her a weird and compelling combination of harridan and soul of experience. Sometimes I wonder about his actual allegiances.

[@kaloarepo288]

Although Shakespeare writes off her father as an impoverished contender to the throne of Naples and the two Sicilies , king Rene of Provence deserves much better treatment than this.Although true that his attempt to gain the Neapolitan throne failed as the Aragonese contender won out in the end despite the fact that queen Joan II of Anjou-Valois-Naples had bequeathed it to his dynasty - he has many other claims to fame for his benign rule in Provence where as late as 1939 the French maestro Darius Milhaud dedicated his musical piece "The promenade of king Rene" to him and the impressive chateau of Tarascon was built by him. And his other daughter Iolanthe also has a claim to fame as the subject of a Norwegian play and from it an opera by Tchaikovsky where she is supposed to have been blind and it was this name that inspired the name of an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan -"Iolanthe."

[@texashillcountry5506]

At 17:16, don’t you mean Edmund Beaufort, John Beaufort’s son? Love all your videos. Succinct & informative. Thank you.

[@ReadingthePast]

🫣 I missed the word “son”, didn’t I!! I meant to say “the son of his near kinsman, John Beaufort”!

[@texashillcountry5506]

@@ReadingthePast I listen to your videos then read more on the topic. Thank you for that too.

[@ReadingthePast]

You are so welcome, thank you for your support and feedback ☺️

[@grantpavitt3198]

I think she was an amazing lady

[@mlw5665]

Fortunately for her, it doesn't look like her main objective was public approval!

[@Myke_OBrien]

Brava! Margaret was definitely a she wolf, and I mean that as a compliment. She was a strong, intelligent woman, fighting to protect her family. 🐺

[@LenaFerrari]

I'm a simple woman, I read "she wolf" I click. I might have been pejorative, but they are are always strong, independent woman, who didn't take anyone's bullshit. In other words, they were cool and did cool stuff, but were wronged by generations for being women, and they deserve to be remembered

[@Katherine_The_Okay]

🐺 I mean, if you look at pack dynamics in the wild, a pack will generally be "run" by a male and female wolf who are really just Mom and Dad to all the other wolves. They coordinate food-gathering, defense, child-care, sort out disagreements, and just generally keep a pack running well and safely. Team She-Wolf all the way.

[@susannjarvis5587]

It seems that any woman with intelligence and strength of purpose is to be criticized and denigrated. I believe that to be the case with Margaret of Anjou. And Shakespeare was a playwright, not an historian. He wrote plays that would appeal to the nobility and the audiences. His speeches for Margaret of Anjou were dramatic, not necessarily truthful nor accurate. ✍📜 👑

[@robinlibby324]

It seems to me she was just doing her job as Queen, we and mother. Just reading historical novels about three other she wolf queens; Alinore of Castile, Eleanor of Provence and Isabel of France. All had their foibles but hardly she wolfves.🐺👑

[@lisa-pl4nn]

How about a video about Thomas Cromwell?

[@mlgmoore]

I would love 💕 if the Shakespearean insults were thrown my way, and pass on the “compliments”! 🐺 🤴

[@jeanweiher1525]

I think that she was a she wolf. I do not feel that this is not an insult. She was a strong woman in a time when men were scared if a woman behaved like them. 👑

[@billwheeler3687]

It is seldom a good idea to use Shakespeare as a reliable source of English history. For dramatic purposes, the Bard switches the order of the Duke of York's youngest sons, so that Richard is older than Rutland. Misrepresenting Rutland as a young child in 3 Henry VI makes Rutland's death at Lord Clifford's hands on Queen Margaret's direction more terrifying that it was. It makes better drama than history.

[@kathyjohnson2043]

Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

[@billwheeler3687]

@@kathyjohnson2043 As Samuel Taylor Coleridge observed, Shakespeare's dramatic judgment is equal to his poetic judgment.

[@TheMehamil85]

The more I learn about history, the more it's clear that women just can't win. Margaret did what she had to do for the people she cared about. She got that label because she dared to do something about her situation rather than laying back and letting other people (men) make decisions for her. I can't help but believe that the cousins war *might* not have happened had Margaret been named regent when Richard had his first mental health crisis.