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Sharon Bennett Connolly
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Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England Hardcover – 29 May 2020

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Magna Carta clause 39: No man shall be taken, imprisoned, outlawed, banished or in any way destroyed, nor will we proceed against or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land. This clause in Magna Carta was in response to the appalling imprisonment and starvation of Matilda de Braose, the wife of one of King John’s barons. Matilda was not the only woman who influenced, or was influenced by, the 1215 Charter of Liberties, now known as Magna Carta. Women from many of the great families of England were affected by the far-reaching legacy of Magna Carta, from their experiences in the civil war and as hostages, to calling on its use to protect their property and rights as widows. Ladies of Magna Carta looks into the relationships – through marriage and blood – of the various noble families and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. Including the royal families of England and Scotland, the Marshals, the Warennes, the Braoses and more, Ladies of Magna Carta focuses on the roles played by the women of the great families whose influences and experiences have reached far beyond the thirteenth century.
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  1. Print length
    280 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pen & Sword History
  4. Publication date
    29 May 2020
  5. Dimensions
    15.88 x 2.54 x 23.5 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    1526745259
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1526745255
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
84 global ratings
Ideal research material for writers of historical fiction
4 out of 5 stars
Ideal research material for writers of historical fiction
Ladies Of The Magna Carta is a non-fiction book about a selection of women who either lived around the time of the 1215 Magna Carta, or women who were affected, influenced by or made use of the clauses within the document.Almost all were members of the peerage or the royal families of England, Scotland and Wales. For instance, there are chapters for Nicholaa de la Haye, Ela of Salisbury as well as the daughters of King John, to name just a few that were talked about in this book.The author sets the scene of the era with an introduction to King John, including how he got to the throne and what led to the barons' demand for the Magna Carta document. In the appendix, there is a copy of all sixty-three of its clauses as well as a list of the barons chosen to enforce it.Although at the time the Magna Carta document was almost immediately ignored by the king, it was re-enforced upon his death and it became a very important document, as it meant that future kings could no longer be above the law and therefore could no longer seize lands and goods without the proper legal writs in place. It is said that the Magna Carta started England on the road to a democratic government.I thought the subject matter was fascinating; I live just a few miles from King John’s castle in Odiham, where it is said the king set out from when he went to Runnymede to sign the document. The author has done a remarkable job of piecing together the lives of so many women in this early medieval period when documentation about women was rare; in fact, often it was through their fathers, brothers and husbands that the author found details of many of these women during her research.Then there is the complication of popular women’s names, such as Eleanor, Joan, Matilda and Isabel appearing many times, although I thought that the author did a good job of differentiating between them. It did mean some overlapping of details in places, but it was often needed to show the full lifeline of each of the women.This book would make ideal research material for writers of historical fiction set in this era, or I could recommend it to readers who have an interest in King John and the famous Magna Carta.
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Top reviews from United Kingdom

Helen Musson
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2023
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Brilliant!
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Gill Gillard
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for fans of medieval womanhood
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 September 2020
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Excellent reading, gives a voice to some women who are often just mentioned in passing within the documentation regarding enowned men of the era. Most I had heard of but didn't know much about their lives, some sorry tales of poor and even brutal treatment by their lords and masters. Sharon has done them justice.
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Michael Bully
4.0 out of 5 stars Well written account of selected royal and aristocratic women during the Magna Carta era
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 June 2020
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This book is highly recommended and the author is a very skilful as a historian. Has the gift to explain the history of the time in a clear and engaging manner.

It is fair to point out that this book is not a standard 'Women's history', which would have been incredibly difficult to write for the 13th century: There is little emphasis on the economic activity of women, or how women's religious orders operated, though there is a short section the life of an anchorite.

The ladies featured in this book largely owed their status on how they stood in relation to men, either through marriage or kinship. For example most of the chapter about Ela of Salisbury is about her husband William Longspee, an illegitimate son of Henry II, who became an earl due to marrying Ela. Though we learn that Ela managed estates well and established religious foundations, the focus on William of Salisbury seems unavoidable. Another issue is that it is also hard to think of women who dictated or wrote about their own lives until Julian of Norwich and Margery Kemp in the 15th century, historians can only rely on the writings of men, nearly always connected to the Church.

Yet the strength of the book is to show the whole range of lives of these individual aristocratic women. Some are tragic such as Eleanor of Brittany. Sister to Arthur of Brittany, King John's nephew and rival to the throne. Arthur died in captivity in 1203, possibly a little later, most probably killed on John's orders. Eleanor lived out her life in comfortable captivity in a series of castles for the rest of her life, John and his successor Henry III refused to release her. The aforementioned Matilda de Braose, who refused to offer her sons, perhaps grandson as hostage to King John, died as a prisoner in either Windsor or Corfe Castle. The author's case is that Matilda's death, most likely from starvation, may have inspired clause 39 of Magna Carta against arbitrary imprisonment or execution, whilst the predicament of Loretta de Braose from the same family, is said to have inspired clauses 8 and 9 of Magna Carta, which are concerned with the rights of widows.

King John's widow Isabelle of Angouleme is depicted as being quite ruthless though she may have assisted Henry III by abandoning him after King John died in 1216 and returning to Angouleme the following year : Her departure ensured more of a clean break from John's regime and made the minority rule of Henry III more appealing. Certainly Isabelle's marriage to Hugh de Lusignan , originally betrothed to her own daughter Joan ( of England) seems controversial.

It is helpful to have a chapter on the much neglected. Isabella of Gloucester, King John's first wife , who was never crowned. And a chapter Joan of Wales , an illegitimate daughter of King John who was caught having an affair, and her husband Prince Llewelyn had her lover hanged and imprisoned her for a year. The author also notes Joan of Wales skills as a diplomat when her father and husband were at war in 1211, and also during the 1220's when Joan's half brother, Henry III was king.

Nicolaa de la Haye of Lincoln held Lincoln Castle three times under siege most notably in 1217, and gets a well deserved mention. Rescuing her led to William Marshall's march on Lincoln, leading to a defeat of the Rebel Barons and their French allies. Eleanor de Montfort held onto Dover Castle in 1265 for a short time whilst grieving for the loss of her husband Simon de Montfort and their eldest son Henry at Evesham.

The account of the numerous females of William Marshall's family did quite complicated, and have to admit had to keep re-reading this . The whole of the Magna Carta -1215 version- is reproduced along with the Forest Charter.Over all got a great deal from reading this book.
5 people found this helpful
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beverley foster
5.0 out of 5 stars Great insight to this untold part of history
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 April 2021
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Fabulous book highly recommend
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CAROL MCGRATH
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging Thirteenth Century Noble Women, their Lives and Courage
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 June 2020
Ladies of the Magna Carta is an exceptionally accomplished work, so readable and gripping, it was unputdownable, a great accolade for a work of Historical Non-Fiction. Why was it so gripping? Firstly, it links the lives of a number of well-connected twelfth and thirteenth century women to the Magna Carta of 1215. The Charter of Liberties as the Magna Carta was then known was intended to be a peace treaty between rebellious barons and King John. That the Magna Carta was subsequently broken by the King, an armed rebellion led to certain barons offering the English throne to a French prince who occupied parts of England and, in addition, had taken Normandy into French control earlier. The Charter reflects the needs and events of those times and as Sharon Bennett Connolly states in her excellent introduction only one clause specifically used the word ‘femina’. Most clauses did refer to people in general. She argues convincingly that women had significance in the Magna Carta story ‘not just because of their limited inclusion in the charter itself but also in their experiences of the unsettled times in which they lived, in their influence on the charter and in their use of its clauses to extract recompense for injustices they have experienced.’ And they certainly experienced injustice.
Secondly, I was entranced by the women’s stories. Not all women whose stories are related here were successful in using the Magna Carta to safeguard any rights and freedoms. The importance of this book is how Connolly tells these often lost and forgotten lives and explains why this is so. Some of the personalities are well known to History, Nicholaa de La Haye, Maud Braose and Mahelt Marshall are familiar. However, others are not. We are introduced to them within the context of their twelfth and thirteenth century families such as the Warennes, Braoses and the Marshals. Many lesser known noble women struggled to assert their marriage rights, land rights, and their freedom from wardship with huge difficulty. I was particularly drawn to the two princesses of Scotland given over to King John by their father, William the Lion, and how they were kept as hostages from 1209 until their marriages later with suitable English earls. Connolly explores what happens to various heiresses when their husbands died and the widows are remarried by relatives to forge alliances and/or provide lands to powerful suitors. The commoditisation of women was rife, despite rights they should have enjoyed as widows. Another fascinating story is that of Isabella of Gloucester set aside by King John, a story that illustrates the laws of consanguinity and how they could be used for political purpose, and, in this case, male power over women.
These women, and there are many fabulous stories here, were pawns. Some were courageous such as Nicholaa de la Haye who held her castle when it was besieged, others were patient in life-time captivity such as Eleanor, the Pearl of Brittany, a few such as Eleanor, King John’s youngest daughter romantically did marry for love, and many found intriguing ways around situations, managing their lives, fighting their corners against all odds. Others, like Isabella of Angouleme, had to be very clever to safeguard new freedom after her husband, King John, died. It’s a scholarly book, thoroughly researched, detailed, beautifully written, empathetic, and accessible. If you read no other nonfiction this summer, read this one. Highly recommended. I was sent this book by Pen & Sword to review.
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Janet L. Cooke
5.0 out of 5 stars Most interesting
Reviewed in the United States on 8 January 2021
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This is a view of King John and his Ladies that sheds light on the issues as to why and when. I greatly admire Author Sharon Bennett Connolly's thoroughness and style of writing.
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jacques gros
4.0 out of 5 stars beau chapitre sur Isabelle d'Angoulême !
Reviewed in France on 6 September 2021
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très instructif !
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Ms. Barbara Stevens
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
Reviewed in the United States on 10 January 2021
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This is so entertaining and historically interesting. Highly recommend
4 people found this helpful
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Bathsheba Robie
2.0 out of 5 stars Not Worth Reading
Reviewed in the United States on 27 December 2021
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Anyone with a modicum of knowledge of this period in history should avoid this book. You will learn nothing about the women discussed in this book that you don't alreadfy know, with the possible exception of Nichola de la Haye. The substance of the book could have been covered in a magazine article.

There is too much repetition in the book. Each portrait is accompanied by a full recitation of the history surrounding the Magna Carta. There are also many incosistancies in terminology. It's as though each individual portrait was written as a separate article. This is the reason I have given it the rating I did: poor orgainzation.
15 people found this helpful
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