"Rediscovering Latinidad" - La Reginalidad y los Antepasados de la Edad Media

Edward and Briar... 17th cousins through royal lines?!?!?

Rediscovering Latinidad, Season 7, Episode 7: "La Reginalidad y los antepasados de la Edad Media"

Child brides, international power brokers, patrons and tastemakers, dealers of justice, and sometimes political prisoners... the lives of medieval European queens and princesses were far more interesting than any Disney fairy tale! Queenship Studies have flourished in the last few decades, and historians are spreading the word on how royal women manifested power and influenced culture around the world.

If your ancestors trace back to Spain, it's almost certain that you have some royal ancestors, thanks to pedigree collapse. Whether you find them, like co-hosts Briar and Edward recently did, is more a matter of luck, careful research, and surviving documentation. Even if most of our medieval European ancestors were humble villagers, vassals, and serfs, their lives were still touched by the frequent power struggles of their nobility. We were honored to talk to two historians and renowned queenship studies scholars: 

Susan Abernethy (left) and Dr. Ellie Woodacre (right)

• Dr. Ellie Woodacre, Reader in Renaissance History at the University of Winchester, founder of The Royal Studies Network and host of The Royal Studies Podcast. Her books include Queens and Queenship and Joan of Navarre: Infanta, Duchess, Queen, Witch?
• Susan Abernethy, historian and creator of "The Freelance History Writer" blog, and author of Charles II’s Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza and the upcoming The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage in the Burgundian Court.

Hear this episode and other episodes of "Rediscovering Latinidad"!

The unsettling 1236 marriage of King Henry III of England (age 28) and Queen Eleanor of Provence (age 12 or 13).

Resources on Royal Genealogy

• “Is Everyone a Descendant of Royalty?” - Helpful video by Matt Baker (@usefulcharts)
• Foundation for Medieval Genealogy - "Medieval Lands" project
• Gateway Ancestors - via dna-explained.com
• Royal Descents of Famous People - via humphrysfamilytree.com  
• Geneastar.org
• Wikitree - Connections Finder
• FamilySearch Family Tree 

There were a LOT of historical people mentioned in this episode! Here's more on all their lives:

• Alfonso X “el Sabio” / “the Wise King” (1221-1284), King of Castile and León (and Briar's direct ancestor!).
• Anne Boleyn (c.1501-1536), Queen of England, beheaded 2nd wife of Henry VIII.
• Anne of Brittany (1477-1514), Queen of France, only woman to be queen consort of France twice, as the wife of Charles VIII and Louis XII.
• Anne of Denmark (1574-1619), Queen of Scotland and England, wife of James I.
• Anne of France (1461-1522), Duchess of Bourbon.
• Arce y Fagoaga, Manuel José (1787-1847), 1st President of the Federal Republic of Central America.
• Beatrice of Swabia (1198-1212), Holy Roman Empress.
• Berengaria of Navarre (c.1165-1230), Queen of England, wife of Richard the Lionheart.
• Caroline Matilda of England (1751-1775), Queen of Denmark.
• Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), Queen of England, divorced 1st wife of Henry VIII.
• Catherine of Braganza (1638-1705), Queen of England, wife of Charles II.
• Catherine Howard (c.1523-1542), Queen of England, beheaded 5th wife of Henry VIII.
• Catherine II “the Great” (1729-1796), Empress of Russia.
• Cavendish, Georgiana (1757-1806), Duchess of Devonshire.
• Charlemagne (c.748-814), Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Franks and Lombards, and probable ancestor of almost everyone of European descent.
• Charles II “the Merry Monarch” (1630-1685), King of England, husband of Catherine of Braganza.
• Charles III (1361-1425), King of Navarre (and Edward's direct ancestor!).
• Charles VIII (1470-1498), King of France.
• Cleopatra (69-30 BC), Pharaoh of Egypt.
• Constance I (1154-1198), Queen of Sicily and Holy Roman Empress.
• Edward VI (1537-1553), King of England.
• Edward VIII (1894-1972), King of Great Britain.
• Eleanor of Aquitaine (c.1124-1204), Queen of first France, then England, and Duchess of Aquitaine, wife of Louis VII and Henry II.
• Eleanor of Provence (c.1223-1291), Queen of England, wife of Henry III.
• Elisabeth of Swabia (1205-1235), Queen of Castile and León, wife of Ferdinand III.
• Elizabeth I (1533-1603), Queen of England.
• Frederick Barbarossa (1122-1190), Holy Roman Emperor.
• Gates, Sir John (1504-1553), supporter of Lady Jane Grey.
• Henry III (1207-1272), King of England.
• Henry V (1386-1422), King of England.
• Henry VI (1165-1197), Holy Roman Emperor.
• Henry VIII (1491-1547), King of England.
• Irene Angelina (c.1181-1208), Queen of Sicily, then Germany, wife of Roger III of Sicily and Philip II of Swabia.
• Isabella I “la Católica” / “the Catholic Queen” (1451-1504), Queen of Castile and León.
• Isabella of France "the She-Wolf of France" (c.1295-1358), Queen of England, wife of Edward II.
• Isabella of Valois (1389-1409), Queen of England, later Duchess of Orléans, child bride of Richard II.
• Isaac II Angelos (1156-1204), Byzantine Emperor.
• James II (1633-1701), King of England.
• Lady Jane Grey (c.1536-1554), “Nine Days Queen” of England.
• Jean d'Albret a.k.a. John III (1469-1516), King of Navarre, husband of Queen Catherine of Navarre.
• Joan of Navarre (c.1368-1437), Queen of England, wife of Henry IV.
• Josselyn, Lady Dorothy (c.1512-1581), Tudor courtier.
• Juana II (1312-1349), Queen of Navarre.
• Katherine Parr (c.1512-1548), Queen of England, 6th wife and eventual widow of Henry VIII.
• Kunigunde of Swabia (1202-1248), Queen of Bohemia.
• Louis XIV (1638-1715), King of France.
• Luisa de Guzmán (1613-1666), Queen of Portugal, mother of Catherine of Braganza.
• Margaret of Austria (1480-1530), Fiancée of King Charles VIII of France, called “la petite reine” / the “little queen,” later Princess of Asturias and Duchess of Savoy. 
• Maria of Swabia (c.1199-1235), Duchess of Brabant.
• Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), Queen of France, wife of Louis XVI.
• Mary I (1516-1558), Queen of England.
• Mortimer, Roger (1287-1330), 1st Earl of March.
• Oates, Titus (1649-1705), fabricator of the “Popish Plot,” accuser of Catherine of Braganza. 
• Otto VIII (before 1180-1209), Count of Bavaria and murderer of King Philip II of Germany.
• Philip II of Swabia (1177-1208), King of Germany.
• Philip IV (1268-1314), King of France, whose three daughters-in-law were arrested during the Tour de Nesle affair.
• Philip IV “el Rey Planeta” / “the Planet King” (1605-1665), King of Spain.
• Richard I “the Lionheart” (1157-1199), King of England.
• Richard II (1367-1400), King of England.
• Robert III (c.1337-1406), King of Scotland.
• Roger III (1175-1193), King of Sicily.
• Struensee, Johann Friedrich (1737-1772), Royal physician to King Christian VII of Denmark and lover of Queen Caroline Matilda.
• Urraca (1081-1126), Queen of León, Castile and Galicia. 
• Wakeman, Sir George (died 1688), Royal physician to Catherine of Braganza.

Questions? Comments? Please email me at ruedafingerhut (at) gmail.com.