Throughout the Middle Ages, the Virgin Mary was consistently heralded as the epitome of feminine virtue, serving both as a commendable standard and a stark contrast for assessing womanly conduct. InScotland’s Royal Women, Emily Wingfield explores the depiction of Mary as an exemplary reader, a portrayal that resonates with her namesake Mary, Queen of Scots, who anchors the narrative as the first Scottish monarch for whom there exists documentary evidence of a library. Linking these two Marys, and drawing on St Margaret of Scotland as an early and important model of virtuous reading for later medieval Scottish royal women, Wingfield comprehensively examines the literary milieu of Scotland’s royal women during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Her work provides a meticulously researched re-evaluation of the role played by women in the lives of books and the role of books in the lives of the Stewart royal women through the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The book is divided into three parts, exploring the lives of ten women who were either born in or married into the Stewart dynasty between 1424 and 1587. Wingfield’s analysis is supported by numerous colour illustrations of the manuscripts discussed, offering not only a visual delight but also a substantial aid to understanding how these royal women were represented, or sought to represent themselves, in the literary culture of medieval and early modern Europe.
The first part of the book examines the lives of Joan Beaufort, wife of James I, and her daughters: Margaret, Isabella, and Eleanor. Although there is scant evidence of Joan actively engaging in writing, patronising writers or owning books, Wingfield highlights Joan’s connections to significant literary networks through her familial ties and with the poetic pursuits of her husband who rendered a literary portrait of Joan in his Kingis Quair (c. 1424). This bookish background sets the stage for exploring the literary interests of her daughters, three of whom are treated in subsequent chapters, where writing and book collecting become a focus. For example, the chapter on Eleanor Stewart, who married Sigismund, duke of Austria (1427-96), includes a detailed discussion of Pontus und Sidonia, a German translation of the French romance Ponthus et Sidoine. Although it remains a subject of debate whether Eleanor translated the work herself or sponsored its translation, Wingfield emphasises the often under-estimated linguistic capabilities of medieval royal women. She posits that Eleanor, like many royal princesses of the time, likely possessed multilingual abilities that enabled her to manage such a translation, an assertion that underscores the mobility and multilingualism necessary for women who “found themselves moving between countries--and languages--from a young age as they entered the marriage market” (124). Part One of Scotland’s Royal Women makes a convincing case for deeper academic focus on these Scottish princesses but also advocates for recognition of their integral roles within the literary networks of fifteenth-century Europe, roles that they were uniquely positioned to occupy as marriageable women in royal dynasties.
Part 2 considers the lives and literary contributions of six queens consort of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Scottish court. This exploration begins with Mary of Gueldres, the wife of James II, and progresses chronologically through the lives of Margaret of Denmark, Margaret Tudor, Madeleine of Valois, and Mary of Guise (who were respectively married to James III, IV, and V). This section brings into focus the Scoto-Burgundian network that interlinked these figures. Wingfield draws a link between Joan Beaufort and Mary of Gueldres, who, despite the lack of evidence of literary activities herself, was immersed in the bibliophilic household of her aunt, Isabel of Portugal, duchess of Burgundy. The representation of Margaret of Denmark in the Trinity Altarpiece receives thorough analysis. Margaret is depicted kneeling before a prayer book, and Wingfield argues that this portrayal, alongside the conspicuously Scottish trinity of King, Queen, and Prince, subtly references depictions of the Annunciation to position the Scottish queen as “a model..of human--and specifically royal--motherhood” (178), whose connections to Denmark and Italy informed the cultural and political identities of mid-fifteenth-century Scotland. Wingfield reassesses and seeks to rehabilitate the reputation of Margaret Tudor, arguing for her critical role within the “densely interconnected network of Burgundian artists and European female patrons” (189) in which Mary of Gueldres and Margaret of Denmark also participated. Wingfield’s review of Margaret Tudor’s book collection indicates a cultivated identity that aligns as much, if not more, with her Tudor lineage than with her Stewart marital ties.
The final two chapters of this section focus on the wives of James V: Madeleine of Valois and Mary of Guise. The early death of Madeleine prompted the composition of poetry, such as David Lyndsay’sDeploration of the Deith of Quene Magdalene. Wingfield employs these literary expressions to draw comparisons to the portrayal of the death of Margaret, daughter of James I (examined in chapter 2). This discussion enables Wingfield to demonstrate that literary culture is not only about women’s reading and writing practices but also about the male construction of particular kinds of women’s voices for narrative and political purposes. In the chapter dedicated to Mary of Guise, who ascended to regency in 1542, Wingfield explores the texts owned by and dedicated to the queen, highlighting her connections with Scottish drama and providing an extensive overview of this facet of her regency. The analysis culminates in a discussion of the sermon given at Mary’s funeral in Paris in 1561, painting a comprehensive picture of her literary and cultural engagements and influences. Throughout Wingfield’s detailed examination in Part Two, readers gain a deeper understanding of how these queens consort were not merely passive participants but active influencers within the literary and political spheres of late medieval Scotland.
Part 3 is devoted singularly to Mary, Queen of Scots, and the extensive range of literary material associated with her. Wingfield meticulously examines the contents of Mary’s library and explores the texts associated with her time in France. She then shifts her focus to the Casket Letters and Sonnets--those notorious documents related to Mary’s downfall--as well as the poetry Mary composed during her imprisonment. Wingfield concludes this section by emphasising how Mary’s rich literary activities epitomise the core themes of the entire book: “the reading and writing of Scotland’s royal women in all the many senses of that phrase” (360).
What unites the women in this study is not solely their connections with the Stewart family but what Wingfield--following David Wallace--refers to as “itineraries,” places drawn together by modes of (religious) practice, language, and cultural and literary exchange. [1] Through her examinations of these women married into and out of Scotland, Wingfield centralises the European dimension of Scotland’s literary culture, detailing the expansive networks it engaged with beyond its borders. To do that she underlines the pivotal role royal women played in political and literary realms. Here, royal women act not only as patrons of literary culture, but as writers, translators, collectors and givers of books. Wingfield’s detailed analysis of writings by, for, and about these royal women illuminates how the “close link between lives and texts” (109) serves as both critical assertions and constructions of personal and regnal identities.
Choosing to devote a single chapter to each royal woman proves a prudent decision: not just a pragmatic choice on Wingfield’s part but one that greatly benefits the reader. This approach not only enhances readability but also offers significant pedagogical value, providing a manageable framework that can enrich and contextualize specific literary texts. Moreover, while the book’s structure is beneficial on its own, its entire scope is greater than the sum of its parts. Wingfield’s study is expansive in the best possible ways; viewing these women simultaneously as individuals--patrons, writers, and collectors--and as a collective royal group, Wingfield foregrounds their literary undertakings and emphasises their centrality to the Stewart dynasty’s notable place within the literary and political life of medieval and early modern Europe. Wingfield’s succinct chapters are deftly clear, and this lucidity belies the extensive research and detailed archival exploration that underpins the work. That Wingfield’s prose wears this work seemingly so lightly is, itself, testament to the care and attention that Wingfield has taken to bring this study to fruition. Throughout Scotland’s Royal Women, Wingfield accomplishes more than merely a survey and cataloguing of books associated with various women born and married into the Stewart dynasty; she offers a dynamic exploration that traces intricate networks of books and women as active participants in cultural and intellectual exchange. This study thus provides a critical contribution to our understanding of the roles women occupied not just within the Stewart dynasty, but within the broader cultural and intellectual milieu of their time.
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Note:
1. David Wallace, Europe: A Literary History, 1348-1418 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016).