Publishes English writings in French on France, and especially its nobility, during the 1580s.

An innovative analysis of the representational strategies that constructed Catherine de’ Medici and sought to explain her behaviour and motivations.

The Transactions of the Royal Historical Society publish an annual collection of major articles representing some of the best historical research by some of the world's most distinguished historians. The volume includes the following articles: Presidential address: England and the Continent in the Ninth Century, The Triumph of the Doctors: Medical Assistance to the Dying, c. 1570-1720, Marmoutier and its Serfs and the Eleventh Century, Housewives and Servants in Rural England 1440-1650, Putting the English Reformation on the Map, The Environmental History of the Russian Steppes: Vasilii Dokuchaev and the Harvest Failure of 1891, A 'Sinister and Retrogressive' Proposal: Irish Women's Opposition to the 1937 Draft Constitution

Of Shakespeare’s thirty-seven plays, fifteen include queens. This collection gives these characters their due as powerful early modern women and agents of change, bringing together new perspectives from scholars of literature, history, theater, and the fine arts. Essays span Shakespeare’s career and cover a range of famous and lesser-known queens, from the furious Margaret of Anjou in the Henry VI plays to the quietly powerful Hermione in The Winter’s Tale; from vengeful Tamora in Titus Andronicus to Lady Macbeth. Early chapters situate readers in the critical concerns underpinning any discussion of Shakespeare and queenship: the ambiguous figure of Elizabeth I, and the knotty issue of gender presentation. The focus then moves to analysis of issues such as motherhood, intertextuality, and contemporary political contexts; close readings of individual plays; and investigations of rhetoric and theatricality. Featuring twenty-five chapters with a rich variety of themes and methodologies, this handbook is an invaluable reference for students and scholars, and a unique addition to the fields of Shakespeare and queenship studies. Winner of the 2020 Royal Studies Journal book prize

The kingdoms of France and England were for many centuries military, economic, cultural and colonial rivals. This is particularly true of the early modern period which witnessed the rise of French military hegemony and the expansion of English commerce. Dealing with the period 1420-1700, this collection offers a snapshot of Anglo-French relations across the three centuries from established historians and younger scholars from France, Britain and Luxembourg. Based broadly on 'diplomatic' history, but incorporating wider perspectives from cultural and social or gender history; each essay uncovers the fascinating and complex arrangements that characterize Anglo-French relations in this period. Competition and hostility between the two kingdoms there certainly was, but it took a surprising variety of forms and often proved intellectually productive for one side or the other and sometimes for both. The chapters mix treatments of broad themes and particular circumstances or individuals and each makes specific comparisons with French and English experience across the early-modern period. In so doing they elaborate and go beyond the evidence of Anglo-French hostility to explore evidence of political co-operation and cultural influences, highlighting just how close early modern England's connections with France were, even at times of crisis.

The Encyclopedia of Diplomacy is a complete and authoritative 4-volume compendium of the most important events, people and terms associated with diplomacy and international relations from ancient times to the present, from a global perspective. An invaluable resource for anyone interested in diplomacy, its history and the relations between states Includes newer areas of scholarship such as the role of non-state organizations, including the UN and Médecins Sans Frontières, and the exercise of soft power, as well as issues of globalization and climate change Provides clear, concise information on the most important events, people, and terms associated with diplomacy and international relations in an A-Z format All entries are rigorously peer reviewed to ensure the highest quality of scholarship Provides a platform to introduce unfamiliar terms and concepts to students engaging with the literature of the field for the first time

A new account of Elizabethan diplomacy with an original archival foundation, this book examines the world of letters underlying diplomacy and political administration by exploring a material text never before studied in its own right: the diplomatic letter-book. Author Elizabeth R. Williamson argues that a new focus on the central activity of information gathering allows us to situate diplomacy in its natural context as one of several intertwined areas of crown service, and as one of the several sites of production of political information under Elizabeth I. Close attention to the material features of these letter-books elucidates the environment in which they were produced, copied, and kept, and exposes the shared skills and practices of diplomatic activity, domestic governance, and early modern archiving. This archaeological exploration of epistolary and archival culture establishes a métier of state actor that participates in – even defines – a notably early modern growth in administration and information management. Extending this discussion to our own conditions of access, a new parallel is drawn across two ages of information obsession as Williamson argues that the digital has a natural place in this textual history that we can no longer ignore. This study makes significant contributions to epistolary culture, diplomatic history, and early modern studies more widely, by showing that understanding Elizabethan diplomacy takes us far beyond any single ambassador or agent defined as such: it is a way into an entire administrative landscape and political culture.