The queens, queens consort and princesses who determined the Stuart succession were conceptualise... more The queens, queens consort and princesses who determined the Stuart succession were conceptualised as ‘sacred vessels’, their reproductive bodies carrying personal and public, dynastic and state, political and confessional ambitions. This comparative study considers the dynastic pressures and reproductive experiences of these women, offering both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The first section, ‘Measuring Dynastic Success’, charts their reproductive experiences through statistical patterns: the ages of marriage and first birth, the known number of conceptions and births as well as rates of mortality. The second section, ‘Scrutinising and Embodying Fertility’, examines the courtly optics of female fertility. The final section, ‘Treating Infertility’, considers their efforts to manage their bodies through physic, diet, prayer and patronage.
Floral Culture and the Tudor and Stuart Court, 2024
For Queen Henrietta Maria, in iconography and physic, plants were the life-force of maternity, th... more For Queen Henrietta Maria, in iconography and physic, plants were the life-force of maternity, the root of beauty, the source of cleanliness, and the symbolic embodiment of state and marriage. While this is not unique, the role of plants in her iconography, personal care, and domestic recipes demonstrate how they materialised her health and promoted her fecundity as a bride, wife, and widow. Drawing on artworks commemorating the queen, Theodore de Mayerne’s medical case notes on the queen, and The Queens Closet Opened, this chapter argues that plants, in life and in art, presented and maintained Henrietta Maria’s blooming fertility. Botanic material traversed political agendas, dynastic imperatives, social values, medical theories, textual traditions, and cultural conventions.
The Wedding Journey of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, 1625, 2020
This essay examines dress at the wedding of Charles I and Henrietta Maria in Paris in 1625. In ad... more This essay examines dress at the wedding of Charles I and Henrietta Maria in Paris in 1625. In addition to clothing and jewellery, it considers the lavish textiles displayed in Notre Dame Cathedral. Comparisons will be drawn with other royal weddings in France and England and a number of general observations will be made about the setting, protocol and materials of early modern royal weddings.
Awareness of ancient and modern dwarfs at the court of Charles I is evidenced by the text that ac... more Awareness of ancient and modern dwarfs at the court of Charles I is evidenced by the text that accompanies an engraving of Jeffrey Hudson with two of the other 'wonders' of his age, Old Parr and the giant William Evans, which relates that: Queen Elizabeth had also a she Dwarfe, who lived till she was very aged, the Lady Hatton hath another of the like stature: the lord of Southampton had one of a manly face, but his height not above two cubits, and the lord High Martiall another at this time.. .not any of these exceeding two Cubits.^ 39
This article presents evidence about Henrietta Maria's dress from her wardrobe accounts of 1627 t... more This article presents evidence about Henrietta Maria's dress from her wardrobe accounts of 1627 to 1639. The accounts, in the National Archives at Kew, include a vast range of loose bills, acquittances and warrants related to textiles, garments, trimmings and accessories supplied and made for the Queen and members of her household. The extraordinary variety and splendour of the Queen's dress as well as the lavish clothing she presented to others is evident. This overview focuses on networks of supply and production, including details of key suppliers and artificers; practical aspects of fitting, mending and delivering clothing; gift-giving; and garment types. Tables of suppliers, artificers and garment types are provided.
Rank Matters: New Research on Female Rulers in the Early Modern Era, 2022
The Stuart dynasty saw all of its monarchs married to foreigners, with queens' consort from a ran... more The Stuart dynasty saw all of its monarchs married to foreigners, with queens' consort from a range of European powers: Denmark, France and the Duchy of Modena, as well as the marriages of Mary to William of Orange and Anne to George of Denmark. Such strategic alliances were politically and financially expedient, but the consorts’ foreignness engendered anxiety amongst the English. For the foreign consorts, too, there were challenges – social, confessional, cultural and/or emotional. This chapter focuses on three Stuart queens consort – Anna of Denmark, Henrietta Maria and Catherine of Braganza – and examines their reception as foreign women and how they negotiated a sense of home at the English court. It considers how people, objects, music and foodstuffs from their home countries provided access to home comforts and maintain their familial identity. At the same time, they also cultivated aspects of Englishness to showcase their loyalty to their husbands and the Crown.
Beauty was one of the chief barometers of quality at court – an attractive physical appearance wa... more Beauty was one of the chief barometers of quality at court – an attractive physical appearance was not simply a value in itself but manifested social status, moral virtue and bodily health. This chapter provides an overview of the general perimeters of beauty at the early modern court, covering the principles, portrayal and practices of beauty. Although there was some regional variation, these ideals and practices enjoyed many points of continuity across court centres. The focus here will be on female beauty as defined, displayed and practiced at court from 1500-1700, a time in which women were considered the natural manifestation of physical beauty in court circles and were closely associated with beautifying treatments and rituals.
Childbirth at the early modern court was inherently political. It promised dynastic continuity an... more Childbirth at the early modern court was inherently political. It promised dynastic continuity and political stability as well as diplomatic opportunity through the marital alliances of the children. If childbirth was highly politicised, it was also highly ritualised and provided a stage for material magnificence. Preparations, rituals, furnishings and decorations for royal births and lying-in were carefully calculated to promote the magnificence of the monarch and dynasty and to conform to contemporary medical opinion. This chapter illuminates the main stages of royal childbirth in early modern Europe, beginning with claims to fertility, proceeding to pregnancy, practical preparations for the birth in furnishing rooms, supplying linens and securing suitable staff, to the birth itself and the lying-in period. The focus is on early modern England and France, especially royal births at the Stuart and Bourbon courts, but comparative examples are also drawn from the Spanish Habsburgs, the Gonzagas in Mantua and the German electoral principalities.
The spectacular cabinet miniature on the cover of this book depicts Madame de Montespan (1640-170... more The spectacular cabinet miniature on the cover of this book depicts Madame de Montespan (1640-1707), the famed court beauty and King Louis XIV's mistress. 2 The setting is the Trianon de Porcelaine, a pleasure retreat in the grounds of Versailles inspired by the Chinese emperor's porcelain pagoda at Nanking, which was built for Madame de Montespan in 1670. 3 The Trianon was richly adorned with predominantly blue and white tiles in imitation of fashionable Chinese porcelain and surrounded by fragrant gardens. Hints of the exterior decorative scheme and garden setting can be seen in the window on the left, through which a putto delivers a basket of flowers. Exotic birds enliven the scene, including the two parrots enjoying cherries on a windowsill, a reminder of the birds housed in the aviary. Inside, the room is magnificently furnished: elaborate mirrors with intricately carved and gilt frames, an ornamented cabinet on stand, a silver gueridon supported by female figures, a silver table covered in a gold-embroidered red velvet cloth, a richly decorated bath and silver ewers. There is also a large ornate silver vessel that appears to have been used for perfume. Swathes of silk textiles theatrically set the scene. Madame de Montespan, in dishabille, sits imperiously positioned on a pillowdecked gilt chair under an opulent canopy of cloth of gold. Her chair is borne aloft on a chinoiserie-inspired blue, white and silver carpet that flies, fantastically, in mid-air. The scene is carefully choreographed. Three ladies attend to Madame's toilette: one is brushing her hair with an ivory comb and another is holding a cascading double strand of pearls, while the third lady is kneeling down to wash her feet. Meanwhile, two putti wield feathered fans on long poles to keep her comfortable. The interior swirls with an army of other putti in the service of adorning and entertaining the mistress, fulfilling all of her sensual needs of smell (flowers), sight (of herself in the mirrors, clothing, jewels, furniture and textiles), touch (her hair being combed, and feet washed), sound (music, birdsong) and taste (cherries). Symbols of love abound, from the putti themselves to scenes of the loves of the gods and medallions decorated with hearts. If warfare was a constant feature of life at the early modern court, the only battle here is for the heart and the senses. The centrality of water and washing adds another important symbolic element through its association with religious purity, its Introduction 1 Erin Griffey
After over fifteen years exile in France, Henrietta Maria returned to England in 1660 upon the re... more After over fifteen years exile in France, Henrietta Maria returned to England in 1660 upon the restoration of Charles II. She spent two periods in England in the 1660s before her death in 1669 at her château in France. The English Crown fulfilled its obligations to the Queen Mother by restoring the income from her jointure estates, providing a generous pension and re-establishing her household. This article provides the first overview of Henrietta Maria’s household in the 1660s using her Treasurer’s accounts extant in the Duchy of Cornwall Office and the National Archives. Recording her officers and servants of the chamber, household, chapel and revenue as well as pensioners, these accounts reveal remarkable continuity — and some changes — with her households as Bourbon princess and Stuart queen. Service to Henrietta Maria crossed time and place, France and England, linking families and bolstering social and financial prospects.
The marriage of Henrietta Maria (1609-1669) and Charles I (1600-1649) was presented in literature... more The marriage of Henrietta Maria (1609-1669) and Charles I (1600-1649) was presented in literature and prints as the joining of the ‘lily’ (France, the queen) and the ‘rose’ (England, the king). Harnessing these floral analogies, this article examines how Henrietta Maria’s fair face was invested with social, political and medical import, and as such was widely cultivated and enhanced through physic, sartorial choices and painted representations. Her skin texture and colouring were considered a mirror of her dynastic pedigree, marital status and good health. The white and red palette of the lily and the rose were intrinsic to longstanding ideals of facial colouring, and to youthful bloom and fertility. This colouring was marshalled by painters such as Anthony van Dyck in her portraits, and strategically deployed through her clothing. Her physician, Theodore de Mayerne, also provided her with prescriptions to clean, smooth and restore her face. As such, the queen’s facial skin functioned as a mirror of her quality, a paradigm of health and a canvas for artists, wardrobe specialists and physicians to cultivate and highlight her natural beauty. The analysis is built on a range of primary sources including treatises, wardrobe accounts, herbals and cosmetic recipes.
The deep confessional tensions in Stuart Britain were embodied in its Catholic queens. Queens, in... more The deep confessional tensions in Stuart Britain were embodied in its Catholic queens. Queens, in their portraits and in the artworks in their palaces and chapels, were positioned within this dialectic, with the competing expectations of their husbands , their families, their religious retinues, the papacy, their own personal devotions , and the public against a changing political situation. This article examines how the visual arts provided a powerful tool for Henrietta Maria and Catherine of Braganza in this dynamic, both in claiming and facilitating piety and in advancing the Catholic cause. The themes of Catholic devotion and saintly embodiment are discussed through two important aspects of their engagement with the visual arts: palace display in which devotional works were hung prominently and portraits in which the queens embody saintly guises. Artworks from their chapels, too, will be considered; these spaces were dominated by Marian imagery, which suited both theological and dynastic interests. Although operating within different political contexts and personal agendas, they marshalled such imagery to promote the Catholic cause and perform their piety. Introduction The confessional landscape in early modern England was rife with intrigue and fear, with punishments for "heretics" that ranged from exile to execution. Faith was personal-but in post-Reformation England, as in all of Europe-it was also inherently political. From Henry VIII's break from Rome through the minefield of Tudor sovereigns who demanded Catholic faith under Mary and Protestant allegiance under Elizabeth, the English crown needed to constantly broker politics and faith with strategic marriage alliances. This was no simple matter, as the Tudor dynasty itself demonstrates in the vortex of marital issues faced by Henry, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth. Indeed, with the death of the "Virgin Queen," the fruitful Stuarts ascended the throne of England with their own confessional baggage. James VI of Scotland had a Catholic mother, as did all subsequent Stuart kings.
Sartorial Politics in Early Modern Europe: Fashioning Women, ed. Erin Griffey, Amsterdam University Press, 2019
Mourning dress was one of the most pervasive sartorial symbols at the early modern court. This es... more Mourning dress was one of the most pervasive sartorial symbols at the early modern court. This essay examines Henrietta Maria's adoption of such dress after the execution of Charles I and the political agendas and social ideals that informed it. Analysing portraits of the queen in mourning, this chapter argues that these works were carefully calibrated to showcase her virtuous character and piety while also functioning as public reminders of her husband's 'martyrdom' and her son's claims to the throne. As such, her representation as a widow was tailored both to the expected social and visual conventions of dress and comportment for royal widows, but also as a part of a strategic campaign for the restoration of the Stuart dynasty.
Sartorial Politics in Early Modern Europe: Fashioning Women, ed. Erin Griffey - FOR PRIVATE AND NON-COMMERCIAL USE AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2019
A forum for innovative research on the role of images and objects in the late medieval and early ... more A forum for innovative research on the role of images and objects in the late medieval and early modern periods, Visual and Material Culture, 1300-1700 publishes monographs and essay collections that combine rigorous investigation with critical inquiry to present new narratives on a wide range of topics, from traditional arts to seemingly ordinary things. Recognizing the fluidity of images, objects, and ideas, this series fosters cross-cultural as well as multi-disciplinary exploration. We consider proposals from across the spectrum of analytic approaches and methodologies.
For women at the early modern courts, clothing and jewellery were essential elements in their pol... more For women at the early modern courts, clothing and jewellery were essential elements in their political arsenal, enabling them to signal their dynastic value, to promote loyalty to their marital court and to advance political agendas. This is the first collection of essays to examine how elite women in early modern Europe marshalled clothing and jewellery for political ends. With essays encompassing women who traversed courts in Denmark, England, France, Germany, Habsburg Austria, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, the contributions cover a broad range of elite women from different courts and religious backgrounds as well as varying noble ranks.
Through an investigation of letters, accounts and artworks, this article demonstrates how Queen H... more Through an investigation of letters, accounts and artworks, this article demonstrates how Queen Henrietta Maria’s emotions were carefully calibrated to conform to conventions of appropriate behaviour and to maximise benefits that were both personal and dynastic, political and financial. The queen's emotional display is considered within the gendered and political contexts of the Stuart and Bourbon courts, from the time of her marriage to her death. The discussion positions Henrietta Maria’s emotional performances within a series of key life moments which were accompanied by textual, ceremonial, material and visual commemoration. Whether showing joy at the dynastic coup of her marriage and birth of healthy children, or the misery of the queen whose servants were dismissed or ‘la reine malheureuse’ – the widow and the martyr queen – Henrietta Maria’s emotional display was politically charged.
Van Dyck’s paintings have been thoroughly analyzed in terms of style, iconography and patronage, ... more Van Dyck’s paintings have been thoroughly analyzed in terms of style, iconography and patronage, but there has been no systematic analysis of how these pictures were recorded in Stuart inventories. Pictures attributed to Van Dyck are listed in several royal inventories from c.1639 to c.1688 – from those compiled by Abraham van der Doort c.1639 to the Commonwealth sale of 1649–51, to Charles II of c.1666–67, Henrietta Maria of 1669 and James II of c.1685–88. This article considers the subject matter and placement of Van Dyck’s pictures in a range of palace and room contexts, and charts change and continuity of display across the inventories. The article shows the potential for the close comparison of these royal inventories for understanding display, taste and dynastic politics at the Stuart court.
The catalogue to accompany the exhibition, 'No Free Man: To No One Deny Justice' at the Gus Fishe... more The catalogue to accompany the exhibition, 'No Free Man: To No One Deny Justice' at the Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland. The exhibition was made as part of the commemoration of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, and considers the ongoing relevance of the principles of the rule of law in contemporary New Zealand society. The exhibition comprises larger than life photographic portraits by Nigel Swinn of people deeply impacted by the justice system -- prisoners (both current and recently released, both legally incarcerated and victims of miscarriages of justice) and advocates of victims' rights. Teina Pora, who spent over twenty years in prison and whose convictions were quashed earlier this year by the Privy Council, features in a massive triptych. The catalogue features essays by Erin Griffey (curator), Nigel Swinn (photographer), Linda Tyler (Director of the Gus Fisher), David V Williams (Professor of Law), and a foreword by Patrick Mulligan, Partner at Buddle Findlay (who sponsored the catalogue).
The queens, queens consort and princesses who determined the Stuart succession were conceptualise... more The queens, queens consort and princesses who determined the Stuart succession were conceptualised as ‘sacred vessels’, their reproductive bodies carrying personal and public, dynastic and state, political and confessional ambitions. This comparative study considers the dynastic pressures and reproductive experiences of these women, offering both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The first section, ‘Measuring Dynastic Success’, charts their reproductive experiences through statistical patterns: the ages of marriage and first birth, the known number of conceptions and births as well as rates of mortality. The second section, ‘Scrutinising and Embodying Fertility’, examines the courtly optics of female fertility. The final section, ‘Treating Infertility’, considers their efforts to manage their bodies through physic, diet, prayer and patronage.
Floral Culture and the Tudor and Stuart Court, 2024
For Queen Henrietta Maria, in iconography and physic, plants were the life-force of maternity, th... more For Queen Henrietta Maria, in iconography and physic, plants were the life-force of maternity, the root of beauty, the source of cleanliness, and the symbolic embodiment of state and marriage. While this is not unique, the role of plants in her iconography, personal care, and domestic recipes demonstrate how they materialised her health and promoted her fecundity as a bride, wife, and widow. Drawing on artworks commemorating the queen, Theodore de Mayerne’s medical case notes on the queen, and The Queens Closet Opened, this chapter argues that plants, in life and in art, presented and maintained Henrietta Maria’s blooming fertility. Botanic material traversed political agendas, dynastic imperatives, social values, medical theories, textual traditions, and cultural conventions.
The Wedding Journey of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, 1625, 2020
This essay examines dress at the wedding of Charles I and Henrietta Maria in Paris in 1625. In ad... more This essay examines dress at the wedding of Charles I and Henrietta Maria in Paris in 1625. In addition to clothing and jewellery, it considers the lavish textiles displayed in Notre Dame Cathedral. Comparisons will be drawn with other royal weddings in France and England and a number of general observations will be made about the setting, protocol and materials of early modern royal weddings.
Awareness of ancient and modern dwarfs at the court of Charles I is evidenced by the text that ac... more Awareness of ancient and modern dwarfs at the court of Charles I is evidenced by the text that accompanies an engraving of Jeffrey Hudson with two of the other 'wonders' of his age, Old Parr and the giant William Evans, which relates that: Queen Elizabeth had also a she Dwarfe, who lived till she was very aged, the Lady Hatton hath another of the like stature: the lord of Southampton had one of a manly face, but his height not above two cubits, and the lord High Martiall another at this time.. .not any of these exceeding two Cubits.^ 39
This article presents evidence about Henrietta Maria's dress from her wardrobe accounts of 1627 t... more This article presents evidence about Henrietta Maria's dress from her wardrobe accounts of 1627 to 1639. The accounts, in the National Archives at Kew, include a vast range of loose bills, acquittances and warrants related to textiles, garments, trimmings and accessories supplied and made for the Queen and members of her household. The extraordinary variety and splendour of the Queen's dress as well as the lavish clothing she presented to others is evident. This overview focuses on networks of supply and production, including details of key suppliers and artificers; practical aspects of fitting, mending and delivering clothing; gift-giving; and garment types. Tables of suppliers, artificers and garment types are provided.
Rank Matters: New Research on Female Rulers in the Early Modern Era, 2022
The Stuart dynasty saw all of its monarchs married to foreigners, with queens' consort from a ran... more The Stuart dynasty saw all of its monarchs married to foreigners, with queens' consort from a range of European powers: Denmark, France and the Duchy of Modena, as well as the marriages of Mary to William of Orange and Anne to George of Denmark. Such strategic alliances were politically and financially expedient, but the consorts’ foreignness engendered anxiety amongst the English. For the foreign consorts, too, there were challenges – social, confessional, cultural and/or emotional. This chapter focuses on three Stuart queens consort – Anna of Denmark, Henrietta Maria and Catherine of Braganza – and examines their reception as foreign women and how they negotiated a sense of home at the English court. It considers how people, objects, music and foodstuffs from their home countries provided access to home comforts and maintain their familial identity. At the same time, they also cultivated aspects of Englishness to showcase their loyalty to their husbands and the Crown.
Beauty was one of the chief barometers of quality at court – an attractive physical appearance wa... more Beauty was one of the chief barometers of quality at court – an attractive physical appearance was not simply a value in itself but manifested social status, moral virtue and bodily health. This chapter provides an overview of the general perimeters of beauty at the early modern court, covering the principles, portrayal and practices of beauty. Although there was some regional variation, these ideals and practices enjoyed many points of continuity across court centres. The focus here will be on female beauty as defined, displayed and practiced at court from 1500-1700, a time in which women were considered the natural manifestation of physical beauty in court circles and were closely associated with beautifying treatments and rituals.
Childbirth at the early modern court was inherently political. It promised dynastic continuity an... more Childbirth at the early modern court was inherently political. It promised dynastic continuity and political stability as well as diplomatic opportunity through the marital alliances of the children. If childbirth was highly politicised, it was also highly ritualised and provided a stage for material magnificence. Preparations, rituals, furnishings and decorations for royal births and lying-in were carefully calculated to promote the magnificence of the monarch and dynasty and to conform to contemporary medical opinion. This chapter illuminates the main stages of royal childbirth in early modern Europe, beginning with claims to fertility, proceeding to pregnancy, practical preparations for the birth in furnishing rooms, supplying linens and securing suitable staff, to the birth itself and the lying-in period. The focus is on early modern England and France, especially royal births at the Stuart and Bourbon courts, but comparative examples are also drawn from the Spanish Habsburgs, the Gonzagas in Mantua and the German electoral principalities.
The spectacular cabinet miniature on the cover of this book depicts Madame de Montespan (1640-170... more The spectacular cabinet miniature on the cover of this book depicts Madame de Montespan (1640-1707), the famed court beauty and King Louis XIV's mistress. 2 The setting is the Trianon de Porcelaine, a pleasure retreat in the grounds of Versailles inspired by the Chinese emperor's porcelain pagoda at Nanking, which was built for Madame de Montespan in 1670. 3 The Trianon was richly adorned with predominantly blue and white tiles in imitation of fashionable Chinese porcelain and surrounded by fragrant gardens. Hints of the exterior decorative scheme and garden setting can be seen in the window on the left, through which a putto delivers a basket of flowers. Exotic birds enliven the scene, including the two parrots enjoying cherries on a windowsill, a reminder of the birds housed in the aviary. Inside, the room is magnificently furnished: elaborate mirrors with intricately carved and gilt frames, an ornamented cabinet on stand, a silver gueridon supported by female figures, a silver table covered in a gold-embroidered red velvet cloth, a richly decorated bath and silver ewers. There is also a large ornate silver vessel that appears to have been used for perfume. Swathes of silk textiles theatrically set the scene. Madame de Montespan, in dishabille, sits imperiously positioned on a pillowdecked gilt chair under an opulent canopy of cloth of gold. Her chair is borne aloft on a chinoiserie-inspired blue, white and silver carpet that flies, fantastically, in mid-air. The scene is carefully choreographed. Three ladies attend to Madame's toilette: one is brushing her hair with an ivory comb and another is holding a cascading double strand of pearls, while the third lady is kneeling down to wash her feet. Meanwhile, two putti wield feathered fans on long poles to keep her comfortable. The interior swirls with an army of other putti in the service of adorning and entertaining the mistress, fulfilling all of her sensual needs of smell (flowers), sight (of herself in the mirrors, clothing, jewels, furniture and textiles), touch (her hair being combed, and feet washed), sound (music, birdsong) and taste (cherries). Symbols of love abound, from the putti themselves to scenes of the loves of the gods and medallions decorated with hearts. If warfare was a constant feature of life at the early modern court, the only battle here is for the heart and the senses. The centrality of water and washing adds another important symbolic element through its association with religious purity, its Introduction 1 Erin Griffey
After over fifteen years exile in France, Henrietta Maria returned to England in 1660 upon the re... more After over fifteen years exile in France, Henrietta Maria returned to England in 1660 upon the restoration of Charles II. She spent two periods in England in the 1660s before her death in 1669 at her château in France. The English Crown fulfilled its obligations to the Queen Mother by restoring the income from her jointure estates, providing a generous pension and re-establishing her household. This article provides the first overview of Henrietta Maria’s household in the 1660s using her Treasurer’s accounts extant in the Duchy of Cornwall Office and the National Archives. Recording her officers and servants of the chamber, household, chapel and revenue as well as pensioners, these accounts reveal remarkable continuity — and some changes — with her households as Bourbon princess and Stuart queen. Service to Henrietta Maria crossed time and place, France and England, linking families and bolstering social and financial prospects.
The marriage of Henrietta Maria (1609-1669) and Charles I (1600-1649) was presented in literature... more The marriage of Henrietta Maria (1609-1669) and Charles I (1600-1649) was presented in literature and prints as the joining of the ‘lily’ (France, the queen) and the ‘rose’ (England, the king). Harnessing these floral analogies, this article examines how Henrietta Maria’s fair face was invested with social, political and medical import, and as such was widely cultivated and enhanced through physic, sartorial choices and painted representations. Her skin texture and colouring were considered a mirror of her dynastic pedigree, marital status and good health. The white and red palette of the lily and the rose were intrinsic to longstanding ideals of facial colouring, and to youthful bloom and fertility. This colouring was marshalled by painters such as Anthony van Dyck in her portraits, and strategically deployed through her clothing. Her physician, Theodore de Mayerne, also provided her with prescriptions to clean, smooth and restore her face. As such, the queen’s facial skin functioned as a mirror of her quality, a paradigm of health and a canvas for artists, wardrobe specialists and physicians to cultivate and highlight her natural beauty. The analysis is built on a range of primary sources including treatises, wardrobe accounts, herbals and cosmetic recipes.
The deep confessional tensions in Stuart Britain were embodied in its Catholic queens. Queens, in... more The deep confessional tensions in Stuart Britain were embodied in its Catholic queens. Queens, in their portraits and in the artworks in their palaces and chapels, were positioned within this dialectic, with the competing expectations of their husbands , their families, their religious retinues, the papacy, their own personal devotions , and the public against a changing political situation. This article examines how the visual arts provided a powerful tool for Henrietta Maria and Catherine of Braganza in this dynamic, both in claiming and facilitating piety and in advancing the Catholic cause. The themes of Catholic devotion and saintly embodiment are discussed through two important aspects of their engagement with the visual arts: palace display in which devotional works were hung prominently and portraits in which the queens embody saintly guises. Artworks from their chapels, too, will be considered; these spaces were dominated by Marian imagery, which suited both theological and dynastic interests. Although operating within different political contexts and personal agendas, they marshalled such imagery to promote the Catholic cause and perform their piety. Introduction The confessional landscape in early modern England was rife with intrigue and fear, with punishments for "heretics" that ranged from exile to execution. Faith was personal-but in post-Reformation England, as in all of Europe-it was also inherently political. From Henry VIII's break from Rome through the minefield of Tudor sovereigns who demanded Catholic faith under Mary and Protestant allegiance under Elizabeth, the English crown needed to constantly broker politics and faith with strategic marriage alliances. This was no simple matter, as the Tudor dynasty itself demonstrates in the vortex of marital issues faced by Henry, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth. Indeed, with the death of the "Virgin Queen," the fruitful Stuarts ascended the throne of England with their own confessional baggage. James VI of Scotland had a Catholic mother, as did all subsequent Stuart kings.
Sartorial Politics in Early Modern Europe: Fashioning Women, ed. Erin Griffey, Amsterdam University Press, 2019
Mourning dress was one of the most pervasive sartorial symbols at the early modern court. This es... more Mourning dress was one of the most pervasive sartorial symbols at the early modern court. This essay examines Henrietta Maria's adoption of such dress after the execution of Charles I and the political agendas and social ideals that informed it. Analysing portraits of the queen in mourning, this chapter argues that these works were carefully calibrated to showcase her virtuous character and piety while also functioning as public reminders of her husband's 'martyrdom' and her son's claims to the throne. As such, her representation as a widow was tailored both to the expected social and visual conventions of dress and comportment for royal widows, but also as a part of a strategic campaign for the restoration of the Stuart dynasty.
Sartorial Politics in Early Modern Europe: Fashioning Women, ed. Erin Griffey - FOR PRIVATE AND NON-COMMERCIAL USE AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2019
A forum for innovative research on the role of images and objects in the late medieval and early ... more A forum for innovative research on the role of images and objects in the late medieval and early modern periods, Visual and Material Culture, 1300-1700 publishes monographs and essay collections that combine rigorous investigation with critical inquiry to present new narratives on a wide range of topics, from traditional arts to seemingly ordinary things. Recognizing the fluidity of images, objects, and ideas, this series fosters cross-cultural as well as multi-disciplinary exploration. We consider proposals from across the spectrum of analytic approaches and methodologies.
For women at the early modern courts, clothing and jewellery were essential elements in their pol... more For women at the early modern courts, clothing and jewellery were essential elements in their political arsenal, enabling them to signal their dynastic value, to promote loyalty to their marital court and to advance political agendas. This is the first collection of essays to examine how elite women in early modern Europe marshalled clothing and jewellery for political ends. With essays encompassing women who traversed courts in Denmark, England, France, Germany, Habsburg Austria, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, the contributions cover a broad range of elite women from different courts and religious backgrounds as well as varying noble ranks.
Through an investigation of letters, accounts and artworks, this article demonstrates how Queen H... more Through an investigation of letters, accounts and artworks, this article demonstrates how Queen Henrietta Maria’s emotions were carefully calibrated to conform to conventions of appropriate behaviour and to maximise benefits that were both personal and dynastic, political and financial. The queen's emotional display is considered within the gendered and political contexts of the Stuart and Bourbon courts, from the time of her marriage to her death. The discussion positions Henrietta Maria’s emotional performances within a series of key life moments which were accompanied by textual, ceremonial, material and visual commemoration. Whether showing joy at the dynastic coup of her marriage and birth of healthy children, or the misery of the queen whose servants were dismissed or ‘la reine malheureuse’ – the widow and the martyr queen – Henrietta Maria’s emotional display was politically charged.
Van Dyck’s paintings have been thoroughly analyzed in terms of style, iconography and patronage, ... more Van Dyck’s paintings have been thoroughly analyzed in terms of style, iconography and patronage, but there has been no systematic analysis of how these pictures were recorded in Stuart inventories. Pictures attributed to Van Dyck are listed in several royal inventories from c.1639 to c.1688 – from those compiled by Abraham van der Doort c.1639 to the Commonwealth sale of 1649–51, to Charles II of c.1666–67, Henrietta Maria of 1669 and James II of c.1685–88. This article considers the subject matter and placement of Van Dyck’s pictures in a range of palace and room contexts, and charts change and continuity of display across the inventories. The article shows the potential for the close comparison of these royal inventories for understanding display, taste and dynastic politics at the Stuart court.
The catalogue to accompany the exhibition, 'No Free Man: To No One Deny Justice' at the Gus Fishe... more The catalogue to accompany the exhibition, 'No Free Man: To No One Deny Justice' at the Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland. The exhibition was made as part of the commemoration of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, and considers the ongoing relevance of the principles of the rule of law in contemporary New Zealand society. The exhibition comprises larger than life photographic portraits by Nigel Swinn of people deeply impacted by the justice system -- prisoners (both current and recently released, both legally incarcerated and victims of miscarriages of justice) and advocates of victims' rights. Teina Pora, who spent over twenty years in prison and whose convictions were quashed earlier this year by the Privy Council, features in a massive triptych. The catalogue features essays by Erin Griffey (curator), Nigel Swinn (photographer), Linda Tyler (Director of the Gus Fisher), David V Williams (Professor of Law), and a foreword by Patrick Mulligan, Partner at Buddle Findlay (who sponsored the catalogue).
Christine Stevenson's review of my book, On Display: Henrietta Maria and the Materials of Magnifi... more Christine Stevenson's review of my book, On Display: Henrietta Maria and the Materials of Magnificence at the Stuart Court (Yale University Press, 2015).
General Editors: Erin Griffey (Chair), University of Auckland; Vanessa de Cruz Medina, Pompeu Fab... more General Editors: Erin Griffey (Chair), University of Auckland; Vanessa de Cruz Medina, Pompeu Fabra University; Luc Duerloo, University of Antwerp; Jemma Field, Brunel University; Liesbeth Geevers, Lund University; Timothy McCall, Villanova University
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Early Modern Court Studies encourages rigorous, fresh examination on any aspect of court culture: political, military and social history; confessional identity and relationships with the church and monasteries/nunneries; court chapels and religious rituals; diplomacy, ritual and ceremonial; courtly retinues and household staff; visual and material culture; patronage, collecting and display; gender, sexuality, marriage, domesticity; architecture, furniture, interior decoration and garden design; clothing, jewelry and regalia; music; food and banquets; letter writing, diaries and personal and ambassadorial accounts; drama and dance; hygiene, medicine and beauty; the senses and emotions. It invites proposals on individual courts and comparative studies, both monographs and essay collections, and encourages cross-disciplinary work and the publication of transcriptions and translations of primary sources within the context of these studies.
Through a thematic overview of court culture that connects the cultural with the political, confe... more Through a thematic overview of court culture that connects the cultural with the political, confessional, spatial, material and performative, this volume introduces the dynamics of power and culture in the early modern European court. Exploring the period from 1500 to 1750, Early Modern Court Culture is cross-cultural and interdisciplinary, providing insights into aspects of both community and continuity at courts as well as individual identity, change and difference. Culture is presented as not merely a vehicle for court propaganda in promoting the monarch and the dynasty, but as a site for a complex range of meanings that conferred status and virtue on the patron, maker, court and the wider community of elites. The essays show that the court provided an arena for virtue and virtuosity, intellectual and social play, demonstration of moral authority and performance of social, gendered, confessional and dynastic identity.
Early Modern Court Culture moves from political structures and political players to architectural forms and spatial geographies; ceremonial and ritual observances; visual and material culture; entertainment and knowledge. With 35 contributions on subjects including gardens, dress, scent, dance and tapestries, this volume is a necessary resource for all students and scholars interested in the court in early modern Europe.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Erin Griffey
Part I: People and political structures: Connecting power
1. Monarchs: Kings and queens regnant, sovereign princes and popes
Ronald G. Asch
2. Consorts and court ladies
Helen Watanabe-O’Kelly
3. Wider kinship networks
Jonathan Spangler
4. Courtiers, ministers and favourites
R. Malcolm Smuts
5. Confessors
Nicole Reinhardt
6. Aristocrats and nobles
Hamish Scott
7. Diplomats
Tracey A. Sowerby
Part II: Place and space: Negotiating the court
8. Access
Dries Raeymaekers
9. Princely residences
Elisabeth Narkin
10. Gardens
Paula Henderson
Part III: Ceremonial and ritual: Observing tradition
11. Religious rituals and the liturgical calendar
Paolo Cozzo
12. Childbirth
Erin Griffey
13. Marriages
Joan-Lluís Palos
14. Coronations
Paul Monod
15. Receptions: Triumphal entries, ambassadorial receptions and banquets
R.L.M. Morris
16. Funerals
Jill Bepler
Part IV: Visual and material culture: Furnishing the palace
17. Metalwork
Sean Roberts
18. Tapestries
Guy Delmarcel
19. Upholstered furnishings, cabinet work and gilt furniture
Olivia Fryman
20. Portraiture
Lisa Mansfield
21. Display
Andrea Bubenik
22. Porcelain rooms
Meredith Martin
Part 5: Material culture: Dressing the body
23. Jewellery
Natasha Awais-Dean
24. Male dress
Timothy McCall
25. Female dress
Jemma Field
26. Beauty
Erin Griffey
27. Scent
Holly Dugan
Part VI: Entertainment and knowledge: Performing authority
In 1992, Louise Olga FRADENBURG encouraged « rethinking queenship » in terms of gender. Her work ... more In 1992, Louise Olga FRADENBURG encouraged « rethinking queenship » in terms of gender. Her work (4) was the beginning of a major historiographical renewal. Anglo-Saxon scholars quickly reacted by proposing numerous publications using the notion of queenship. In France, the first studies were conducted in the 2000s, notably with Fanny COSANDEY’s pioneering study of on the Queen of France (2). Then the question took a more collective dimension with the book on European princesses co-edited by Marie-Karine SCHAUB and Isabelle POUTRIN in 2007 (10). The two historians encourage their readers to initiate "comparative approaches on subjects" and to "highlight some of the stages that punctuate the lives of European queens and princesses". This symposium intends to follow this perspective with the aim of highlighting a very important aspect of the life of princesses that has not yet been studied on a large scale through the prism of queenship: dynastic alliances. They are a major constituent of the international politics and diplomacy of European states and have therefore been studied extensively. However, in the light of the observation already made twenty years ago, we know that princesses are too often neglected by political history and, consequently, relatively absent from our knowledge of this subject. Princesses are pushed into the background, considered as simple objects of exchange with no opinion, no feelings and no power. The objective of this symposium is to give princesses their true place back in political and diplomatic history by changing the point of view. Placed at the centre of thinking as agents, it is from their views and experiences that we will engage in a rediscovery and rereading of the history of dynastic alliances. Here, we understand "princesses" as the female members of sovereign families, i.e. the daughters and wives of kings. The choice of this definition allows us to follow the trajectories of princesses who became queen by succession (sovereign queen), by marriage (queen consort) but also of those who did not. With the choice of a broad timeline covering two centuries and an equally large geographical area, the sample of princesses concerned is significant, which will make it possible to have a whole range of possible situations, from different periods and different countries. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that it will not be a matter of juxtaposing biographies of princesses but rather of adopting a comparative approach on this subject through the three themes defined below. In the aim of opening new perspectives through a fresh outlook, it seemed necessary to us not to limit the thinking to political history nor to the historical field. We therefore encourage the submission of talks in the fields of cultural, social, economic history... as well as in art history, literature, law, political science, sociology and anthropology.
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Papers by Erin Griffey
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Early Modern Court Studies encourages rigorous, fresh examination on any aspect of court culture: political, military and social history; confessional identity and relationships with the church and monasteries/nunneries; court chapels and religious rituals; diplomacy, ritual and ceremonial; courtly retinues and household staff; visual and material culture; patronage, collecting and display; gender, sexuality, marriage, domesticity; architecture, furniture, interior decoration and garden design; clothing, jewelry and regalia; music; food and banquets; letter writing, diaries and personal and ambassadorial accounts; drama and dance; hygiene, medicine and beauty; the senses and emotions. It invites proposals on individual courts and comparative studies, both monographs and essay collections, and encourages cross-disciplinary work and the publication of transcriptions and translations of primary sources within the context of these studies.
Early Modern Court Culture moves from political structures and political players to architectural forms and spatial geographies; ceremonial and ritual observances; visual and material culture; entertainment and knowledge. With 35 contributions on subjects including gardens, dress, scent, dance and tapestries, this volume is a necessary resource for all students and scholars interested in the court in early modern Europe.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Erin Griffey
Part I: People and political structures: Connecting power
1. Monarchs: Kings and queens regnant, sovereign princes and popes
Ronald G. Asch
2. Consorts and court ladies
Helen Watanabe-O’Kelly
3. Wider kinship networks
Jonathan Spangler
4. Courtiers, ministers and favourites
R. Malcolm Smuts
5. Confessors
Nicole Reinhardt
6. Aristocrats and nobles
Hamish Scott
7. Diplomats
Tracey A. Sowerby
Part II: Place and space: Negotiating the court
8. Access
Dries Raeymaekers
9. Princely residences
Elisabeth Narkin
10. Gardens
Paula Henderson
Part III: Ceremonial and ritual: Observing tradition
11. Religious rituals and the liturgical calendar
Paolo Cozzo
12. Childbirth
Erin Griffey
13. Marriages
Joan-Lluís Palos
14. Coronations
Paul Monod
15. Receptions: Triumphal entries, ambassadorial receptions and banquets
R.L.M. Morris
16. Funerals
Jill Bepler
Part IV: Visual and material culture: Furnishing the palace
17. Metalwork
Sean Roberts
18. Tapestries
Guy Delmarcel
19. Upholstered furnishings, cabinet work and gilt furniture
Olivia Fryman
20. Portraiture
Lisa Mansfield
21. Display
Andrea Bubenik
22. Porcelain rooms
Meredith Martin
Part 5: Material culture: Dressing the body
23. Jewellery
Natasha Awais-Dean
24. Male dress
Timothy McCall
25. Female dress
Jemma Field
26. Beauty
Erin Griffey
27. Scent
Holly Dugan
Part VI: Entertainment and knowledge: Performing authority
28. Science
Alisha Rankin
29. Theatre and opera
Sophie Tomlinson
30. Dance
Jennifer Nevile
31. Literature
Tom Bishop
32. Music
Andrew H. Weaver
33. Tournaments and hunting
Glenn Richardson
34. Food and dining
Ken Albala
35. Games and jokes
Johan Verberckmoes
This symposium intends to follow this perspective with the aim of highlighting a very important aspect of the life of princesses that has not yet been studied on a large scale through the prism of queenship: dynastic alliances. They are a major constituent of the international politics and diplomacy of European states and have therefore been studied extensively. However, in the light of the observation already made twenty years ago, we know that princesses are too often neglected by political history and, consequently, relatively absent from our knowledge of this subject. Princesses are pushed into the background, considered as simple objects of exchange with no opinion, no feelings and no power.
The objective of this symposium is to give princesses their true place back in political and diplomatic history by changing the point of view. Placed at the centre of thinking as agents, it is from their views and experiences that we will engage in a rediscovery and rereading of the history of dynastic alliances.
Here, we understand "princesses" as the female members of sovereign families, i.e. the daughters and wives of kings. The choice of this definition allows us to follow the trajectories of princesses who became queen by succession (sovereign queen), by marriage (queen consort) but also of those who did not. With the choice of a broad timeline covering two centuries and an equally large geographical area, the sample of princesses concerned is significant, which will make it possible to have a whole range of possible situations, from different periods and different countries. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that it will not be a matter of juxtaposing biographies of princesses but rather of adopting a comparative approach on this subject through the three themes defined below.
In the aim of opening new perspectives through a fresh outlook, it seemed necessary to us not to limit the thinking to political history nor to the historical field. We therefore encourage the submission of talks in the fields of cultural, social, economic history... as well as in art history, literature, law, political science, sociology and anthropology.