Queens of the Crusades

The second book by Alison Weir in the documentary series dedicated to the great queens of the Middle Ages.
In this fascinating documentary study is a chronicle of the lives of the first five queens of the powerful Plantagenet dynasty, which... ruled England and France for over three centuries: queen-crusaders, warrior queens, queens who rebelled against sacred vows and the authority of their king, renowned for their beauty or scholarship, instilling in England a passion for the romantic culture of Southern Europe… Queens who had a significant impact on the life of their country at a time when even the monarch's wife was not free from the strict dictates of the medieval world order, and any significant achievement – for better or worse – required these extraordinary women extraordinary strength of spirit and unprecedented determination.
The narrative covers the period from 1154 to 1291, presenting to the reader an era of chivalry and courtly love, dynastic ambitions, conflict between church and throne, baronial wars, and ongoing conflicts between rival monarchs of Britain and France; an era of elevated romance and low political intrigues, when Thomas Becket was murdered and the Magna Carta was created.