Encomium Emmae Reginae

Camden Classic Reprints #4

by Alistair Campbell (Editor), Simon Keynes (Contributor)

The Encomium Emmae Reginae is a political tract in praise, as its title suggests, of Queen Emma, daughter of Duke Richard I of Normandy, wife of King Ethelred the Unready from 1002 to 1016, and wife of the Danish conqueror King Cnut from 1017 to 1035. It is a primary source of the utmost importance for our understanding of the Danish conquest of England in the early eleventh century, and for the political intrigue in the years which followed the death of King Cnut in 1035. Ut offers a remarkable account of a woman who was twice a queen, and of her determination to retain her power as queen-mother. This reprint, which contains the definitive text and translation of the Encomium Emmae Reginae first published in 1949, includes a supplementary introduction which reviews the career of Queen Emma and which defines as clearly as possible the historical context in which the Encomium was written.

Genres: History, Medieval, Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

Reviews

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The objective conclusion to draw from this little book about Queen Emma, which was commissioned and funded by Queen Emma, is that Queen Emma (and everyone whose political interests are aligned with those of Queen Emma) is pretty great.

Gotta love the power of the written word!

[Thirsa H · Rating 5 out of 5]

so…. the centrality of family for medieval queenship huh

[Hon Lady Selene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written in the early 1040s to support the interests of Queen Emma of Normandy as the period of Danish rule in England came tumultuously to an end. Its author was probably a Flemish monk from the foundation of Saint-Bertin, but scholars suggest this was written from within and for the Anglo-Danish court, whose members were intimately familiar with Emma’s role in the complex dynastic politics of the Anglo-Danish period.

[Neal Nordstrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting book about an amazing woman of the middle ages ... great aunt of William the Conqueror and mother to the kings of England, Norway and Denmark. She was a power broker who commissioned this book about her own life.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Try not to say mother=impossible

Sometimes a woman just needs to commission a piece of political propaganda and rewrite history and can we blame her for that?