Guest Post Q&A with Sharon Bennett Connolly
Author of 'Scotland's Medieval Queens: From Saint Margaret to Margaret of Denmark'
Today I’m excited to welcome Sharon Bennett Connolly! Sharon has written eight books now, and her latest is Scotland’s Medieval Queens: From Saint Margaret to Margaret of Denmark. Her focus is largely on the women of the medieval period, having written on women of the Anarchy, Tudor heroines, and women of the Norman conquest. I wanted to ask Sharon about sources for the medieval period, how she conducts her research, and what attracts her to researching these women.
Welcome to the blog, Sharon! Your new book is on Scotland’s Medieval Queens, so what drew you to write about these interesting women?
It was all my son’s idea. He was doing Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ or ‘The Tragedie of Macbeth’ to give it its proper title, in school for his GCSE in English Literature. He came out of school one day and said ‘mum, you need to do something about Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare does a real number on her and no one is speaking up for her like they do for Richard III – he doesn’t even give her her name; she’s just Lady Macbeth.’ And Lady Macbeth is actually the first Scottish queen for whom we do have a name – Gruoch. So, he got me thinking. There is not enough out there for a biography of Gruoch, but what about a book on Scotland’s Medieval Queens? I had already done some work on St Margaret, queen of Malcolm III, and on Robert the Bruce’s women, including his queen Elizabeth de Burgh and his daughter Marjorie, through whom the Stewart dynasty was founded. So, I had the kernel of a book.
And my son gets all the credit for the idea – he even did some of the research for Gruoch’s true story, with which the book opens.
Was there one woman you found more difficult to write about than others?
The most obscure of the queens was Isabella de Warenne, the wife of John Balliol. There is so little information on her that we don’t even know if she was still alive when Balliol became king. Even though her father was John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey and a friend of Edward I. She was not a nobody, but because she was a woman, in a time of great upheaval for Scotland, she seems to have been overlooked by the chroniclers. No one even knows how old she was when she married and because one chronicler calls her a girl, she seems to have been taken as younger than she actually was. But she can’t have been a girl, because her mother had died giving birth to her baby brother over twenty years before she married. To be fair, the same chronicler calls John Balliol a boy when they married, and we know he was in his 30s. So, the chronicler was definitely confused!
How easy or difficult was it finding sources about these women, and do they appear more in particular types of sources?
It took a little digging for some of them. The Scottish chronicles of John of Fordun and Walter Bower were incredibly useful, unless the queen was called Margaret but wasn’t St Margaret. Both chronicles refer to St Margaret throughout, so you may be searching for Margaret of England, or Margaret of Denmark, think you’re reading information on one of these women, only to discover the chronicler is harking back to the wonderful career of St Margaret! And then you would have to start all over again!
Luckily, most of the chronicles are available online at archive.org. Although I did have difficulty with one, Andrew of Wyntoun, because it is actually written in Scots Gaelic, so that took a little of getting to grips with.
Did the Scottish Wars of Independence have an effect on Scottish queenship – did the idea or role of a queen change as a result?
I am not sure it changed Scottish queenship as a whole. It certainly had an effect on the succession, in that while Elizabeth de Burgh was in Edward I’s custody, and then Edward II’s, Robert the Bruce did not have his wife by his side and so could not produce a legitimate heir, which would have made his position stronger.
I think the saddest part of it, though, came later, with the marriage of David II – Robert’s young son – and Joan of the Tower, Edward III’s sister, who were married as children and had an unhappy marriage; they didn’t have children and David had several mistresses. And Edward III did not make it any easier for them. Although his sister was Queen of Scots, he backed Edward Balliol, the rival claimant to the Scottish throne. How much pressure does one marriage need?
Saint Margaret of Scotland sounds like a fascinating woman, and many of her children became kings and queens – was she a role model to future queens of Scotland?
Oh yes! She was held up in Scotland as the exemplary Scottish queen, pious, intelligent and loyal. She supervised the education of her children, supported her husband and helped the sick and needy. It doesn’t hurt, either, that her confessor, Turgot, wrote a biography of her which was very complimentary. But we do see throughout the medieval era that subsequent queens are frequently compared to St Margaret.
She is held up as an example of what a Scottish queen should be.
Was there something you found out in the course of your research which really surprised you or you didn’t expect?
The wealth of information we have on Margaret of Denmark’s wardrobe. When you have spent months rooting around for the slightest mention of the earlier medieval queens, you come to Margaret of Denmark, and we have her wardrobe accounts. So, we know what cloaks, gloves and jewellery she wore and how much she paid for each item. It was a treasure trove in itself.
What is your favourite and least favourite part of the writing process?
My least favourite part is always when I start writing a book. I go through a crisis of confidence about whether or not I can actually write. I have to give myself a good talking to and force myself to sit down and start tapping on the keyboard. I was not expecting it to still be happening after having written so many books, but I think it’s the way my brain keeps me grounded. I can’t get too arrogant and blasé about my writing if I’m still suffering from Impostor Syndrome, can I?
The favourite part of the process for me? Well, there’s two. I absolutely adore doing the research. I’m never happier than when I am rooting around in the chronicles, trying to find a trace of the person I am writing about. And possibly finding people I will want to write about in the future. There are so many rabbit holes to go down and I do indulge myself once in a while.
The other is when I have completed the book. I don’t tend to write ‘The End’ but there is that moment, when the conclusion is written, when you have polished off the introduction and all the chapters are put in order, and you press ‘send’ to see it whizzing off to the editor. That is a great feeling. You know you have editing and indexing to do, but the really, really hard work is all done – the rest is just polishing off.
What’s it like to co-host a Medieval history podcast, and do you have a favourite episode that you’ve recorded?
It is great fun! My co-host, Derek Birks, and I get on really well together. I think our knowledge compliments each other -if one of us doesn’t know something, the other does. And every single one of our guests has said how much they enjoy coming on. A good few have said it feels like old friends getting together, even though we have never met before, except through social media. I think my favourite episode has to be the one with Ian Mortimer. We asked Ian to come on and asked him to pick a topic to talk about. I mean, its Ian Mortimer! He chose the topic ‘Medieval Speed’ and gave us a wonderful discussion about the speed of travel and communication in the medieval period. It was absolutely fascinating, and something you don’t often think about but vital to understanding the medieval period. And he was such a pleasure to talk with.
Which of the Scottish queens in your latest book would you most like to share a drink with and have a chance to chat with?
All of them!
But if you insist that I pick, then probably Mary of Guelders. She was the wife of James II and Scotland’s regent during the time of the Wars of the Roses. She put Scotland’s interests first, sheltering Margaret of Anjou and Henry VI for a time, but then allying with Edward IV when that was in Scotland’s best interests. And she negotiated a peace treaty with the Earl of Warwick. She was an incredibly strong, well-educated woman. She had been raised at the Burgundian caught and had a great understanding of politics and diplomacy. I would love to sit with her and get her opinion on all of the major players of the Wars of the Roses.
What are you currently working on?
I am just putting the finishing touches to The English Medieval Princess, which should be out this time next year. The idea was to write a modern version of Mary Everett Green’s The Lives of the Princesses of England. It has proven to be a bigger challenge than I expected it to be, but hopefully that means the finished book will be well worth reading. And it has meant that I have looked into women I had previously only had a fleeting knowledge of, such as the illegitimate daughters of Henry I and the two daughters of Henry IV, who were not born to be princesses but became such when their father seized the throne from Richard II.
Author Bio
Sharon Bennett Connolly is the best-selling author of several non-fiction history books. Her latest, Scotland’s Medieval Queens; From St Margaret to Margaret of Denmark, will be released in January 2025. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Sharon has studied history academically and just for fun – and has even worked as a tour guide at Conisbrough Castle. She also writes the popular history blog, www.historytheinterestingbits.com and co-hosts the podcast A Slice of Medieval, alongside historical novelist Derek Birks. Sharon regularly gives talks on women's history, for historical groups, festivals and in schools; her book Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest is a recommended text for teaching the Norman Conquest in the National Curriculum. She is a feature writer for All About History and Living Medieval magazines and her TV work includes Australian Television's 'Who Do You Think You Are?'
Social Media
Website - https://historytheinterestingbits.com/
Instagram - @sharonbennettconnolly
X/Twitter - @thehistorybits
Threads - @sharonbennettconnolly
Blue Sky - @thehistorybits.bsky.social
Podcast - A Slice of Medieval
Sharon Bennett Connolly’s Books
Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England [2020]
Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey [2021]
King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye [2023]
Women of the Anarchy [2024]
Heroines of the Tudor World [2024]
Scotland’s Medieval Queens: From Saint Margaret to Margaret of Denmark [2025]