The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry that Forged the Medieval World
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- Create Date：2022-01-07 17:21:33
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Shelley Puhak
- ISBN：B09FT7373P
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Summary
The remarkable， little-known story of two trailblazing women in the Early Middle Ages who wielded immense power， only to be vilified for daring to rule。
Brunhild was a Spanish princess， raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building。 Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave。 And yet—in the 6th-century Merovingian Empire， where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport—these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms for decades， changing the face of Europe。
The two queens commanded armies and negotiated with kings and popes。 They formed coalitions and broke them， mothered children and lost them。 They fought a years-long civil war—against each other。 With ingenuity and skill， they battled to stay alive in the game of statecraft， and in the process laid the foundations of what would one day be Charlemagne’s empire。 Yet after Brunhild and Fredegund’s deaths—one gentle， the other horrific—their stories were rewritten， their names consigned to slander and legend。
In The Dark Queens， award-winning writer Shelley Puhak sets the record straight。 She resurrects two very real women in all their complexity， painting a richly detailed portrait of an unfamiliar time and striking at the roots of some of our culture’s stubbornest myths about female power。 The Dark Queens offers proof that the relationships between women can transform the world。
Brunhild was a Spanish princess， raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building。 Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave。 And yet—in the 6th-century Merovingian Empire， where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport—these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms for decades， changing the face of Europe。
The two queens commanded armies and negotiated with kings and popes。 They formed coalitions and broke them， mothered children and lost them。 They fought a years-long civil war—against each other。 With ingenuity and skill， they battled to stay alive in the game of statecraft， and in the process laid the foundations of what would one day be Charlemagne’s empire。 Yet after Brunhild and Fredegund’s deaths—one gentle， the other horrific—their stories were rewritten， their names consigned to slander and legend。
In The Dark Queens， award-winning writer Shelley Puhak sets the record straight。 She resurrects two very real women in all their complexity， painting a richly detailed portrait of an unfamiliar time and striking at the roots of some of our culture’s stubbornest myths about female power。 The Dark Queens offers proof that the relationships between women can transform the world。
Reviews
Haley
，
Don't expect a dry textbook history lesson here。 The Dark Queens is an immersive experience into early medieval times and the lives of two women who weren't content to sit in the shadows。 This nonfiction read like an exciting family history being told to you by a passionate and knowledgeable grandparent。 The author clearly did some incredible research to bring these two queens back to life and find their long reaching connections to our modern times。 Excellent on all fronts！Thank you to NetGalle Don't expect a dry textbook history lesson here。 The Dark Queens is an immersive experience into early medieval times and the lives of two women who weren't content to sit in the shadows。 This nonfiction read like an exciting family history being told to you by a passionate and knowledgeable grandparent。 The author clearly did some incredible research to bring these two queens back to life and find their long reaching connections to our modern times。 Excellent on all fronts！Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for access to this arc。 。。。more
Lindsey
，
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for providing me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review I am no medieval scholar and therefore I knew nothing of the subject matter before reading this book but I found it incredibly fascinating and easy to understand， and it appears to be very well researched。 While this book is ostensibly about two queens， Brunhild and Fredegund， it is really about ~50 years of politics in Francia under the Merovingian dynasty as influenced by and pert Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for providing me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review I am no medieval scholar and therefore I knew nothing of the subject matter before reading this book but I found it incredibly fascinating and easy to understand， and it appears to be very well researched。 While this book is ostensibly about two queens， Brunhild and Fredegund， it is really about ~50 years of politics in Francia under the Merovingian dynasty as influenced by and pertaining to these two powerful women。 It was really amazing how many primary sources Puhak was able to reference in this work。 She made these people who lived nearly 1500 years ago feel very human and relatable （or at least as relatable as fratricide and assassination attempts can feel）。 I enjoyed getting to read this work which put a spotlight on these very powerful women。 In many ways they had been erased from history in the same way that other female voices have been routinely silenced， but this work brings them back to life showing their power and influence on global politics。 。。。more
Steph
，
Explore the fascinating rivalry of two early medieval queens。Meet Brunhild and Fredegund， two Merovingian queens from the late 500s。 These sisters-in-law ruled at a time when women were mostly considered accessories， their worth directly related to the value they provided to the men in their lives。 But the author brings these impressive rulers out of the footnotes of history and into the spotlight。I wasn’t very familiar with this time period before starting the book， and the author did an excell Explore the fascinating rivalry of two early medieval queens。Meet Brunhild and Fredegund， two Merovingian queens from the late 500s。 These sisters-in-law ruled at a time when women were mostly considered accessories， their worth directly related to the value they provided to the men in their lives。 But the author brings these impressive rulers out of the footnotes of history and into the spotlight。I wasn’t very familiar with this time period before starting the book， and the author did an excellent job of giving context， both culturally and historically。 The best part is that this non-fiction book reads like a novel—full of political intrigue and drama。 Some non-fiction can be dry， weighed down with facts at the expense of the narrative—but not here。 The storytelling is engaging and I was immediately drawn into the lives of these women。 It really does read like a medieval soap opera， with assassination plots， hidden babies， and strategic marriages。I always enjoy reading about women who’ve been minimized by history （see also: The Five by Hallie Rubenhold）。 This author gives us insight into how these extraordinary women lived， loved， and ruled。 She sheds light on these two impressive Dark Queens。Thanks to @netgalley and @bloomsburypublishing for an advanced eBook copy。 The book will be out on February 22。 。。。more
Helen Towers
，
Absolutely fascinating book about two queens that I knew nothing about。 Easy to read and fast-paced too。 Absolutely recommended for history lovers。
Briana
，
Source: Netgalley。 Review also posted at Pages Unbound。The Dark Queens is an utterly immersive work of narrative nonfiction that had wide-eyed and gasping more than any fiction book I've read in the past several months。 Though the book is focused on Queens Brunhild and Fredegund， the cast of characters is massive， and the complexity and wildness of their political， personal， and military maneuvers is truly something to behold。 I couldn't get enough of this story， and I hope it makes the "Dark Ag Source: Netgalley。 Review also posted at Pages Unbound。The Dark Queens is an utterly immersive work of narrative nonfiction that had wide-eyed and gasping more than any fiction book I've read in the past several months。 Though the book is focused on Queens Brunhild and Fredegund， the cast of characters is massive， and the complexity and wildness of their political， personal， and military maneuvers is truly something to behold。 I couldn't get enough of this story， and I hope it makes the "Dark Ages" more accessible and interesting to other readers。Puhak's work is clearly rooted in an enormous amount of research。 There are footnotes （though not so many they interrupt the flow of the story） and direct quotes from sources like Gregory of Tours where applicable。 （Unfortunately， very little survives of Brunhild's or Fredegund's own words。） There are moments where Puhak is obviously conjecturing， about what Brunhild or Fredegund was probably feelig at some point or about what the city would have looked like from their bedroom windows， etc。， but this， too， is clearly grounded in some sort of research （ex。 what did this city look and sound like in general at this time period， to their best of our knowledge？）， and a careful reader will be able to mentally note the pieces where Puhak seems to be filling in the gaps a bit。 Her educated guesses do make the book read more smoothly （again， it's narrative nonfiction）， which I think readers will generally appreciate and find keeps the book engaging。And engaging it is。 I can hardly remember the last time I read a nonfiction book this quickly and with an urgent sense to find out what on earth was going to happen next-- because what happened next was always absolutely crazy。 Brunhild comes across as brilliant and calculating but one of the more level-headed actors in the story， while Fredegund is fierce about getting rivals out of her ways and cool with being accused of a wide number of murders。 The men go about marrying and divorcing and killing and invading everyone left and right， betraying each other and making up and acting like this is all totally normal。 What a time to be alive， either as someone in power who had to participate in all this scheming or as a poor peasant who had to wonder month to month exactly what kingdom they belonged to now。One of the author's goals is to revive the history specifically of Brunhild and Fredegund， two powerful women who ruled something amounting to an empire， whose contributions to society would be systematically erased by their successors。 And the book does do that。 I do think， in spite of Puhak's efforts， that Brunhild comes across as more "sympathetic" than Fredegund， who murdered tons of people and was even violent with her own daughter， but Fredegund is clearly brilliant at playing politics and a force to be reckoned with， and I can see the arguments that people were/are to be less likely to bat an eye at man who's as violent at she is。 I， however， do think the book expands a lot beyond the two women; it's an excellent portrayal of the region as a whole during this time period， with a large network of actors striving to take land and power。You don't need to be a nonfiction fan to enjoy this one。 The strong narrative voice and the wild action of the story will keep you engaged even if you're normally just a fiction reader。 I don't know if a fantasy author could have made stuff up that's this fast-paced and， at times， downright bizarre。 Seriously， go pick this one up when it's released February 2022。 。。。more
Maimuna Haque
，
A must read for non fiction readers！ Rating: 3/5Synopsis:Brunhild was a foreign princess， raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building。 Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave。 And yet-in 6th-century Merovingian France， where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport-these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms， changing the face of Europe。The two queens commanded armies and negotiated with kings and popes。 A must read for non fiction readers！ Rating: 3/5Synopsis:Brunhild was a foreign princess， raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building。 Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave。 And yet-in 6th-century Merovingian France， where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport-these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms， changing the face of Europe。The two queens commanded armies and negotiated with kings and popes。 They formed coalitions and broke them， mothered children and lost them。 They fought a decades-long civil war-against each other。 With ingenuity and skill， they battled to stay alive in the game of statecraft， and in the process laid the foundations of what would one day be Charlemagne's empire。 Yet after the queens' deaths-one gentle， the other horrific-their stories were rewritten， their names consigned to slander and legend。In The Dark Queens， award-winning writer Shelley Puhak sets the record straight。 She resurrects two very real women in all their complexity， painting a richly detailed portrait of an unfamiliar time and striking at the roots of some of our culture's stubbornest myths about female power。 The Dark Queens offers proof that the relationships between women can transform the world。Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC！ 。。。more
Kate Humphrey
，
This is a 10/10 read for me！ It was incredibly well-written， thought-provoking， and educational。 Considering I wrote my honors thesis on medieval women who yielded power， The Dark Queens was right up my alley。 The amount of research Pukah so clearly put into creating this book is incredible and I cannot wait to see what else she has in store for readers！Thank you Netgalley for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review。
Sayo
，
Not sure why， but I thought this book would read more like a story。 Even though it was not what I was expecting， the book flowed nicely and gave an interesting look at two women I knew nothing about。 A must read for historical non fiction lovers。
Smallp
，
Stunning！ This book was everything narrative history should be。 It was fast-paced， carefully researched， and it taught me something completely new。 The author brings the time period to life and you get a good sense of everyone’s personalities。 I even liked learning about the minor characters， especially Radegund and the almost-undefeatable Duke Boso。 At the end the author shows how even though people tried to erase Brunhild and Fredegund from history， bits and pieces of their stories were preser Stunning！ This book was everything narrative history should be。 It was fast-paced， carefully researched， and it taught me something completely new。 The author brings the time period to life and you get a good sense of everyone’s personalities。 I even liked learning about the minor characters， especially Radegund and the almost-undefeatable Duke Boso。 At the end the author shows how even though people tried to erase Brunhild and Fredegund from history， bits and pieces of their stories were preserved in myth and legend。 I’m glad more people will now get the chance to learn about these amazing queens。 。。。more
Paige Haas
，
How have I gone 25 years of my life without knowing about Fredegund and Brunhild？？ These women were amazing！ Not only accomplishing things unheard of for women in their time （and for a thousand years or more after them） but also influencing societies up to today。 We can find hints of them in everything from fairy tales to Game of Thrones。 Yet few of us would recognize their names。 Absolutely 10/10。 I wish I had learned about these women in school！
Jorja Grael
，
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys readable history。 I wasn't very familiar with the subject of French history， but throughly enjoyed learning。 The fact that women took the role of leader， both in administrative duties and on the battlefield was a breath of fresh air。 I received an ARC copy from a bookseller。 I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys readable history。 I wasn't very familiar with the subject of French history， but throughly enjoyed learning。 The fact that women took the role of leader， both in administrative duties and on the battlefield was a breath of fresh air。 I received an ARC copy from a bookseller。 。。。more
Rachel
，