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PERNOUD, REGINE: : Blanche of Castile. [Translated by Henry Noel.]

LONDON.WILLIAM COLLINS SONS & CO. LTD.,1975.

ISBN 0002114933.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright, crisp,clean,glossy,colour facsimile medieval illuminated manuscript artwork design illustrated front panel of dw/dj with colour illumimated capitalised first letter of title and other brown,tan and rust colour lettering, brown+rust coloured lettered spine/backstrip and to rear panel,critics' black lettered reviews of author's debut title 'Heloise and Abelard.' respectively; all with negligible shelf-wear, bumping,creasing to edges and corners – no nicks,tears or splits present.Top edges with minimal,faint dust-soiling with a few tiny blemishes towards the fore-edges top front,fore-edges whilst bright are without foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound – no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners – near pristine,possibly unread,apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,original plain cream cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt-lettering to spine/ backstrip and immaculate/clean repeated colour illustrated genealogical family tree chart endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,9-317pp [paginated] includes a Prologue,VII (7) chapters and an Epilogue,12pp b/w contemporary medieval facsimile reproductions and modern b/w photographs interspersed throughout the text and the book,,Notes and Sources,an Index and principal Sources; plus [unpaginated] half-title +title pages,separate contents and illustrations lists/tables. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional for a book of it's age, and even internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation.It is only the minimal,minor exterior faults described that prevent a higher grading.Despite them,it really is an exceptional copy for brightness, cleanliness and lack of detracting faults. Blanche of Castile (Spanish,Bianca de Castilla, b. 4th March,1188 – d. 27th November,1252) was Queen of France by marriage to Louis VIII.She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son,Louis IX: during his minority from 1226 until 1234,then again during his absence from 1248 until 1252.She was born in Palencia, Spain,in 1188,the third daughter of Alfonso VIII,King of Castile,and Eleanor of England, sister of King John of England.In an age when France and England were linked by language, customs,feudal estates and ties of blood,the great Queen across the Channel was also a person of significance this side of it.She would have been a woman of consequence in any age.From the day when her grandmother,Eleanor of Aquitaine, first chose her as a future queen,Blanche's life was as eventful as any contemporary chronicler could have wished.Through her,her husband was invited to assume the crown of England,and he and Blanche actually landed in England with their troops.Through her,the disaffected French provinces,including some which owed allegiance to England,were incorporated in the expanding royal domain.Through her,left early a widow,the character of her eldest son was formed to become that of France's only canonized king. In all the problems of her day,which were not unlike those of our own and included student unrest,crisis in the Church,and trouble in the Middle East, Blanche played a leading role. During her son's minority,and again during his absence on the seventh disastrous Crusade,she was effectively the ruler of France - a France whose increasing unity and prosperity were reflected in the glories of the new Gothic architecture and the sophistication of the Courts of Love. Blanche left her personal stamp on everything and archivist Regine Pernoud here reveals it,not through the biased and often malicious gossip of the chroniclers,but through letters,treaties, account rolls,judicial proceedings - the warp and weft of medieval life. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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