Art historian Anne Rudloff Stanton.
Ornately illustrated prayer books owned or influenced by Isabella of France — a 14th-century queen of England who forced her husband to abdicate the throne and then ruled the country alongside her lover until he was executed by her son — will be the focus of a free lecture by art historian Anne Rudloff Stanton on Friday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m. at Folk Hall, 150 E. Exchange St., at The University of Akron.
A reception for the audience will follow.
In "Isabella of France and the Power of Narrative," Stanton will examine the narrative art in the margins of some medieval manuscripts that can be connected with the patronage or use of the queen. The images, says Stanton, provide fascinating insights into medieval attitudes toward prayer, vision and the uses of narrative.
Intriguing figure
The life of Queen Isabella of France reads like a Harlequin novel. As an adolescent, Isabella was married to King Edward II, one of the more unsuccessful kings of medieval England. She bore her husband four children, including Edward III, who would be the king’s successor.
Illustration of Queen Isabella of France.
In the 1320s, while visiting her brother in France, she became fed up with her lack of influence on a king whose behavior was damaging the realm their son would eventually rule, and gathered enough support among the English aristocracy to force Edward II to abdicate his throne in favor of his young son. Because Edward III was too young to run a country, Isabella ruled as a shadow regent, alongside her lover, Roger Mortimer.
Three years later her son forced her to step down, executed Mortimer, and took control of the English throne in fact as well as name. "Retired" from rule while still in her 30s, Isabella remained somewhat active in politics and also spent a lot of time acquiring goods and remodeling her castles.
"HGTV would have had a hoot with her if they'd been filming in the 14th century," laughs Stanton, who chairs the Department of Art History and Archaeology at the University of Missouri.
Lecture series honors alumna
The lecture is part of the Catherine H. Campbell Memorial Art History Lecture Series, which brings prominent art historians to the UA campus each year. The late Catherine Campbell, a 1988 graduate of the Mary Schiller Myers School of Art at UA, established the series that now continues in its 11th year through the generosity of her family and friends.
For more information on the Campbell Art History Lecture Series, contact The University of Akron's Myers School of Art at 330-972-6030.
Media contact: Cyndee Snider, 330-972-5196 or cyndee@uakron.edu.