The entrance of the queen’s party into the old city earlier that morning had been marked by suspicion and fear. The Papal Court at Avignon, March 15, 1348-On this day, more than six hundred and fifty years ago, Joanna I, queen of Naples, Sicily, and Jerusalem and countess of Provence, stood trial for her life. The Lady Queen is a captivating portrait of medieval royalty in all its incandescent complexity. With skill, passion, and impeccable research and detail, Nancy Goldstone brings to life one of history’s most remarkable women. But she never quite escaped the stain of her husband’s death, and the turmoil of the times surrounded her - war, plague, and treachery would ultimately be her undoing. A procession of the most important artists and writers of the time frequented her glittering court. She was widely admired: dedicated to the welfare of her subjects, she reduced crime, built hospitals and churches, and encouraged the licensing of female physicians. Victorious, she returned to Naples and ruled over one of Europe’s most prestigious courts for the next three decades - until she herself was killed.Ĭourageous and determined, Joanna was the only female monarch in her time to rule in her own name. Determined to defend herself, Joanna won her acquittal against overwhelming odds. On March 15, 1348, twenty-two-year-old Joanna I, Queen of Naples, stood trial for the murder of her husband before the Pope and his court in Avignon. The riveting history of a beautiful queen, a shocking murder, a papal trial - and a reign as triumphant as any in the Middle Ages.
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