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History rarely knows what to do with women who outlive their age. When a woman remains influential for too long, when she survives kings, wars, marriages, and imprisonment, history tends to reduce her to legend. Eleanor of Aquitaine was not reduced easily. She lived too long, ruled too widely, and refused too often to disappear…
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The Spanish Threat and the European Balance of Power The summer of 1588 brought Europe to a moment of extraordinary tension. Rising over the horizon was one of the greatest fleets ever assembled: the Spanish Armada. Conceived by King Philip II as the weapon that would topple Elizabeth I and restore Catholic rule in England,…