Course Description

Instructor: Michael McDavid

Since the Middle Ages royal mistresses were a fixture at most European courts. Some monarchs had only one “companion” over a long period of time; others paraded serial “friends” before their courts. A few sovereigns were even faithful to their consorts, but this was not the norm. Several royal mistresses became as well-known as their patrons in the historical record. In this course we will examine the phenomenon of the royal mistress by looking at the reigns of 7 monarchs from the Renaissance up to contemporary times. We will probe the personalities of the monarchs, their “other women” and the impact these relationships had on their reigns and times.