meridian_rose

A birthday gift for

brontefanatic from

meridian_rose,

dorothydeath,

vorquellyn, and

hrhrionastar.

Becky, thank you for being awesome! In celebration of your awesomeness, here are some powerful women from history and fiction. Happy Birthday!

Portraits and Portrayals

Queen Victoria

Portraits and pictures of possibly the first monarch to be photographed

Queen Elizabeth the First

Portraits with stills of Cate Blanchett portraying the Virgin Queen

Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called "The Virgin Queen", "Gloriana" or "Good Queen Bess", Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty, and the time of her reign was known as the Elizabethan era.
Elizabeth never married or bore children and she insisted she was married to her kingdom and subjects, under divine protection. In 1599, she spoke of "all my husbands, my good people"

Though Elizabeth followed a largely defensive foreign policy, her reign raised England's status abroad. "She is only a woman, only mistress of half an island," marvelled Pope Sixtus V, "and yet she makes herself feared by Spain, by France, by the Empire, by all". Under Elizabeth, the nation gained a new self-confidence and sense of sovereignty, as Christendom fragmented. Elizabeth was the first Tudor to recognise that a monarch ruled by popular consent. She therefore always worked with parliament and advisers she could trust to tell her the truth.

photo qelz_zpsdd6b1703.jpg

While the end of her reign had been difficult, Elizabeth has largely been remembered as being a queen who supported her people. Her lengthy time on the throne provided her subjects with stability and consistency, and her sharp wits and clever mind helped navigate the nation through religious and political challenges. Sometimes referred to as the Golden Age, the arts had a chance to blossom with Elizabeth's support.
References: a, b

Real Women portrayed in Fictional Media

The White Queen

God Save The Queen!
Elizabeth Woodville

The Borgias

photo borgiasa_zps5fc7fa89.jpg

Lucrezia Borgia and Caterina Sforza
A painting by Cowper depicts Lucrezia's temporary occupancy of the Papal seat as a scene that actually happened: Lucretia Borgia Reigns in the Vatican in the Absence of Pope Alexander VI ; see also this gorgeous picspam at Tumblr: women of borgias

The Tudors

photo tudrb_zps25af44d1.jpg

Catherine of Aragon and Anne Bolyen

Fictional Women

Game of Thrones

Daenerys Targaryen

Margaery Tyrell and Olenna Tyrell
An interesting article points out the similarities between Margaery and Anne Bolyen, both played onscreen by Natalie Dormer: Both Anne Boleyn and Margaery Tyrell are characterized as especially adept at maneuvering the political world of a royal court; the full text, worth a look, is here:
Margaery Tyrell & Anne Boleyn: More in Common than Natalie Dormer?

Legend of the Seeker

photo kahlan_zps4a22d56e.jpg