Queen Whore

Queen Whore

Switch Edition

Academic Edition

Corporate Edition

19

Altmetric
Part of the Queenship and Power book series (QAP)
In the summer of 1567, a rebellion forced Mary Stuart off the throne of Scotland. Mary’s political failure resulted, in part, from her unwise personal choices: her preference for her court favorites, particularly David Rizzio; her inability to extricate herself from the suspicion surrounding the murder of her husband, Lord Darnley; and her hasty marriage to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, who was also suspected of taking part in Darnley’s murder. By 1567, the queen, whose “grace and good humour [had] made her appeal to the general populace” earlier in her reign, could no longer command the loyalty and respect of the nobility or the people. 1 As Mary was taken to Edinburgh as a prisoner, the crowds revealed their contempt for their queen, crying out “burn the whore!… burn her, burn her, she is not worthy to live, kill her, drown her.” 2 Their response to the fallen monarch, presented in unambiguously gendered terms, reveals a preoccupation with Mary’s physical body and her alleged sexual transgressions. In the eyes of her people, Mary was not only a murderess, she was a whore, and her sexual “taintedness” proved as deplorable as her other “crime.” Because of her position as queen, Mary’s physical body possessed political significance, and the crowd’s condemnation of Mary suggests anger at a woman who had sullied not only herself but also, by extension, Scotland.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution .
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Mike Ashley, British Kings and Queens (New York: Carroll and Graf Publishers, 1998).
Carole Levin, The Heart and Stomach of a King: Elizabeth I and the Politics of Sex and Power (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994), p. 77.
Theodora Jankowski, “‘As I am Egypt’s Queen’: Cleopatra, Elizabeth I, and the Female Body Politic,” Assays: Critical Approaches to Medieval and Renaissance Texts , 5 (1989): 93.
Alan Smith, The Emergence of the Nation State: The Commonwealth of England 1529–1660 (Harlow: Longman, 1984), p. 78.
Carol Chillingsworth Rutter, Enter the Body: Women and Representation on Shakespeare’s Stage (London: Routledge, 2001), p. 98.
David Underdown, Revel, Riot and Rebellion: Popular Politics and Culture in England 1603–1660 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985), p. 39.
Alan Sommers, “‘Wilderness of Tigers’: Structure and Symbolism in Titus Andronicus ,” in Titus Andronicus: Critical Essays , ed. Philip C. Kolin (New York and London: Garland Publishing, 1995), p. 116.
David Willbern, “Rape and Revenge in Titus Andronicus,” in Titus Andronicus: Critical Essays , ed. Philip C. Kolin (New York and London: Garland Publishing, 1995), p. 174.
Janet Adelman, “‘Man and Wife Is One Flesh’: Hamlet and the Confrontation with the Maternal Body,” in Hamlet , ed. Susanne L. Wofford (Boston: Bedford Books, 1994), p. 258. Originally published in
Janet Adelman, Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origin in Shakespeare’s Plays, “Hamlet” to “The Tempest” (New York: Routledge, 1992).
Theodora Jankowski, Women in Power in Early Modern Drama (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1992), p. 36.
You can also search for this author in
PubMed Google Scholar
© 2003 Carole Levin, Jo Eldridge Carney, Debra Barrett-Graves
Dunn-Hensley, S. (2003). Whore Queens: The Sexualized Female Body and the State.

In: Levin, C., Carney, J.E., Barrett-Graves, D. (eds) “High and Mighty Queens” of Early Modern England: Realities and Representations. Queenship and Power. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-10676-6_7
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-10676-6_7

Publisher Name : Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Over 10 million scientific documents at your fingertips

Not logged in
- 188.130.188.19

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Part of Springer Nature .

Games & Quizzes
Thesaurus
Word of the Day
Features
Buying Guide
M-W Books
Join MWU

\ ˈkwēn

, ˈkwān

\

1

: a disreputable woman

specifically

: prostitute

2
chiefly Scotland

: woman

especially

: one that is young or unmarried

in pirate tales there's always the raucous tavern and its cadre of buxom queans

MLA
Chicago
APA
Merriam-Webster

stationary
stationery

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram

To save this word, you'll need to log in.
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Middle English quene , from Old English cwene ; akin to Old English cwēn woman, queen
“Quean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quean. Accessed 16 Oct. 2022.
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!
As illustrated by some very smart pups
Bikini, bourbon, and badminton were places first
How to use a word that (literally) drives some pe...
Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.
Level up your vocabulary with these newly added w...
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question ...
Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...
Learn a new word every day. Delivered to your inbox!
© 2022 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Toggle navigation

A Wiki of Ice and Fire

—the prostitute and Jaime Lannister
The queen o' whores is a prostitute with Ser Ryman Frey during the siege of Riverrun . Her true name is unknown. [1]

The prostitute has large, heavy breasts, ample hips, and blond hair. She is crudely spoken. [1]

Ser Jaime Lannister visits the captive Edmure Tully on the gallows during the siege of Riverrun . When Ser Ryman Frey arrives with his whore, both are drunk and the woman's breasts are exposed. Ryman has crowned her with the crown of Robb Stark , taken by House Frey after the Red Wedding . While dismissing Ryman from the siege, Jaime tells him he may take his whore, but not her crown. [1]

Ryman is hanged by outlaws while returning to the Twins . [2] After being captured by the brotherhood without banners , Brienne of Tarth sees Lady Stoneheart holding Robb's crown. [3] The fate of Ryman's prostitute is unknown.

Prostitute : Who in seven hells is this one?

Jaime : The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard . I might ask the same of you, my lady.
Prostitute : Lady? I'm no lady. I'm the queen.
Jaime : My sister will be surprised to hear that.

See that you are not in camp when the sun comes up. You may take your queen of whores, but not that crown of hers. [1]
This will help us improve your ad experience. We will try not to show you such ads again.

Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.

Hard Lesbian Spanking
American Pussy Licking
Virgin Princesses Try Lesbian Sex

Queen Whore

Report Page