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Queenship in Medieval Europe
Medieval queens led richly complex lives and were highly visible women active in a man's world. Linked to kings by marriage, family, and property, queens were vital to the institution of monarchy.
In this comprehensive and accessible introduction to the study of queenship, Theresa Earenfight documents the lives and works of queens and empresses across Europe, Byzantium, and the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages. The
- Introduces pivotal research and sources in queenship studies, and includes exciting and innovative new archival research
- Highlights four crucial moments across the full span of the Middle Ages – ca. 300, 700, 1100, and 1350 – when Christianity, education, lineage, and marriage law fundamentally altered the practice of queenship
- Examines theories and practices of queenship in the context of wider issues of gender, authority, and power.
This is an invaluable and illuminating text for students, scholars and other readers interested in the role of royal women in medieval society.
In this comprehensive and accessible introduction to the study of queenship, Theresa Earenfight documents the lives and works of queens and empresses across Europe, Byzantium, and the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages. The
- Introduces pivotal research and sources in queenship studies, and includes exciting and innovative new archival research
- Highlights four crucial moments across the full span of the Middle Ages – ca. 300, 700, 1100, and 1350 – when Christianity, education, lineage, and marriage law fundamentally altered the practice of queenship
- Examines theories and practices of queenship in the context of wider issues of gender, authority, and power.
This is an invaluable and illuminating text for students, scholars and other readers interested in the role of royal women in medieval society.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 8, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 6, 2016
This is a book that is too much and too little at the same time - which is a pity, since the original idea is great. But perhaps that is the problem, the subject of queens in Europe from ca 300 to 1500 is gigantic!
It is too much in that is too much people passing by, on too little space - it's often just a paragraph or two, which can make them hard to tell apart or see what makes them special or part of a larger pattern. That is somewhat helped by the conclusions, which is the stronger point of the book (perhaps it would have benefited from more of those parts instead). And it might have helped with including some family-trees here and there.
At the same time it is too little in that this is not a complete list. It is stated outright in the beginning, and that really is fine. But the selection is a bit oddly made. Almost every queen of England (that is, all of them from the 11th century onward) get ample space, and the French get almost as many persons (but in less space). All the other regions of Europe get decreasingly less so - I know that the sources from Scandinavia are less good, but mentioning just 3 for the period 1100-1500 (and two of them merely for their patronage of poets) gives the impression of an author that just can't be bothered. It might have been better to openly focus on a smaller geographical area (the author seems to rely heavily on the work of others - mostly available in English, which seems a bit dangerous if you want to tackle the whole of Europe).
Also, on a more personal note, I think she would have a hard time coming across a modern archaeologist who is not well aware that they need to interpret their finds and who doesn't think 'stones don't lie' (p. 77). But then again, I guess her statement 'Archaeology is a highly technical field, and is often daunting for scholars of the humanities' (p. 78) speaks for itself..
It is too much in that is too much people passing by, on too little space - it's often just a paragraph or two, which can make them hard to tell apart or see what makes them special or part of a larger pattern. That is somewhat helped by the conclusions, which is the stronger point of the book (perhaps it would have benefited from more of those parts instead). And it might have helped with including some family-trees here and there.
At the same time it is too little in that this is not a complete list. It is stated outright in the beginning, and that really is fine. But the selection is a bit oddly made. Almost every queen of England (that is, all of them from the 11th century onward) get ample space, and the French get almost as many persons (but in less space). All the other regions of Europe get decreasingly less so - I know that the sources from Scandinavia are less good, but mentioning just 3 for the period 1100-1500 (and two of them merely for their patronage of poets) gives the impression of an author that just can't be bothered. It might have been better to openly focus on a smaller geographical area (the author seems to rely heavily on the work of others - mostly available in English, which seems a bit dangerous if you want to tackle the whole of Europe).
Also, on a more personal note, I think she would have a hard time coming across a modern archaeologist who is not well aware that they need to interpret their finds and who doesn't think 'stones don't lie' (p. 77). But then again, I guess her statement 'Archaeology is a highly technical field, and is often daunting for scholars of the humanities' (p. 78) speaks for itself..
April 21, 2019
Read for Honours History thesis.
May 20, 2025
A study of the various queens of Medieval Europe, across time and borders. Earenfight does the best she can with limited resources, focusing her study on lesser examined remains like art and wills. By looking at the details surrounding the official record, the queens are able to come into sharper focus.
The offical role of any member of a monarchy is much less set than is popularly believed. Each position is effected by current circumstances and personalities. In the Medieval period, when so much of human culture was in flux, the positions were still being determined. From the early Medieval period and the advent of Christianity as the dominant religion, the position of women as wives and mothers, rulers and regents, ebb and flow.
Medieval queenship is a conversation between the woman and her environment, often transferred between courts and countries as she married. She did not arrive a blank slate, but brought her own ideas and traditions, adapting them to a new environment, and passing them on to her children. Her daughters would then take their turn in the dance as they took their own learning and habits to their new life, continuing the cycle in new circumstances.
Each country developed their own system and ideal in response to their own circumstances, against internal and external pressures. What is acceptable and expected behavior for a queen in one country does not follow to another, or even necessarily to the next generation. It is a constant push and pull, with broad stroke ideas in conflict with lived experience. Setting a queen in a static environment is impossible; flattening any nuances ruins our ability to discover the humanity of history.
The offical role of any member of a monarchy is much less set than is popularly believed. Each position is effected by current circumstances and personalities. In the Medieval period, when so much of human culture was in flux, the positions were still being determined. From the early Medieval period and the advent of Christianity as the dominant religion, the position of women as wives and mothers, rulers and regents, ebb and flow.
Medieval queenship is a conversation between the woman and her environment, often transferred between courts and countries as she married. She did not arrive a blank slate, but brought her own ideas and traditions, adapting them to a new environment, and passing them on to her children. Her daughters would then take their turn in the dance as they took their own learning and habits to their new life, continuing the cycle in new circumstances.
Each country developed their own system and ideal in response to their own circumstances, against internal and external pressures. What is acceptable and expected behavior for a queen in one country does not follow to another, or even necessarily to the next generation. It is a constant push and pull, with broad stroke ideas in conflict with lived experience. Setting a queen in a static environment is impossible; flattening any nuances ruins our ability to discover the humanity of history.
February 28, 2023
Don’t be fooled I read this for an essay but it was a solid read
June 5, 2024
This was a good introduction to the topic of queenship in general, but I read it mainly for English queens and found it a little light in content on that subject.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews