Exercising Authority and Exerting Influence I: "Seulete suy et seulete vueil estre" (Alone am I, and alone I wish to remain): The Perils and Promise of Medieval Widowhood

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Royal Studies Network

Organizer Name

Zita Eva Rohr

Organizer Affiliation

Macquarie Univ.

Presider Name

Zita Eva Rohr

Paper Title 1

Widows Unite! Multigenerational Widowhood in Elite Families

Presenter 1 Name

Linda E. Mitchell

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City

Paper Title 2

Navigating (Treacherous) Transitions: Joan of Navarre as a Case Study for the Opportunities and Challenges of Royal Widowhood

Presenter 2 Name

Elena Woodacre

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Univ. of Winchester

Paper Title 3

A Dowager Gone Rogue: Isabel of Portugal, Queen of Castile (r. 1447- 1454)

Presenter 3 Name

Núria Silleras-Fernández

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Univ. of Colorado-Boulder

Start Date

13-5-2017 1:30 PM

Session Location

Bernhard 205

Description

Widowhood was one of the life stages defining the existences of medieval women. It offered an array of limitations and possibilities for women in general, but particularly for queens-dowager and noble women. Dowager queen-mothers served as regents and/or exercised informal power, while those who were childless often pursued active political agendas focused on patronage, or retired to their preferred palaces or favoured cloisters. This panel presents papers, which explore the perils and promises of widowhood in medieval Europe and the Mediterranean from a comparative perspective with the aim of understanding patterns that might help us reassess the role played in medieval political culture by royal and noble widows.

Zita Rohr