Countesses in court
Elite women, creativity, and power in northern Iberia, 900-1200
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5802397 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jeffrey A Bowman (Kenyon College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 54-70 |
| Publication date | 2014-01-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Medieval Iberian Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1754-6559 • E-ISSN: 1754-6567 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17546559.2014.883084 |
| OpenAlex | W2051384698 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 23 |
In the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries, elite women in the northern parts of the Iberian Peninsula exercised considerable political power. The career of Ermessenda, countess of Barcelona, Girona, and Osona, is emblematic of the diverse opportunities for power that were available to ambitious women of elevated social class. During the first half of the eleventh century, Ermessenda dominated the political landscape of Catalonia, buying and selling land, forging agreements with other magnates, supporting religious institutions, and presiding over judicial assemblies. While Ermessenda is especially well documented, broadly distributed diplomatic evidence shows that many other women displayed similar levels of creativity and energy. The dynamism of female lords is apparent in the administration of justice, the patronage of religious institutions, control of land and castles, and innovative projects that advanced the collective interests of powerful families. The broader political context allowed elite women manifold opportunities to exercise lordship in much the same way their husbands, brothers, and sons did. In this period, there were few forms of power from which elite women were systematically excluded
Dynamism · Eleventh · Elite · Expansionism · Peninsula · Medieval and Early Modern Iberia · Medieval Iberian Studies · Medieval Literature and History
Women, Power, and Religious Patronage in the Middle Ages
Tormented Voices
Aristocratic Women in Medieval France
Participación de las mujeres en el poder político
Sign of the Cross
An Intercultural Dialogue between the Muslim Taifa of Denia and the Christian County of Barcelona in the Eleventh Century
Power over past and future
The "Sale" of Carcassonne to the Counts of Barcelona (1067-1070) and the Rise of the Trencavels
The Art of a Reigning Queen as Dynastic Propaganda in Twelfth-Century Spain
The Experience of Power in Medieval Europe, 950-1350
Sicut lex Gothorum continet’
The Crisis of the Twelfth Century
Medieval Lordship
Ermengard of Narbonne and the World of the Troubadours
| Citations per year | 0.09 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2015 - 2015 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |