Royal Mothers and their Ruling Children Wielding Political Authority from Antiquity to the Early Modern Era

by Woodacre, Elena; Fleiner, Carey

• ISBN13: 9781137513106
• ISBN10: 1137513101
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-10-12
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This collection brings together a series of fascinating case studies of royal mothers ranging across time from Antiquity through to the seventeenth century, from the (in)famous-Agrippina the Younger and Catherine de Medici-to the lesser known-Judith of Thuringia. This collection focuses on queens and elite women who were at the political heart of their respective realms and examines the often tense political dynamic between these royal mothers and their offspring. This volume describes a wide range of case studies to illustrate the volatile and sometimes controversial combination of motherhood, ambition, and political authority. These essays take a fresh look at the timeless issues of the 'woman behind the throne' and reveal how royal mothers could provide key support for their children both to gain and retain a throne through illuminating studies of both well-known royal mothers, such as Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Catherine de Medici, and less familiar figures including Juana Enríquez and the regents of the Khitan Liao in China.

Author Biography

Carey Fleiner is Senior Lecturer in Classical Studies and Early Medieval History at the University of Winchester. Her areas of interest include Julio-Claudian women, popular culture in imperial Rome, and 'HollyRome' depictions of the empire in popular culture. She also works on topics of popular music in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the 20th century with a specialist interest in the music and performance of the Kinks.

Elena Woodacre is a specialist in medieval and Early Modern queenship and a Lecturer in Early Modern European History at the University of Winchester. She has published a monograph on the queens regnant of medieval Navarre and has also edited two recent collections on the practice of both male and female rulership.

Table of Contents

1. To be the Queen's Daughter. Controversy, Adultery and the Legitimacy Problem in the Reign of Enrique IV of Castile (1454-1474)
2. Stepmother and mother of princes: legitimation and political actuation in the reign of Juana Enríquez
Germán Gamero Igea
3. Matriarchs of the Royal House of Stuart: Negotiating Personal and Dynastic Ambition, Motherhood and Adversity 1613-1662
4.To Have and to Hold: Coins and Seals as Evidence for Motherly Authority
5. Nomadic Mothers as Rulers in China: Female Regents of the Khitan Liao (907-1125)
6. Empress Adelheid's Vulnerabilities as Mother and Ruler
7.Optima Mater: Power, Influence, and the Maternal Bonds between Agrippina the Younger (A. D. 15-59) and Nero, Emperor of Rome (A. D. 54-68)
8. Louise of Savoy: The Mixed Legacy of a Powerful Mother
9. Queen Mother Knows Best: María de Molina and the Vestiges of Medieval Politics in Modern Historiography
10. Catherine of Medici: Henri III's Inspiration to be a Father to his People