IMC 2011: Sessions

Session 1117: Nobilissima Femina: Women, Wealth, and Aristocracy in the Early Middle Ages

Organiser:	Courtney Luckhardt, Medieval Institute, University of Notre Dame
Moderator/Chair:	Amber Handy, Department of History, University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Paper 1117-a	What Makes a Noble Christian Woman?: High-Born and Slaves in Early Martyr Literature (Language: English) Lindsay Helen Thomson, School of Humanities (History), University of Glasgow Index terms: Social History, Women's Studies
Paper 1117-b	'Supply us Most Copiously': Gifts in the Letters of Queen Brunhild and Gregory the Great (Language: English) Emma Jane Thomas, School of Humanities (History), University of Glasgow Index terms: Social History, Women's Studies
Paper 1117-c	Wise Mothers, Practical Wives: The Advisory Roles of Carolingian and Irish Noble Women (Language: English) Amber Handy, Department of History, University of Notre Dame, Indiana Index terms: Social History, Women's Studies
Abstract	Nobility in the early medieval period was not simply a question of wealth or legalistic determination. Nobility was a defined by birth, character, and landed wealth. For women, this might have been expressed in a variety of ways, from her position or marriage within an elite kin group, her personal sanctity, holiness, or miracle-working, or her monetary donations to churches or monasteries. This panel will present papers on the variety of expressions of the 'nobilissima femina' in the early medieval period.