IMC 2012: Sessions
Session 1026: The Childless Queen, I
Wednesday 11 July 2012, 09.00-10.30
| Sponsor: | Medieval Studies, Seattle University |
|---|---|
| Organiser: | Theresa Earenfight, Department of History, Seattle University |
| Moderator/Chair: | Theresa Earenfight, Department of History, Seattle University |
| Paper 1026-a | A Family of Two: Richard II, Anne of Bohemia, and Royal Childlessness in England, 1382-99 (Language: English) Index terms: Gender Studies, Medicine, Sexuality, Women's Studies |
| Paper 1026-b | Shifting Expectations: Maria de Lusignan and Elisenda de Montcada, Childless Queens of Aragon (Language: English) Index terms: Gender Studies, Medicine, Sexuality, Women's Studies |
| Abstract | Infertility and childlessness had a greater impact on queens than most other women in the Middle Ages. There were no official rules for a queen to follow when it came to having sex in the hopes of producing an heir. The marital debt of sexual relations was understood as a cultural imperative in a patriarchal society, transmitted orally from mother to daughter. But nature did not always cooperate even when the married couple was entirely willing. The papers in this session examine how kings and queens responded to and coped with not having a viable pregnancy after one year of unprotected intercourse. |