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IMC 2013: Sessions

Session 319: It's Good To Be the Queen!: The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Exercising Power in the Middle Ages

Monday 1 July 2013, 16.30-18.00

Sponsor:Royal Studies Network
Organiser:Elena Woodacre, Department of History, University of Winchester
Moderator/Chair:Elena Woodacre, Department of History, University of Winchester
Paper 319-aThe Pleasure Principle: The Problem of Queenly Reputation in Late Medieval Aragon and France
(Language: English)
Zita Eva Rohr, Department of History, University of Sydney
Index terms: Administration, Gender Studies, Politics and Diplomacy, Women's Studies
Paper 319-bBusiness or Pleasure?: Finding the Queen in Scottish Financial Records
(Language: English)
Amy Hayes, School of Divinity, History & Philosophy, University of Aberdeen
Index terms: Administration, Charters and Diplomatics, Gender Studies, Women's Studies
Paper 319-cLiving Like a Queen?: Patronage and Courts of Aristocratic Women in 12th-Century England
(Language: English)
Hanna I. Kilpi, School of Humanities (History), University of Glasgow
Index terms: Gender Studies, Women's Studies
Abstract

These three papers bring together three key aspects of the role of queens in the Middle Ages, highlighting both the pleasures and potential pitfalls of exercising power. The speakers will comment on the importance (and difficulty) of maintaining a spotless queenly reputation, analyse the spending patterns of consort queens, and examine ways in which aristocratic women both participated in and imitated the queen’s household. Drawing together case studies from England, Scotland, Aragon, and France, these papers will shed light on the pleasures and practice of queenship in the High and Late Middle Ages.