IMC 2014: Sessions

The Middle Ages saw quite a number of women who apparently wielded power quite deliberately and found all kinds justifications for doing so despite the notorious disapproval of Christian theology. In this session, the vestiges of medieval female rule will be examined. The relatively high share of women in the Ottonian reign is well-known; however, apart from Empress Adelaide and Empress Theophanu, Matilda, the abbess of Quedlinburg, also wielded power as a regent for Emperor Otto III. Her reign figures prominently in the Annals of Quedlinburg Abbey. This fact leads to the conclusion that being a woman was not necessarily seen as an impediment. In the 11th century, Matilda of Canossa played a major role in the dispute between Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII. At the time, Matilda ruled one of the greatest territories on the Italian peninsula without male assistance. She used her authority which covered wide parts of Central and Upper Italy to wield military power and to act politically at her convenience. Due to the fact that medieval theology based the concept of the inferiority of women on the interpretation of the Old Testament, female rule and women who wielded power would also require biblical justification. As a result, biblical exempla of politically active women served as a justification for medieval women who exerted political power.