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IMC 2023: Sessions

Session 830: Networking Medieval Monarchy, IV: The Matrimonial and Social Networks of Monarchy

Tuesday 4 July 2023, 16.30-18.00

Sponsor:Royal Studies Network
Organiser:Elena Woodacre, Department of History, University of Winchester
Moderator/Chair:Lucinda Dean, Centre for History, University of the Highlands & Islands, Dornoch
Paper 830-aThe Best Laid Plans?: Byzantine Marital Networks and the Demise of the Komnenian Dynasty
(Language: English)
Erin Jordan, Department of History, Old Dominion University, Virginia
Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Politics and Diplomacy
Paper 830-bPrincess in the Steppe: The Diplomatic Network of Political Marriages in Early Medieval China and Inner Asia
(Language: English)
Julia Escher, Asien-Orient-Institut, Universität Zürich
Index terms: Politics and Diplomacy, Women's Studies
Paper 830-cThe Social Network of Anne of Cleves and Susanna Horenbout
(Language: English)
Valerie Schutte, Independent Scholar, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
Index terms: Art History - General, Politics and Diplomacy, Women's Studies
Abstract

This session is part of the Networking Medieval Monarchy strand. Networking Medieval Monarchy IV focuses on the matrimonial and social networks which were at the heart of monarchy with particular focus on the role of royal women. The three papers in this session offer a truly global scope, bringing together China, Byzantium, and Northern Europe and span from the 6th to the 16th century. Two papers offer case studies on the matrimonial strategies of monarchs with varying levels of success. There are also links between papers which examine the ways in which royal women constructed social networks as they married and moved.