“Powerful women?”: the question preceding the title of the conference volume under review here hints at the approach taken by its editor and contributors. They scrutinize their subject matter in ways that help to avoid stereotypes and enable fresh perspectives on the kinds of power that medieval queens and princesses might — or might not — have had.
The volume features twelve contributions and an additional summary of the conference from which the anthology originated, held in 2010 on Reichenau Island, Germany. With the exception of two contributions in English and one in French, the papers are written in German. In her introduction, which features an extensive overview of the current state of research, Claudia Zey starts with differences between the German-speaking scientific community and Anglo-American research. For the former, she examines two separate traditions of the study of queens and princesses: gender studies, on the one hand, political history and history of law, on the other (10). She identifies common misconceptions concerning medieval queens and princesses and criticizes several concepts of research as hindering a comprehensive perspective on the phenomenon. Zey points to the dominant position of the history of law and constitution as obstructive to the study of female rule; since, for example, queens and empresses of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages did not have governing rights of their own, their roles in consensual rule have largely been neglected (20). She further criticizes the focus on outstanding examples of female rule. The alleged exceptionality of Byzantine empresses as well as of European queens and princesses does not, according to Zey, reflect how contemporaries assessed female rule (18). Finally, Zey questions the usefulness of the often-employed idea of Handlungsspielraum (scope of action), as it carries the implication that female rulers generally lacked decision-making competence (21).
The anthology, in contrast, aims to use international research and a broad definition of power as a foundation for further research. It seeks to compare the ruling activities of queens and princesses of several European countries and looks for perspectives that take into account national differences but still allow comparison. The volume considers a period between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries, covering both the High and late Middle Ages.
Christine Reinle, in her theoretical contribution, develops and tests a definition of power as a useful tool for historical analysis. Reinle turns to sociological theory to conceptualize power in a way that includes direct and indirect forms of power as well as performative elements. She suggests a version of Max Weber’s definition and demonstrates its use in respect to medieval times. In looking at resources of power and power as a means of influence, Reinle concludes, the dominant concept of power as merely Aktionsmacht (power of action) may be destabilized. Her paper is a fine example of how theoretical reflections can be used to enhance historical analysis.
Besides the two remarkable opening contributions, the volume features ten historical papers, varying in depth and width. Nikolas Jaspert contributes a study on the conditions of queenship on the Iberian Peninsula, in which he focuses on different types of rule, administrative aspects of female rule, and female piety and power. Two articles, by Alan V. Murray and Philippe Goridis, deal with the Crusader States, discussing female regents and their male consorts; one contribution by Martina Stercken considers how Habsburg queens in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries exercised power. Further topics are the queen consorts’ share in royal power in the Anglo-Norman/Angevin realm — addressed by Elisabeth van Houts — and women rulers in Northern and Eastern France, in Patrick Corbet’s paper. Brigitte Kasten analyzes whether coronation ordines and papal letters to queens and duchesses convey ideas about female rule. Two papers focus on princesses: Julia Hörmann-Thurn und Taxis deals with religious endowment of Tyrolean princesses and Elke Goez discusses exceptionally mighty princesses of the late Salian period. Sigrid Hirbodian investigates the prerequisites of power for abbesses.
One could remark that not all contributions adhere to the framework proposed in the introduction, and that the conference summary’s relevance at the end of the volume does not quite reveal itself — but these are trivialities in light of the anthology’s overall quality and usefulness.
