Embodying power: Gender and authority in the queenship of Mathilda of Flanders.
Item
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Title
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Embodying power: Gender and authority in the queenship of Mathilda of Flanders.
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Identifier
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AAI3047220
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identifier
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3047220
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Creator
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Gathagan, Laura L.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Pamela Sheingorn
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Date
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2002
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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History, Medieval | Women's Studies | History, European | Biography
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Abstract
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Mathilda of Flanders, the first Norman queen of England, consort of Duke William of Normandy, King of England, called "the Conqueror," has been virtually ignored by historians. The daughter of Baldwin V of Flanders and Adela, sister of the King of France, Mathilda brought her royal blood to the famous Bastard of Normandy. The most important figure in William's administration, and the appointed regent of Normandy in his absence, Mathilda witnessed and signed literally dozens of charters, meted out justice, and received the homage of her subjects. After 1066, Mathilda was enthroned over a newly conquered England, and oversaw the installation of her own Norman kin as the reigning, foreign, upper class and the disinheritance of England's entire nobility. Hers was a necessary part of the Norman Conquest of England; she provided military support and operated the administrative machine at the core of ducal holdings in Normandy. She adjudicated law cases, granted lands to her dependants in exchange for service, and was a generous patron of monastic houses both in Normandy and in England, including her foundation of La Trinite in Caen.;"Mathilda of Flanders and the Conquest of England" analyzes Mathilda in light of her kinship ties, her administrative position, and her influence as queen, lord, patron, and judge, utilizing the rich collection of Anglo-Saxon and Latin charters, chronicles and letters in which she appears. Mathilda of Flanders, active partner and participant in the conquest of a new realm, shared in the royal power and responsibility of managing and subduing additional territories while maintaining old ones. A singular member of the ruling class, her undisputed position in the innermost circle of power was buttressed by her own innate ability. As the most powerful female in a radically new aristocracy, Mathilda was a measure for contemporary attitudes toward gender and power, which affected all women, regardless of rank or wealth.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
