Queenship and Political Power in Medieval and Early Modern Spain (Women and Gender in the Early Modern World)

Unlike empresses in Germany and queens in England and France, the lives and political careers of most Iberian queens remain largely unknown to non-specialists. In this collection, Theresa Earenfight brings together new research on medieval and early modern Spanish queens that highlights the distinctive political culture that resulted in forms of queenship similar to, yet also substantially different from, that of northern Europe. The essays consider three aspects of queenship and politics: the institutional foundations and practice of politics, the politics of religion and religious devotion, and the literary and artistic representations of queenship and power. Late medieval queens, because they often occupied prominent and powerful offices such as the regency in Castile and Portugal and the Lieutenancy in the Crown of Aragon, exemplify a unique form of queenship that can best be described as a political partnership. Habsburg queens and empresses, often excluded from such official political roles, were less publicly visible but their power as partner to the king, although shrouded, remains potent. Their political careers were the result of two forces: first, military circumstances brought about by territorial expansion, conquest, and second, a political culture that did not explicitly prohibit queens from active participation in the governance of the realm. The essays in this collection-by both newer and well established scholars-demonstrate the range and depth of current research on Iberian queenship, and prompt a re-examination of long-held assumptions about women and the exercise of power in pre-modern Spain. MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 List of Contributors 11 Preface 14 Acknowledgements 30 Note on Proper Names 31 PART I: THE PRACTICAL LIMITS OF PARTNERSHIP 32 1 Unwilling Partners: Conflict and Ambition in the Marriage of Peter II of Aragon and Marie de Montpellier 34 2 The Many Roles of the Medieval Queen: Some Examples from Castile 52 3 Absent Kings: Queens as Political Partners in the Medieval Crown of Aragon 64 PART II: PRACTISING THE POLITICS OF RELIGION 84 4 Defending Their Jewish Subjects: Elionor of Sicily, Maria de Luna, and the Jews of Morvedre 86 5 Spirit and Force: Politics, Public and Private in the Reign of Maria de Luna (1396–1406) 109 6 The Queen and the Master: Catalina of Lancaster and the Military Orders 122 PART III: REPRESENTING THE POLITICS OF QUEENSHIP 138 7 Royal Portraits: Representations of Queenship in the Thirteenth-Century Catalan Chronicles 140 8 Isabel of Castile (1451–1504), Her Self-Representation and Its Context 151 9 Choices and Consequences: The Construction of Isabel de Portugal's Image 176 10 Conspicuous in Her Absence: Mariana of Austria, Juan José of Austria, and the Representation of Her Power 194 Bibliography 216 Index 233 Unwilling partners : conflict and ambition in the marriage of Peter II of Aragon and Marie de Montpellier / Elizabeth Haluska-Rausch The many roles of the medieval queen / Joseph F. O'Callaghan Absent kings : queens as political partners in the medieval Crown of Aragon / Theresa Earenfight Defending their Jewish subjects : Elionor of Sicily, Maria de Luna and the Jews of Morvedre / Mark Meyerson Spirit and force : politics, public and private in the reign of Maria de Luna (1396-1406) / Núria Silleras-Fernández The queen and the master : Catalina of Lancaster and the military orders / Ana Echevarria-Arsuaga Royal portraits / Marta VanLandingham Isabel of Castile (1451-1504), her self-representation and its context / Peggy Liss Choices and consequences : the construction of Isabel de Portugal's image / Jorge Sebastián Lozano Conspicuous in her absence : Mariana of Austria, Juan José of Austria, and the representation of her power / Eleanor Goodman. Like their better studied royal sisters farther north, Spanish queens were expected to produce an heir, to raise and educate their children, to take part in ceremonial functions, to perform charitable work, and to patronize religion and art. However, they were more likely to be active in the governance of the realm and to exercise considerable legitimate authority, more often, more publicly, and more directly than elsewhere in Europe. Mostly American, but some Spanish, historians explore the practical limits of partnership, practicing the politics of religion, and representing the politics of queenship. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR