front cover of A Companion to Global Queenship
A Companion to Global Queenship
Elena Woodacre
Arc Humanities Press, 2018
This collection expands previous regional and individual studies of queenship and female political agency in order to engage in a comparative study of premodern female rule on a global scale. While the field of queenship studies and examinations of gender and power have been flourishing, the literature has tended to be dominated by studies of European royalty. This volume aims toembrace and develop the trend towards an increasingly global outlook for the field of queenship studies. Case studies of women from different periods, places, and religions are deliberately mixed to compare and contrast the realities of queenship in varied settings. Lesser studied examples of queens are provided alongside fresh perspectives on more familiar figures and regions. The authors increase our understanding of understudied individuals and groups of queens, and they encourage the comparison of the practice of queenship in the premodern era. This authoritative and comprehensive Companion will be required readingfor all scholars and students of premodern gender and political studies.
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front cover of Notions of Privacy at Early Modern European Courts
Notions of Privacy at Early Modern European Courts
Reassessing the Public and Private Divide, 1400-1800
Dustin M. Neighbors
Amsterdam University Press, 2024
Grand, extravagant, magnificent, scandalous, corrupt, political, personal, fractious; these are terms often associated with the medieval and early modern courts. Moreover, the court constituted a forceful nexus in the social world, which was central to the legitimacy and authority of rulership. As such, courts shaped European politics and culture: architecture, art, fashion, patronage, and cultural exchanges were integral to the spectacle of European courts. Researchers have convincingly emphasised the public nature of courtly events, procedures, and ceremonies. Nevertheless, court life also involved pockets of privacy, which have yet to be systematically addressed. This edited collection addresses this lacuna and offers interpretations that urge us to reassesses the public nature of European courts. Thus, the proposed publication will fertilise the grounds for a discussion of the past and future of court studies. Indeed, the contributions make us reconsider present-day understandings of privacy as a stable and uncontestable notion.
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front cover of Queens and Queenship
Queens and Queenship
Elena Woodacre
Arc Humanities Press, 2021
This work looks at queenship in a global, timeless sense—examining the role of queens, empresses, and other royal women from the ancient and classical period through to nearly the present day on every continent. By looking at queenship in this comparative, longue durée way, we can start to see connecting threads and continuity over time and space as well as the change and development and comparisons of how the queen’s role differed in various cultural contexts. A wide variety of examples are given to explain and contextualize key themes in queenship: family and dynasty, rulership, and image crafting. The introduction provides a brief overview of the development of queenship studies and a discussion of the ideals that queens were expected to conform to. This book offers a radically new perspective on queenship studies which enables new insights into the queen’s role as the preeminent woman in the realm.
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