Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Record Number: 18463
  • Author(s)/Creator(s): Tanner , Heather J.
  • Contributor(s):
  • Title: Queenship: Office, Custom, or Ad Hoc? The Case of Queen Matilda III of England (1135-1152)
  • Source: Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady.  Edited by Bonnie Wheeler and John Carmi ParsonsThe New Middle Ages.  Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.  Pages 133 - 158.
  • Description:
  • Article Type: Essay
  • Subject (See Also): Matilda of Boulogne, Wife of Stephen, King of England Politics Power Queens Queenship
  • Award Note:
  • Geographic Area: British Isles
  • Century: 12
  • Primary Evidence:
  • Illustrations:
  • Table: Three tables. Table One Chronological range of Matilda's charters and attestations, 1136-1152. Table Two Chronological range of Matilda's charters and attestations of Stephen's charters, 1136-1152. Table Three Comparison of the frequency of attestations (by named individuals) of royal charters for Stephen and Matilda.
  • Abstract: This chapter examines the career of Eleanor of Aquitaine's predecessor, King Stephen's wife Matilda of Boulogne, whose obligations and activities were shaped by custom established by previous queens and the ad hoc needs of king and realm. Eleanor of Aquitaine followed some of the precedents Matilda had set, but her lack of lands in England and the extension of royal bureaucracy circumscribed her power. [Reprinted with permission of Palgrave Macmillan.]
  • Related Resources: In Chapter 6, "Queenship: Office, Custom or Ad Hoc? The Case of Queen Mathilda III," Heather Tanner concentrates on the performance of Matilda of Boulogne, EA's immediate predecessor, and traces out the differences between the two rulers. EA's position as
  • Author's Affiliation:
  • Conference Info: - , -
  • Year of Publication: 2003.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN/ISBN: 0312295820