Empress Adelheid and Countess Matilda

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxxi

   PDF

2. Introduction: Masterful and Formidable Ladies

   • Penelope Nash

   Pages 1-13

3. Kin and Kith: Keeping Friends and Placating Enemies

   • Penelope Nash

   Pages 15-94

4. Land: Building and Maintaining a Property Portfolio

   • Penelope Nash

   Pages 95-128

5. Rule: Models of Rulership and the Tools of Justice

   • Penelope Nash

   Pages 129-221

6. Back Matter

   Pages 223-292

   PDF

This book compares two successful, elite women, Empress Adelheid (931-999) and Countess Matilda (1046-1115), for their relative ability to retain their wealth and power in the midst of the profound social changes of the eleventh century. The careers of the Ottonian queen and empress Adelheid and Countess Matilda of Tuscany reveal a growth of opportunities for women to access wealth and power. These two women are analyzed under three categories: their relationships with family and friends, how they managed their property (particularly land), and how they ruled. This analysis encourages a better understanding of gender relations in both the past and the present.

 

• building
• Europe
• foundation
• gender
• history
• Medieval Literature
• Middle Ages
• model
• social history
• social science
• society
• sociology
• spirituality
• transformation

“This is a wonderful book to have on your shelf, if for no other reason than the carefully outlined family trees that connect the stories of two famous women, the detailed chronologies for each… . This last can be a lifesaver when attempting to write about Quedlinburg or Gandersheim or any other Ottonian topic. What a clever thing to provide right at the outset! I wish I’d had it several months ago when I was writing about Ottonian nuns … .” (Constance H. Berman, Medieval Feminist Forum, Vol. 53 (02), 2018) “Penny Nash has made a hugely valuable contribution to the controversial question as to the nature, and the extent, of the roles which could be played by queens in the Middle Ages. Her work is judicious and measured, based as it is on the highest standards of scholarship. Her work should become essential reading for anyone interested in the dynamics of power in the Middle Ages.” (Henrietta Leyser, Emeritus fellow of St Peter’s College, Oxford, UK, and author of Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in Medieval England, 450-1500)

“This account of two of the most significant female rulers in Europe in the central Middle Ages is told with verve and clarity. Penny Nash shows exactly how Adelheid and Matilda fitted into their political worlds, how they exploited them and what the differences between them were. We are in her debt.” (Chris Wickham, Chichele Professor of Medieval History, University of Oxford, UK)

“Penelope Nash has deftly interwoven the lives of Empress Adelheid and Matilda of Canossa, two of the most fascinating female rulers of the central Middle Ages, together in this exciting new work. The innovative structure of the book contextualizes their lives within the framework of family, landholding and models of rulership—all vital elements for the reader to fully understand the significance of Adelheid and Matilda, and the world that they inhabited.” (Elena Woodacre, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern European History, University of Winchester, UK)

 

• Honorary Associate Medieval and Early Modern Centre, The University of Sydney, Australia

  Penelope Nash

Penelope Nash is an Honorary Affiliate and Research Assistant at the University of Sydney. She specializes in the changes in Western Europe, especially for women, between the tenth and early twelfth centuries. She is author of Women and Power, Reality and Ritual in the Medieval King’s Emotions and Empress Adelheid’s Vulnerabilities.