#this is so interesting when it comes to the gradual evolution of queenship over the years (post-Norman to early modern) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wonder-worker · 4 months ago

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"[Matilda of Boulogne's office as Queen of England], initiated and broadly defined by the coronation ordo, gave her royal power and authority to share in governance. Her obligations and activities were shaped by custom established by previous queens and the ad hoc needs of king and realm. [...] [Matilda's] thorough integration into the governance of the realm was not repeated in [Eleanor of Aquitaine’s] years as queen of England. Eleanor's coronation followed a new model that emphasized the queen as progenitor of royal heirs and subordinate to the king rather than as sharer of royal power. Though Eleanor acted as regent in England between 1156 and 1158 and in Poitou on several occasions from 1165 on, her writs suggest delegated rather than shared royal authority. In England, her power was limited by the lack of lands assigned to her use and by the elaboration of financial and judicial administration. Whereas [Matilda of Boulogne's] inheritance allowed her to play an integral role in politics by securing the Londoners' loyalty and a steady supply of mercenaries, Eleanor's inheritance provided her with more extensive power in Poitou and Aquitaine than in England. Until 1163, Eleanor withdrew funds from the Exchequer by her own writ, but unlike her Anglo-Norman predecessors, she was not a member of its council nor did she issue judgments from the royal court. Eleanor's counsel and diplomatic activities, in contrast to Matilda's, are rarely mentioned. She did, however, encourage the 1159 Toulouse campaign and supported Henry in the Becket affair and the coronation of young Henry. Eleanor was not a prominent curialis; she rarely witnessed Henry's charters or interceded to secure the king's mercy. She did follow in Matilda's footsteps in her promotion of her sons, cultivation of dynastic goals through the Fontevraudian tombs, and patronage that reflected her family's traditions. For Matilda, to be queen encompassed a variety of functions-curialis, diplomat, judge, intercessor, and "regent." Through a combination of factors, Eleanor's role as queen was much more restricted."

-Heather J. Tanner, "Queenship: Office, Custom or Ad Hoc", Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady (Edited by Bonnie Wheeler and John Carmi Parsons)

#this is so interesting when it comes to the gradual evolution of queenship over the years (post-Norman to early modern)#eleanor of aquitaine #matilda of boulogne #queenship tag #historicwomendaily #english history #my post #don't reblog these tags but #the irony of the 'Eleanor of Aquitaine Exceptionalism' rhetoric is that not only is it untrue #but you could actually make a much more realistic argument in the opposite direction #We know that it was during Eleanor's time as queen of France that 'the queen's name was disappearing from royal documents' (Ralph Turner)#She did not enjoy an involvement in royal governance that her mother-in-law Adelaide of Maurienne enjoyed during her time as queen #As Facinger points out 'no sources support the historical view of Eleanor as bold precocious and responsible for Louis VII's behavior'#Even as Duchess of Aquitaine she played a secondary role to Louis who appointed his own officials to the Duchy #Only four out of her seventeen ‘Aquitanian’ charters seem to have been initiated by Eleanor herself #And now it seems that even Eleanor's role as queen of England was also more restricted than her predecessors #with new coronation model that was far more gendered and 'domestic' in nature #That's not to argue that it meant a reduction in the queen's importance but it does mean that the 'importance' took on a different form #There's also the fact that Eleanor's imprisonment and forced subjugation to Henry after the rebellion till the end of her life #was probably what set the precedent for her sons' 'Lord Rules All' approach with their own wives (Berengaria and Isabella)#as Gabrielle Storey has suggested #None of this is meant to downplay Eleanor's power or the impact of her actions across Europe - both of which were extensive and spectacular #But it does mean that the myth of her exceptionalism is not just incorrect but flat-out ridiculous

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