Was the Middle Ages misogynistic? In part yes, of course, especially from the 13th century onwards, with the arrival of Aristotle’s philosophy to Europe and the rise of Roman law, which placed the paterfamilias (that is, the male of the house) as the undisputed head of the Family nucleus.
However, it is no less true that during the early Middle Ages women enjoyed freedom and rights unthinkable for women in other centuries. In the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries we find numerous testimonies of women who held great power; who decided on politics, who handled the reins of the family economy and who founded churches and monasteries and, of course, governed them.
In these centuries it was not at all unusual for the wife to be in charge of the fief or the kingdom while the husband was at war, for example. Not only that; Women could also be the owners of these fiefs, as is the case of Eleanor, the legitimate Duchess of Aquitaine. If you are interested in learning more about some of these women, keep reading. Today we tell you the lives of some medieval women who exercised enormous power.
There are many, many; from the powerful queens and empresses to the abbesses, who ruled vast territories like their fellow abbots. In today’s article we focus on several queens, an empress and a papal mistress who held unimaginable power.
Irene of Byzantium (752-803)
Irene Sarantapechaina (on the cover) was one of the most powerful Byzantine empresses, and also one of the most fearsome. Coming from a noble family of Athens (the Sarantapechos), she married the emperor of Byzantium Leo IV, with whom she had a son, Constantine, the future emperor.
Irene was a strong and ambitious woman who was not determined to settle for the mere title of “consort.” In fact, in the documents she appears as Basileus (emperor), instead of Basilissa, the official title of empress. Upon the death of Leo IV she took the reins of the empire as regent for her son, but soon the Byzantine aristocrats realized that Irene was not going to give up power so easily. For this reason, they hatched a conspiracy, led by Irene’s brother-in-law, with the purpose of overthrowing her.
This struggle for power must be framed in the bloody confrontation between iconodules (supporters of images, with whom Irene sympathized) and the iconoclasts, who materialized their opposition on the side of her son Constantine. The conflict ended in a chilling way: Determined to be the only one to sit on the throne, Irene did not hesitate to seize her son and blind his eyes, wounds from which Constantine died..
After the disappearance of Constantine, Irene declared herself titular empress of Byzantium and, of course, reestablished the cult of images. In the West, Charlemagne could not tolerate a woman sitting on the Roman throne; He crowned himself emperor, with the support of the pope, on Christmas in the year 800.
Marozia (c. 892-955)
The origin of this enigmatic character (also cited in sources as Mariozza) is unknown. Some say that she was the daughter of Senator Theophylacto I, but it is also stated that she was the daughter of Pope John X. What is certain is that Marozia or Mariozza She was one of the most powerful women of the 10th century, who established in the Vatican what history has called pornocracy..
The name is sufficiently explicit. At only fifteen years old, Marozia becomes the lover of Pope Sergius III, and, from the papal bed, she takes the reins of Vatican policy at the time. Her power lasted no less than twenty-five years, during which she influenced the election of some popes and even the death of some of them.
The relationship with the pope did not prevent Marozia from marrying influential people on several occasions. At her first marriage she was pregnant with Sergius III, but her husband, Alberico, Marquis of Spoleto, legitimized the child, who over the years became pope under the name of John XI.
Marozia eventually fell into disgrace and was imprisoned by one of her sons (Alberico II) in Castel Sant’Angelo. She was later transferred to a convent, where she died in 955. Pornocracy ended with her, one of the darkest periods in the history of the papacy.
Matilda of England (c. 1102 -1167)
Officially, she was never crowned queen. She only obtained the title of “Lady of the English” and, although she was the legitimate heir of her father, King Henry I, various events led to the English throne being usurped by Stephen of Blois, Matilda’s cousin, which gave rise to a civil war that English historiography knows as “Anarchy.”
Matilda (Maude in the original English of the time) was sent very young to the court of the emperor of the Holy Empire, as she was destined to marry the future emperor Henry V. There she spent part of her childhood and youth, until Henry died in 1125. As the couple had had no children, Matilda returned to England.
In the meantime, Matilda’s brother and heir to the English throne, William, had died in strange circumstances during the famous shipwreck of the White Ship, a misfortune that made the princess the legitimate queen of England after the death of their father.
This is what she supposed, that soon claimed his rights of succession, something about which not all English nobles agreed. England split into two sides; those who supported Matilde and those who opted for Esteban, her cousin. De facto, Matilda was never crowned queen (as Stephen was), and, at the end of the bloody war that massacred the English population, she favored her son, the result of her second marriage with Godfrey of Anjou, as future king. This son would be crowned, upon Stephen’s death, as Henry II of England, and would have his mother as an advisor and confidant until Matilda’s death in 1167.
Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204)
Duchess of Aquitaine and twice queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine is undoubtedly one of the great women of the Middle Ages. Intelligent, determined and fearless, she marked her own path and imposed her will with blood and fire.. She was the daughter of William of Aquitaine, whom she succeeded after becoming his sole legitimate heir. Later, in 1137, she became Dauphin of France upon her marriage to the future Louis VII and, once he was crowned, queen consort.
Trapped in a marriage that did not satisfy her, Leonor pressured tirelessly until she obtained the annulment of her marriage to Luis. Throughout their union he had more than demonstrated her strong personality and her undeniable political worth, which contrasted with the more pusillanimous character of her husband. Once free again, it took her just a few months to remarry Henry of Anjou, who, after the civil war that had devastated the country and after the resignation of her mother Matilda, would be crowned king of England in 1154.
Apparently, Leonor had a lot to do with her children’s conspiracy against Enrique, among whom was Ricardo, known as Lionheart. Consequently, she was held prisoner by her husband for a long period of time, until Henry’s death facilitated her freedom. Later, when the crown of England already rested on Richard’s head, she took charge of the rescue operation for his son, who had fallen prisoner of the emperor in Vienna.
The character of this indomitable woman becomes even more evident during her final years. At almost eighty years old, Leonor sets out on a journey to Castile to pick up one of her granddaughters (daughters of her daughter Leonor Plantagenet and King Alfonso VIII) and take her to France as queen consort. The lucky one was Blanca, another notable woman who we will talk about in the next section.
Blanche of Castile (1188-1252)
Legend has it that it was the name of this woman, Blanche, that served as the main catalyst for Eleanor of Aquitaine’s decision that she, and not her sister, be the future queen of France. It was the year 1200 and the old queen had traveled to the court of Castile to meet her granddaughters and decide which of the two would be the wife of the dauphin Luis.
Apparently, The always intelligent Leonor decided that the other sister’s name, Urraca, would be unpronounceable to the French, so she decided on Blanca.. This fictional passage has no semblance of being real; It was probably Blanca’s character (who was only twelve years old but already had the manners of a queen) that made her grandmother decide on her.
Thus, in May 1200, the adolescent Blanche of Castile (hereinafter, Blanche de Castille) became the wife of the dauphin and future queen of France. Her influence on her husband was great, but it was even more so on her son, also called Louis, who, upon the death of his father, and at only twelve years old, was crowned Louis IX of France.. Later, history would give it another name: San Luis.
The ascendancy that Blanca had over the new monarch is undeniable. In fact, given the king’s minority, she was appointed his regent and, therefore, it was she who dealt with the numerous problems of her time, such as the thorny Cathar conflict. The powerful queen died in 1252 and was buried in Maubuisson, the abbey she had founded.
