11. Women and Power in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times (Central Europe)
The section is concerned with the historical study of medieval and early modern women's practices of power from different social strata and in different areas of life, such as domestic, religious, economic, political and public spaces. The aim of the discussion is to analyse how women gained power, how they exercised it and what roles emotions played in these processes. The research presented here focuses on understanding the mechanisms that enabled women to influence decisions and social relations, as well as assessing the sustainability and changes in the ways power was exercised over time. In turn, the geographical area of consideration has been limited to Central Europe. Suggested topics for the papers: 1. The queen and manifestations of monarchical power 2. Patronage 3. Court life and interactions 4. Fashion, dress and power 5. Monasteries as centres of religious, political and economic power 6 Women and scribal culture 7. Elite women (noblewomen, burghers) in socio-political life
Elisabeth Habsburg (ca 1436-1505) is one of the longest-serving Polish female rulers in the orbit of the crown. For years living in the shadow of her spouse - the king, the Habsburgess did not reach out for power, remaining in an almost permanent state of bliss. When her offspring began to grow up, the queen mother and, after the death of Casimir Jagiellon, the queen dowager, willingly and with a great deal of commitment, she stood among those who were influential and had a lot of say in who should direct state policy, as well as how it should be conducted. In this article we will look at her relations with both her sons and daughters to point out the elements that she independently, and often effectively, tried to decide on, and thus attempt to show her influence on the management of the Polish and Lithuanian states in the second half of the 15th century.
2025-09-18 11:30-12:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.27
The problem of the influence of Władysław Jagiełło's wives is most often broken down by the figure of Jadwiga Andegawenska, who, depending on the work, is seen as almost a second king or at least a person with real power in the state. Against this backdrop, the other wives of this ruler come off remarkably poorly. But was this really the case? What was Jadwiga of Anjou's real power? Did the other three wives: Anna Cyleja, Elisabeth Granowska, Sophia Holszanska meant nothing during her husband's lifetime? It is known that in the case of the latter, widowhood gave her a certain political power, but what was the situation during Jagiełło's lifetime? I would like to answer this question in my paper.
2025-09-18 10:00-10:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.27
Death was a crucial moment in the life of medieval people. For the privileged and powerful, it was a time to order their matters with respect to heirs or pious donations. The last wills of sovereigns and their consorts are important pieces of documentation, revealing their social, familial, and patronage networks, financial conditions, and material culture. However, these documents have not been extensively studied on a comparative scale. In the case of Central European queens, this is probably a result of poor source documentation as only a handful of these testaments from Bohemia and Hungary have survived.
This paper will analyse the recently discovered testament (and adjacent codicils) of Beatrice of Naples (1457–1508), wife of Matthias Corvinus by shedding light on its language, strategies, and the queen’s social context. Furthermore, it will compare it with testaments of other Bohemian royal women and men (Richenza, John the Blind, Sophie of Bavaria, Elizabeth of Görlitz etc.)
2025-09-18 10:30-11:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.27
Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii PAN Uniwersytet Warszawski
During a feast wife of the king Bolesław the Brave touching her husband's chest asks him if he regrets giving a severe sentence of death. When her husband says yes, she informs him that she has hidden the convicts and they survived. At least that is what Gallus Anonymus claims. This story was adapted by Jan Długosz, late medieval penman in his "Annales", though he changed details of it, which shows shifts in attitudes towards women's influence on emotions of their husbands in the late medieval Poland in comparison to the 12th century. As Długosz himself claims, a wife is supposed to mitigate her husband's emotions, but he mostly presented cases in which it the opposite is true. In this paper I shall present the way in which Długosz adapted and constructed tales first, about the influence of women on emotions of their husbands, and second, how women themselves regulate their emotions. I use the concept of emotional communities, which shows multiple ways of thinking about emotions.
2025-09-18 12:00-12:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.27
Muzeum Archeologiczne w Poznaniu Rezerwat Archeologiczny Genius Loci
Although tabula, or board games, were extremely popular in the Middle Ages, the role of women in society at that time is analyzed from this perspective sporadically. Old games were not only a form of entertainment but also a manifestation of the position of elites and a field for implementing various ideological and educational programs. Chess was of particular importance. The range of pieces used in them was the subject of moralizing treatises and literary works. They were created as a military instruction, where the pieces reflected the structures of the India army - there was no place for a woman in them. The queen enters the chessboard after the game reached Europe and is a modification that took place only in the western zone of the continent (Eastern Europe still uses strictly military terminology). The chess queen and her Latin evolution included the transformation of the "silent companion" into a "crazy woman", and thus a modern breakthrough in the rules of the game took place.
2025-09-18 12:30-13:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.27
One of the collections in the Diocesan Archive in Płock is Acta Episcopalia. The books from the years 1448 to 1776 contain records of the appointment of parish priests. The preserved documents provide insight into the then-current and previous owners of estates. The founders of churches in the Diocese of Płock included not only the Mazovian princes and bishops but also lay individuals—estate owners. When the bishops of Płock established churches, they granted the founders and their heirs the right of praesentatio, also known as collation or patronage, in exchange for endowing the churches. A collator or collators of a church were obliged to present a candidate for the position of parish priest to the bishop within a few months. The records of parish priest appointments testify not only to the ownership of estates at that time but also to the expansion or extinction of noble families and the inheritance of wealth by women, who brought their family estates into other households through
The date and place of the paper will be announced soon, along with the detailed schedule of the Congress.
This paper re-examines Queen Bona Sforza (1494–1557) as an active co-ruler of early modern Poland, challenging traditional notions of queenship. Through analysis of diplomatic correspondence, administrative reforms, and economic policies, it highlights Bona's significant political agency alongside King Sigismund I. By investigating her political strategies, diplomacy and alliances, territorial governance, and economic and fiscal innovations, the paper aims to reconceptualise the broader concepts of dynasty and rulership, contributing new insights to debates on gender and power in Early Modern Europe.
2025-09-18 16:30-17:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.27
In the event of the death of the Mazovian duke and the minority of his successors, power and guardianship were always entrusted to their grandmother or mother. Guardianship rule was exercised according to custom, and a act regulating the authority of the Mazovian female regent was not issued until 1504 by the Polish king. During this period, the regency was exercised in the Duchy of Mazovia 5 times, which provides good material for research and observation the dynamics of changes. We can indicate which of its features were typical and permanent, and which were subject to change. The subject of the speech will be regency rule analyzed primarily in terms of the nature and essence of this power. Thus, it will be essential to answer the question of what opportunities the duchess-regent had in ruling the state, and what limitations she was subject to, and to what extent the scope of her power coincided with the powers vested in the reigning duke, and to what extent it differed from them.
2025-09-18 15:30-16:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.27
Bona Sforza was undoubtedly a pivotal figure in the history of Poland and Lithuania in the first half of the 16th century, at the crossroads of the Middle Ages and Early Modern Era. While her national role has been extensively studied by Polish historiography, her local connections have received less attention. Despite previous works by Władysław Pociecha (1949-58), Jan Siedlecki (1989), and Zbigniew Romaniuk (2023), new insights can be gained from recently accessible court records from this province. Bona’s active involvement in Podlasian affairs, as evidenced by her role in conflicts of the local nobility with the Radziwiłłs (1522-1536) and Olbracht Gasztołd (1532-1533), and her establishment of a district castle court in Brańsk (1535/1536), highlights the significance of exploring her influence on the region’s noble political elite from the beginnings of her activity in Polish-Lithuanian politics to the depart to Italy and death.
2025-09-18 16:00-16:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.27
The paper aims to show that the Duke and King of Bohemia, Vladislav II Přemyslid, chose for himself wives who supported his political aspirations more strongly than other wives of the Přemyslid rulers. Both ladies, Gertrude and Judith, were closely related to the currently reigning ruler of the Reich, and these connections were one of the strengths of Vladislav's policy. Both Gertrude and Judith manifested their position not only as founders of monasteries, but were also active in the political sphere. In addition, Judith acted strongly to consolidate Vadislaus' monarchical power.
2025-09-18 09:30-10:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.27
The social role assigned to medieval women did not, by definition, include their active participation in power and political life, although there were always female rulers who defied the prevailing standards. Sometimes they acted behind the scenes, sometimes they openly controlled politics and internal affairs. The succession to the throne could be decided by the mother acting against the political line pushed by the prince's spouse, the conclusion of peace negotiated by the spouse, and the spouse's activity could decide whether the throne was maintained. The paper will present selected representatives of the Přemyslid dynasty (Wirpirk, Swatawa, Rycheza, Elizabeth of Hungary) and their activity on the contemporary political scene.
2025-09-18 09:00-09:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.27
