A Companion to Global Queenship

Description

This collection brings together case studies of premodern queenship in a truly global context, ranging from seventh century China to nineteenth century New Zealand and featuring examples from across Africa, Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Europe. It highlights the central spot that women occupied at the heart of the realm and shows show that whether we name them "queen" or "empress" or "malika" or "rangatira" there is always a vitally important place for women in the core mechanism of monarchy. Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Contributors Chapter 1. Introduction: Placing Queenship into a Global Context Part I Perceptions of Regnant Queenship Chapter 2. When the Emperor Is a Woman: The Case of Wu Zetian 武則天 (624– 705), the “Emulator of Heaven” Chapter 3. Tamar of Georgia (1184– 1213) and the Languageof Female Power Chapter 4. Regnant Queenship and Royal Marriage between the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Nobility of Western Europe Chapter 5. Queenship and Female Authority in the Sultanate of Delhi (1206– 1526) Chapter 6. Anna Jagiellon: A Female Political Figure in the Early Modern Polish– Lithuanian Commonwealth Chapter 7. Female Rule in Imperial Russia: Is Gender a Useful Category of Historical Analysis? Chapter 8. The Transformation of an Island Queen: Queen Béti of Madagascar Chapter 9. Female Rangatira in Aotearoa New Zealand Part II Practising Co- Rulership Chapter 10. The Social–Political Roles of the Princess in Kyivan Rus’, ca. 945– 1240 Chapter 11. Impressions of Welsh Queenship in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries Chapter 12. Queen Zaynab al-​Nafzawiyya and the Building Chapter 13. Al-​Dalfa’ and the Political Role of the umm al- walad in the Late Umayyad Caliphate of al-​Andalus Chapter 14. The Khitan Empress Dowagers Yingtian and Chengtian in Liao China, 907– 1125 Chapter 15. Dowager Queens and Royal Succession in Premodern Korea Chapter 16. The Ambiguities of Female Rule in Nayaka South India, Seventeenth to Eightenth Centuries Part III Breaking Down Boundaries: Comparative Studies of Queenship Chapter 17. Helena’s Heirs: Two Eighth-​Century Queens Chapter 18. The Hohenstaufen Women and the Differences between Aragonese and Greek Queenship Models Chapter 19. The “Honourable Ladies” of Nasrid Granada: Female\ Power and Agency in the Alhambra (1400– 1450) Chapter 20. Comparing the French Queen Regent and the Ottoman Validé Sultan during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries Chapter 21. Queens and Courtesans in Japan and Early Modern France Chapter 22. The Figure of the Queen Mother in the European and African Monarchies, 1400– 1800 Index