Women in Power Overwiew

Anne of Austria
@discoverwalks.com

Brief lives of women who reigned or ruled, in their own right or by marriage, by providing their:

Photo/Picture

Personal/Given Name

Other Names

Proprietary Titles

Other Titles
Parents/Pedigree
Partner(s)

Progeny/Posterity
Patrimony/Properties

Physical Appearance
Persona/Personality
Powers Exercised
Patronages

Competitors/Opponents

Notes

Women Power in the Middle Ages

"The ways in which women exercised power in the Middle Ages has been increasingly explored over the last few years.  Its fascination for historians arises from the fact that the general legal, philosophical and theological opinion of the medieval centuries united in theoretically denying to women the right to exercise public power, although it was recognized that in reality noblewomen and queens could often be very influential indeed---a fact often bemoaned by disapproving chroniclers.

"However, there were some cases in which medieval queens and noblewomen were not only influential but personally powerful.  As scholars have begun to investigae more closely what medieval women were actually doing, it has become obvious it was not only a queen, named as regent for an under-age heir to the throne, who exercised power.  Other important noblewomen, such as heiresses to counties in their own right, or appointed regents on the death or absence of their husbands, ruled actively and were seen as doing so legitimately.  Threee women embody this reality particularly well:  the twelfth century Adela, countess of Blois;  the thirteenth century Isabella de Fortibus, widowed countess of Aumale, and countess of Devon by inheritance;  the fourteenth century Mahaut of Artois, countess of Artois after her father's death and regent countess of Burgundy on the death of her husband the count.  These women illustrate the various circumstances which might propel noblewomen into becoming legitimate and recognized ruling figures and also illustrate their  different ways of using their power.

"The common factor was the early death of the husband, leaving young children, so that the widow became guardian of the lands and resources, and, if a major fief was involved, regent.  Widowhood also added to a woman's personal riches since her dower was normanlly one third of her husband's lands and rents.  As well, his death returned to his wife her personal power over any inheritance or dowry which she had brought to the marriage;  if that had included a county because of lack of male heirs, she as countess legitimately exercised rule and enjoyed its revenues so long as she did not remarry.

"Our three exemplars demonstrate that a trong woman, with sufficient resources and support, could carve out a satisfactory life as a widow.  They also remind us of medieval family patterns that are sometimes overlooked.  Kings and noblemen were frequently absent for long periods of time, whether on crusade, wars, pilgrimage, at court or on diplomatic errands.  the stay-at-home wife was expected, with the help of officials and knights, to maintain the good governance of the lordship during the husband's absence.  As well, these important active men were often killed at quite a young age---in battle or on crusade, but also in tournaments, while hunting or even from the perils of travel.  Medieval women, when adsence, death or underage heirs required them to, acted as head of the family and protected its interests.  Many wielded their power effectively...."  (Labarge, pp. 103-104)

Critical Roles of Medieval Aristocratic Women

"By and large all these (medieval Russian) aristocratic women shared certain characteristics. They were well educated for their time, and they felt free to involve themselves in politics, bringing matters before secular rulers, church councils, and even the pope himself. They could send their own envoys to foreign countries, on occasion forming and leading their own embassies. They undertook negotiations with foreign diplomats in order to advance the interests of their Russian homeland. For the most part they advocated peaceful, diplomatic, and restrained solutions to international tensions--and this in a period of constant warfare.

"Despite their governmental duties and their own political ambitions, these women leaders remained devoted mothers. Often, as guardians and regents, Russian princesses directed all their efforts to help their sons ascent to the throne and to achieve their political goals. Sometimes, to advance these ends, these women deliberately downplayed their contributions to their menfolk's successes." (Puskareva and Levin, 1997, p. 28)

The Queen's (Reginal) Properties
"The character of these possessions can be understood from the custom of marriage gifts... [A] Hungarian noblewoman received a wedding gift...from her husband or his clan upon marriage; this remained under her control, was retained by her if she became a widow, and seems sometimes to have been inherited in the female line. Such women did not bring property to the marriage... Queens who came from distant lands...were given at marriage property from the kings' possessions....' (Parsons, p. 18)

Women's Status and Role in Society
"The status of women in society was determined by their relation to men, and whether they were virgins, wives, or widows. According to the law, every woman was considered to be underage and in the custoday of a man, though widows had a certain independence. A woman could temporarily take the place of a man and function as the head of a household or institution. A married woman could be in charge during the absence of her husband, or because of his weak health. A widow could manage a farm or household until a male heir came of age. Women could thus substitute for men if it was in the interest of the house, lineage, or kingdom. Within the patriarchal framework, therefore, women had positions of high esteem as leaders of that part of the household belonging to women: the mistress of the house carried the keys to the storerooms, a symbol of her power." (Parsons, pp-26-27)

A Woman as Ruler
"The accession of a woman to the position of ruler --- whether it was informally in a republic or officially in a seigneurial court or monarchy --- always took place because of the absence of a legitimate male heir. This could occur because the previous ruler did not have a male heir, or the rightful heir was too young to rule, temporarily absent, or incapacitated. Occasionally, a woman could rule alongside her husband or son, in an unofficial capacity. She was granted the opportunity to rule, therefore, by being the daughter, sister, wife, or mother of the legitimate male ruler. A woman's ability to govern in her own right was always contingent upon there being no legitimate adult male heir available. The opportunity to rule also tended to depend upon the support and tolerance of powerful male supporters and/or relatives of the female ruler...." (Tomas, p. 166)

Daughters' Right of Inheritance

"What about the daughters? Up the fourteenth century, daughters, in principle, inherited an equal share of the paternal landed and movable property, with the exception of fiefs and offices. Their dowry was also regarded as part of their birthright. In the fourteenth century and later, more and more, daughters were forced to agree to renounce their hereditary title at the time of marriage, with the understanding that the dowry was the equivalent of the inheritance. Only if her father or brothers died without leaving sons could a daughter's hereditary title become valid again." (Sabean, et. al., p. 66)

References to Women in Power

BLOGS

History . . .The Interesting Bits by Sharon Bennett Connolly

BOOKS

Heroines of the Medieval World @Google Books

The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire @Google Books

Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England @Google Books

Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, Vol 1 @Google Books

Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest @Google Books

Women Leaders of Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Pacific @Google Books

Women Rulers Throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide @Google Books

Maria: Women in Power

MARIA OF CALABRIA (1329-1366)

Proprietary Title: Countess of Alba, 1343

Parents/Pedigree: Carlo of Naples, Duke of Calabria & Marie of Valois

Partner(s): 

1) Carlo, Duke of Durazzo (1323-1348), mar 1343, 1 son/4 dau

2) Robert of Baux (1298-1351), Count of Avellino, mar 1348, 2 sons/2 dau

3) Filippo II of Taranto (1329-1374), mar 1355, 5 children all died young.

MARIA GUADALUPE RAMIRES DE ARELLANO, 4th Marquesa de Braceras

born Dona Maria Guadalupe Ramires de Arellano
[Fam1] [Ref1]
"...Dona Maria Guadalupe Ignacia Antonia, wife of Joseph Robert Heaven of the Forest of Birse, co. Aberdeen, is stated to be suo jure MARCHIONESS OF BRACERAS (MARQUESA DE BRACERAS)  [Spain].  She is the daughter and heiress  of Gen. D. Ignacio Ramirez de Arellano, by his wife Dona Matilda de Braceras, of Braceras, Santa Colonna, Ayala, Spain, who is stated to have been granddaughter and in her issue heiress of D. Antonio de Braceras, who was 4 Apr. 1707 created by King Philip V MARQUES OF BRACERAS (MARQUES DE BRACERAS), with remainder to the heirs general of his body...."  (Rumigny, 2000, p. 320)
Partner/Progeny: Married in 1862 Joseph Robert Heaven, son of Robert Heaven and of Joaquina los Lobos.

MARIA TERESA CYBO MALASPINA (1725-1790)
[Bio1] [Gen1]
Proprietary Titles:  Duchessa di Massa, Principessa di Carrara, 1731-1790
Parents/Pedigree: She was the daughter of Alderano I Giacomo,Duca di Massa, Principe di Carrara and Ricciardi di Gonzaga-Novellara.
Partners/Progeny:  She married 1) in 1734 Eugene Jean Francois di Savoie, Comte de Soissons, Herzog von Troppau (1714-1734); and 2) in 1741 Ercole III Rinaldo d'Este, Duca di Modena and Reggio (1727-1803), with whom she had a son and a daughter.

Marie: Women in Power

Brief lives of women who reigned or ruled in their own right or by marriage by providing their a) personal and family background; b) proprietary titles; c) parents/pedigree; d) patrimony and properties; e) persona or personality; f) powers exercised, g) patronages and h) partner(s) and progeny.

Marie de Bearn (d.1187)

Viscountess of Bearn, 1170-1187

Marie de Bourbon (1315-1387)

Also known as:

Proprietary Titles: Sovereign Baroness of Vostitsa & Nivelet (by purchase), 1359-1370

Other Titles: Latin Empress of Constantinople as wife of Robert of Taranto

Parents/Pedigree: Louis I of Bourbon & Marie of Avesnes.

Partner(s):

1) Guy de Lusignan (1343), mar 1328, titular Prince of Galilee, 1 son

2) Robert of Taranto (d.1364), mar 1347, no children.

Progeny/Posterity:

Note: "Du Cange long ago remarked on the special affection and solicitude which Robert of Taranto demonstrated for Marie of Bourbon. The prince had given repeated proof of his sentiments by granting his consort large estates and by treating her son, Hugh of Galilee, as if he were his own. He had warmly espoused Hugh's claims to the throne of Cyprus. At the time of their marriage (September 1347) Robert had assigned to Marie for her dower an annual revenue of 2,000 gold ounces from his possessions in Italy and in Corfu and Cephalonia. In 1355 he granted her for her household an annual income of 1,050 ounces from his Italian lands. In 1357 he bestowed in her the rich castellany of Kalamata, with two dependent castles and the rights of high justice. About this time Marie purchased the two important baronies of Vostitsa and Nivelet. . . ." (A History of the Crusades: 137)

MARIE DE CHIMAY (1220-1241)

[Tree1]

Proprietary Titles: Lady of Chimay and of Thour

Parents/Pedigree: Roger I, Lord of Chimay, and of Agnes, Lady of Thour.

Partners/Progeny: Married (1) Jean I de Arcis-sur-Aube (d.1219); (2) in 1226 Jean II de Nesle (1224-1270/72). Count of Soissons and of Chartres, Lord of Nesle and of Falvy, with whom she had 2 sons and 3 daughters.

Marie d'Enghien (1367-1446), 

Proprietary Title: Countess of Lecce and Castro, 1384-1446, succeeding her brother Pierre d'Enghien.

Other Titles:

Parents/Pedigree: Jean d'Enghien (d.1380), Count of Castro, and of Sancia del Balzo.

Partner/Progeny:

1) Raimondo del Balzo Orsini di Nola (d.1405), mar 1384, Prince of Taranto, 2 dau/2 sons

2) King Ladislao of Naples, mar 1406, no children

MARIE DE LUXEMBOURG (1472-1546)

Proprietary Titles: Countess of Luxembourg, Countess of Marle, Countess of Soissons and Lady of Conde.

Parents/Pedigree: Elder daughter and heiress of Pierre II de Luxembourg (), Count of St. Pol, and of Margherita di Savoia (1439-1483).

Partners/Progeny: Married (1) Jacques de Savoie (), Count of Romont; (2) in 1487, Francois de Bourbon, Count of Vendome.

MARIE D'ORLEANS

Notes: "...Mary of Orleans, duchess of Nemours and Estouteville, having become possessed of Tancarville, sold it in September, 1706, to Anthony Crozat, the king's secretary...." (The Castle at Tancarville)

MARIE DE SULLY (d.1375)

[Fam1]

Proprietary Title: Lady of Sully

Parents/Pedigree: Henri IV (d.1334), Lord of Sully and Grand Butler of France, and of Jeanne de Vendome (d.1317) 

Partner/Progeny: Gottfried IV, Lord of Aspremont of of Dun, Lord of Conflans, of Dupouy and of Quievrain, with whom she had 2 sons and 1 daughter.

Note: "Marie de Sully (was) heiress to the important fief of Craon as well as to the strategic castle of Sully on the Loire...." (Pernoud, et. al., p. 190)

MARIE-FRANCOISE DE VALOIS (1631-1696)

Duchesse d'Angouleme, Comtesse de Lauragais, of Ponthieu and of Alais (by inheritance)

Duchesse de Joyeuse (by marriage)

a.k.a. Marie-Francoise d'Angouleme

Daughter of Louis-Emmanuel d'Angouleme and of Henriette de La Guiche.

Wife of Louis de Guise-Joyeuse, Duc de Joyeuse, mar 1649. They had two children: Louis-Joseph de Guise and Catherine-Henriette de Guise.

"Marie-Francoise de Valois, who married the duc de Joyeuse in 1649, was known to be a mental invalid from about the age of nine... Yet as heiress of three major dynastic fortunes---Angouleme, Montmorency and La Guiche---she was married to a younger brother of the duc de Guise, and produced two children, before becoming a widow at age 22.
Throughout her 42 years of widowhood, she was kept hidden from view, first by her mother at her chateau of Ecouen or the Hotel d'Angouleme in Paris, then by her daughter-in-law (Mme de Guise) at a convent in Normandy, while her vast inheritance, in the neighbourhood of two million livres, was kept in abeyance...."  (Spangler, 2009, p. 159)

Mabel to Marchesella: Women in Power

Brief lives of women who reigned or ruled in their own right or by marriage by providing their a) proprietary titles, b) parents/pedigree, c) patrimony and properties, d) persona or personality, e) powers exercised, f) patronages and g) partner/progeny.

MABEL DE BELLEME (1026-1082)

a.k.a. Mabel Talvas, Mabel d'Alencon, Mabille de Belleme

Proprietary Titles:  Lady of Belleme, 1070-1082; Countess of Alencon.

Notes: " . . . Mabille of Belleme (wife of Roger II of Mont Gomeri) inherited great estates in western Normandy and Maine. In addition to being very wealthy, Mabille was also a cruel, avaricious, and unscrupulous lord, belying feudal stereotypes of sweet, gentle womanhood. She had her own troops to take castles and carry on blood feuds. To settle one squabble, Mabille supposedly poisoned her rival. She apparently hated the monks of St. Evroul even more. Utterly unscrupulous in such fights, Mabille and her troops descended on the unfortunate brothers, who were forced to feed and house the voracious group. In fact, she literally ate the monks out of house and home. Since this was typical behavior for Mabille, she had only herself to blame when an angry, dispossessed vassal murdered her around the year 1079." (Echols: 173) 

Notes: " . . . The most famous instance of female succession from Duke William's  time was that of Mabel to the lordship of Belleme, a lordship of composite origins including lands held of the duke of Normandy, the count of Maine, and the king of France. The succession to Belleme after the death in 1027 of William de Belleme, who had at least six sons, is difficult to reconstruct. Ivo, bishop of Sees controlled part, and his brother William Talvas the remainder. William's daughter Mabel married a Norman, Roger of Montgomery, and eventually Mabel and Roger succeeded to the whole after Bishop Ivo's death, irrespective of the fact that Mabel had a brother Oliver.  Perhaps Oliver's birth was not legitimate, or his claim was passed over, but in either case Mabel was the eventual heiress." (Green: 372)

Notes: "Orderic's portrayal of such powerful women is complex. Mabel of Belleme is depicted as a cruel woman who deserved to meet a miserable end, murdered in her bed by a vassal whom she had deprived of his lands. . . The historicity of the detail is not as important here as the significance of the way in which Mabel's death is described. Orderic depicts Mabel using conventions of the epic genre; such portrayal adds a certain dignity to her reputation whilst paradoxically seeking to destroy it. . . [Her] obituary states that she gave good counsel, provided patronage and largesse, protected her patrimony, was intelligent, energetic in action and possessed honestas -- honour, dignity. . . Orderic's portrayal of Mabel of Belleme is therefore reflective of both contemporary clerical distrust of women in power and the nature of contemporary politics in Normandy." (Johns: 15)

Notes: "The marriage strategy of the Montgomerys is also instructive. Roger of  Montgomery's first wife was a great heiress, Mabel de Belleme, whose lands stretched beyond the southern frontiers of the duchy. . . ."  (Green: 352)

Notes: " . . . In the early 1050s he [Roger of Montgomery] greatly increased his estates by marrying the forceful Mabel, heiress of the extensive lordship of Belleme. . . ."  (Tyerman: 32)

MABEL OF GLOUCESTER (1090-1157)

a.k.a. Mabel FitzHamon
[Bio1] [Gen1]

Parents/Pedigree:  Mabel was the daughter of Robert FitzHamon, Lord of Glocester and Glamorgan, and of Sybil de Montgomery.

Proprietary Title:  Countess of Gloucester, Lady of Glamorgan, Dame de Sainte-Scholasse-sur-Sarthe, Dame de Evrecy, Dame de Creully.  

Countess of Gloucester, 1107-1157, who brought to her husband, Robert of Caen, illegitimate son of Henry I of England, "...the honours of Gloucester in England, Glamorgan in Wales, Sainte-Scholasse-sur-Sarthe, Evercy and Creully in Normandy...." 

Notes:  "...Mabel was defined in terms of lordship, Roger by his family status. This treaty shows Mabel's role at the epicentre of the Gloucester administration at a critical period in the Angevin cause. It is possible that Mabel acted as regent for Earl Robert whilst he was abroad helping Count Geoffrey of Anjou... Mabel was in control of, and responsible for, the Norman territories of the earldom of Gloucester. Mabel's role, her power and authority changed as she moved through the female life cycle from wife of the earl to dowager countess. " (Johns, p. 95)

MABILLE DE BIRAN (1285-1345)

[Tree1]

Proprietary Title:  Dame de Saint-Lery

Partner/Progeny:  Married in 1309 Bernard de Montlezun (d. 1345), Seigneur de Saint-Lary, Peyrudette, Castillon and Caussade.

MADELEINE CHARLOTTE BONNE THERESE DE CLERMONT (1635-1701) 

Proprietary Titles:  5th Duchess of Piney-Luxemburg and Peer of France, 1661-1701;  Princess of Tingry, Countess of Ligny and Baroness of Dangu, 1680-1701.

MAFALDA OF APULIA-CALABRIA (1059/60-1108)

[Bio1]

MAFALDA MANRIQUE DE LARA

a.k.a. Mafalda Gonzalez 

Proprietary Title:  Lady of Molina, 1239-1248

MAGDALENA DE ANGLESOLA

[Bio1] 

Proprietary Title:Lady of Miralcamp, c1399-?.

Parents/Pedigree: Daughter of Hug II d'Anglesola, Lord of Miralcamp, and his 2nd wife Elieta de Rocaberti. She married Felip Galceran de Castre i de Pinos.

Proper Name: MAGDALENA VON NEUENAHR-ALPEN (1550-1626)

Also known as: Heiress of the House of Neuenahr-Alpen

Proprietary Titles:

Countess of Neuenahr & Limburg 1590-1616 (succeeded sister Amalia)

Lady of Alpen, Helpenstein, Linnep and the office of city advocatus of Cologne 1589 (succeeded brother Adolf)

Other Titles:

Countess of Tecklenburg

Regent of Bentheim & Tecklenburg 1605-1609

Parents/Pedigree: Gumprecht II von Neuenahr-Alpen & Amöna of Daun-Falkenstein

Partner: Arnold III of Bentheim-Tecklenburg

Progeny/Posterity: 7 sons, 4 daughters

Patrimony/Properties: Hohenlimburg Castle [See for more information]

MAGDALENE CHRISTINA VON SAYN

Proprietary Title:  Countess Sayn-Hachenburg, 1661-1715.

MAHAUD D'AMBOISE (1200-1256)

[Tree1]

Proprietary Titles:  Countess of Chartres, Lady of Amboise.

Parents/Pedigree:  Daughter of Sulpice III d'Amboise, and of Isabelle de Blois.

Partners/Progeny:  Married (1) Richard II, Viscount of Beaumont-sur-Sarthe; (2) in 1240 Jean II de Nesle (1224-1272), with whom she had no issue.

MAHAUT D'ARTOIS (1268-1329)

[Bio1] [Bio2:109-111 ] [Ref1:109-112]

Proprietary Titles:  Countess of Artois, 1302-1329

Parents/Pedigree:  Eldest child and only daughter of Robert II of Artois and Amicie de Courtenay.

Progeny/Posterity:  Married 1285 Otto IV of Burgundy, with whom she had 13 children

Power Exercised:  "Robert d'Artois, Lord of Beaumont-le-Roger, was of royal blood, and connected with the greatest families in the kingdom of France. He was the son of Philippe d'Artois, Lord of Couches, who died before his father, leaving Robert and other children under age.  Upon the death of the Count d'Artois, Matilda, Countess of Burgundy, aunt of Philippe, claimed the county as the next of kin to her brother, while Robert claimed it by right of representation.  Philippe le Bel, king of France--two of whose sons, Philippe le Long and Charles le Bel, were married respectively to Jeanne and Blanche, the daughters of Matilda--in the year 1309, adjudged the fief to the Countess of Burgundy; and the decree was confirmed in the year 1318 by Philippe le Long, who had married Jeanne, the eldest of the daughters."  (Jamiseon, p. 39).

Notes: "...Mahaut's brother died in 1297, her father in 1302, and her husband a   year later, leaving her a considerable heiress.  She inherited the county of Artois and also served as regent of the county of Burgundy for her five-year-old son...." (Labarge, p. 109)

Notes:  "...After losing her father during the battle of Courtrai in 1302, Mahaut was widowed in March 1303, and the County of Burgundy was split in two: one half became Mahaut's dower, and the other half was managed by Philip the Fair's agents before reverting to her daughter Jeanne. Philip the Fair, however, allotted the inheritance of the County of Artois to Mahaut to the detriment of his   nephew Robert. Mahaut thus became a peer of France. Robert tried in vain to assert his inheritance rights against Mahaut in 1308-1309. In 1314 he began a new trial, accusing Mahaut of casting spells and attempting to poison King Louis X, Philip the Fair's first son who had just acceded to the throne, but the court cleared her of all charges....Mahaut's rule over Artois did not go uncontested: in 1306, she had to squelch a revolt harshly at Saint-Omer. In 1316, Robert d'Artois launched a nobiliary uprising against her and plundered and looted her property. Condemned by Philip the Tall (that is, Philip of Poitiers, who had acceded to the throne in 1317), he had to compensate for the damage the countess had incurred: Mahaut was thus repaid for the aid she had given her son-in-law to reach the throne in place and on behalf of Louis X's daughter Jeanne (which marks the origin of a masculine monopoly over the French throne). Mahaut launched endless lawsuits against all kinds of opponents, the nobility, royalty and the clergy. The so-called affair of "Philip the Fair's daughters-in-law", in 1324, was another dramatic moment for the Countess of Artois, since two of the three young women accused of adultery were her own daughters: Jeanne was released, but Blanche was condemned and imprisoned at Château-Gaillard. She was freed in 1324, at the time of her own husband's accession to the French throne (Charles IV the Fair), yet died in 1326 in Maubuisson." "...One of the best recorded widows of the later Middle Ages is Mahaut, countess of Artois and Burgundy, who was left in 1303 with three young children. Herself the heiress of Artois, she first had to fight off the claims of Robert, her nephew, before settling down to rule the territory, maintaining law and order through her officials, regularly checking her accounts, issuing charters to local towns to encourage trade, and distributing patronage to extend her networks of control...." (Schaus, p. 8)

MAHAUT DE BETHUNE (1220-1264)

[Bio1]

Proprietary Titles:  Heiress of Bethune, Dendermonde, Richebourh and Warneton.  (Fegley, p. 104)

Parents/Pedigree:  Robert VII de Bethune and Elisabeth de Morialmez

Partner/Progeny:  Married in 1246, as his first wife, Gui de Dampierre (1226-1305), Count of Flanders, 1251-1305, and Margrave of Namur, 1268-1297, with whom she had 5 sons and 3 daughters.

MAHAUT DE CHATILLON (d.1378) 

Proprietary Title:  Countess of St. Pol, 1360

MAHAUT I DE COURTENAY (1185-1257)

[Gen1]

Proprietary Titles:  Countess of Nevers, 1207-1257; Countess of Auxerre and Tonnerre, 1218-1257

Notes:  "In 1199 Countess Mathilda married Herve IV, lord of Donzy, who acted  as count of Nevers... They had one daughter, named Agnes... Herve and Mathilda left on Crusade together in 1218... Mathilda outlived Herve, who died in 1222... In that year she confirmed his gifts to Pontigny, promised the king she would not marry again without his permission, and received homage as countess of Nevers. She married Wigo (or Gui), count of Forez, a few years later. In 1239  Wigo left for the Holy Land, where he died in 1241. In 1242 his son and heir Gui, born to his first wife, agreed to let Mathilda have her dotal property in Gorez and gave up any claim to his father's acquisitions in the Nivernais. Bouchard, p, 350)

MAHAUT DE COURTENAY (c1254-1303) 

Proprietary Title:  Countess of Chieti, 1271-1303.

Parents/Pedigree:  Daughter of Raoul de Courtenay (d.1271), and of Marguerite de Tonnerre.  "...The branch of the family that made a significant contribution to Charles of Anjou's ability to rule the Regno was that descended  from Robert de Courtenay, lord of Champignelles (near Auxerre) and his wife, Mahaut de Mehun-sur-Yevre.  Among the children of this marriage, all great-grandchildren of King Louis VI, was Raoul, lord of Tanlay.  Raoul, heir to Champignelles, and married to Agnes de Montfort, countess of Bigorre, risked his French lands to accompany Charles on the conquest of the Regno.  By 1269, he was rewarded with the countship of Chieti in the Abruzzi, an area crucial to the defence of Charles's new realm.  Charles always spoke of him as a relation and showed warmth to him.  But the friendship was short.  Like many other Frenchmen who attempted to make a home in the Regno, Raoul became the victim of a killer disease (probably malaria), and died in 1271.  His small daughter Mahaud, who had probably come to the Regno in the train of Marguerite of Tonnerre in 1268, succeeded her father.  We have already followed her story as the first wife of Philippe de Chieti, son of Gui de Dampierre.  She died, apparently childless, in 1301."  (Dunbabin, pp. 136-137)

Partner/Progeny:  "...Philippe de Dampierre, his fifth son, became Comte di Teano after his marriage to the Italian Countess of Chieti, Mahaut de Courtenay...."  (Fegley, p. 104)

MAHAUT DE DAMMARTIN

Proprietary Title:  Countess of Aumale, 1216-1259

MAHAUT DE GRIGNON (d.1192) 

Proprietary Title:  Countess of Grignon and Tonnerre

MAHAUT DE MEHUN

[Gen1]

Proprietary Title:  Lady of Mehun-sur-Yevre   

Parents/Pedigree:  Philippe de Mehun-sur-Yevre, and of unknown

Progeny/Posterity:  Married (1) Jean III de Beaugency; (2) Robert I of Courtenay (1168-1239), Lord of Champignelles, 1205-1239, with whom she had issue.

MARCHESELLA DEGLI ADELARDI

Partner/Progeny:  "Towards the year 1200, Azzo V, Marquis of Este, married Marchesella degli Adelardi, daughter of one of the most conspicuous Guelphs at Ferrara, where the influence of the house of Este was thus first established." (Gallenga: 63)

"The Estense family was one of the most distinguished in Italy, and ruled over various territories for 900 years.  The family came from Este, south of the Euganean hills near Padua, and they were Lords of that town in the eleventh century.  The family interest in Ferrara began in 1185 when Azzo d'Este married Marchesella degli Adelardi, heiress to the family that had been Lords of the city, but continuous rule was not achieved until Azzo Novello d'Este (1242-64) established control of the city with Venetian helpo in 1242...."  (Tuohy: 3)


REFERENCES

Amalasuntha to Anna: Women in Power

Brief lives of women who reigned or ruled in their own right or by marriage by providing their a) proprietary titles, b) parents/pedigree, c) patrimony and properties, d) persona or personality, e) powers exercised, f) patronages and g) progeny or posterity.

AMALASUNTHA OF THE OSTROGOTHS (498-)

Power Exercised:  Queen-Regent of the Ostrogoths, 526-535.

Almodis de La Marche (d.1071)

Power Source/Exercised: "...her own status of power was greatly enhanced by the grant of a huge wedding gift...from her husband in 1056...[T]he defeat of the countess dowager (Ermessinde of Carcassonne) in the next year put all of these holdings in Almodis' hands and unquestionably made her the most powerful woman in the counties of Barcelona, Gerona, and Ausona... She also gained considerable wealth from land revenues and the large share of Muslim tribute...which her husband guaranteed her in the grant of 1056. With the amount of gold coming into her possession, it is little wonder that she became a frequent purchaser of land, houses and castles --- all in her own name...." (Vann, p. 42)

AMICE DE MONTFORT

Progeny/Posterity:  Married Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester.

Notes:  "...Robert, through his marriage to Amicia, daughter and heiress of the Breton lord of Gael and Montfort, eventually secured the fitzOsbern inheritance in Normandy---the honour or Breteuil and Paci---and with a claim, which Henry fitzEmpress recognized, to the 'stewardship of England and Normandy'...."  (Loyd, p. 15)

Notes:  "Under his father's will, Robert received the family lands in England, including the earldom of Leicester, but in 1121 his marriage to Amice, heiress of Breteuil, brought him a strategically important fief in Normandy...."  (Tyerman, p. 124) 

AMICIE DE COURTENAY (1250-1275)

Proprietary Title:  Lady of Conches  

Parents/Pedigree:  Daughter of Pierre I of Courtenay, Lord of Conches Partner/Progeny:  Married as his 1st wife in 1262 Robert II of Artois (1250-1302), with whom she had an only child, Philippe of Artois (1269-1298), who succeeded her mother in 1275 as Lord of Conches.  (FMG - Northern France Nobility)

Ana de Mendoza y de la Cerda (1540-1592)

Proprietary Title:  Princess of Eboli, 2nd Princess of Melito, 3rd Countess of Melito, 3rd Countess of Aliano, Marchioness of Algecilla, 2nd Duchess of Francavilla, Duchess of Pastrana

ANA DE MENDOZA

Parents/Pedigree:  Daughter of Iñigo López de Mendoza (1536-1601), 5. conde de Saldaña, 5. duque del Infantado, 6.marqués de Santillana, 5. marqués de Argüeso, 5. marqués de Campoo, 6. conde del Real de Manzanares, 16. señor de la casa de Mendoza, señor de la casa de la Vega, 8. señor de Hita y Buitrago, señor de las Hermandades de Alava (1593), gentilhombre de la cámara del rey Felipe II, a quién acompañó en Inglaterra 1553, and of Luisa Enríquez de Cabrera (d.1603), daughter of Luis Enríquez, 2. duque de Medina del Río Seco and of Ana de Cabrera y Moncada (d. 1565), vizcondesa de Cabrera y Bas, condesa de Modica.

Partners/Progeny:  Married (1) in 1581 Rodrigo de Mendoza (d.1587), de los 4. condes de Saldaña, with issue; (2) in 1593, Juan Hurtado de Mendoza (1555-1624), 2. duque de Mandas y Villanueva (1617), 2. marqués de Terranova, duque del Infantado (maritale nomine), cab, gentilhombre de la cámara del rey Felipe III, Mayordomo mayor y consejero de Estado y de Guerra 

Notes:  "...Ruy Gomez accepted the office of governor to the prince Don Carlos.  His marriage with the richest lady in Spain, Dona Ana de Mendoza, daughter and sole heiress of Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, conde de Melito, was subsequently accomplished by the favour and direct interposition of the sovereign.  The fortunate Ruy Gomez was, moreover, himself decorated with the title of conde de Melito, on the elevation of the father of his bride, to the rank of duque de Francavilla;  a title conceded in acknowledgment of Don Diego's acquiescence in the union of his heiress with Philip's Portuguese protege."  (Freer, pp. 165-166) 

Anastasia de Montfort (1274-1345)

Proprietary Titles: Countess of Nola, 1291; Lady of Chantilly; Lady of Lonjumeau; Lady of Sovana  

Parents/Pedigree: Daughter Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola, and Margherita Aldobrandesca (c1255-after 1313), Countess of Sovana and Pitigliano, heiress of a branch of the Aldobrandeschi family.

Patrimony/Properties:  Being the eldest daughter and heiress, Anastasia brought the rich Aldobrandeschi and Sovana inheritances into the Orsini family. Partner/Progeny:  She married in 1293 Romano Orsini (1268-1327), Senator of Rome,  with whom she had 4 sons and 3 daughters, among them were:  Roberto Orsini (1295-1345), Count of Nola; Guido Orsini (d. after 1348), Count of Pitigliano; and Giovanna Orsini, married in 1334 Niccolo Caetani with whom she had issue. "Guy was deprived of his lands on the day of the murder at Viterbo, 13 March, 1271. It is not yet certain when they were restored to him. Some of them were certainly administered, during Guy's captivity (from June, 1287), by procuratores, on behalf of Guy or his daughter, Anastasia, the wife (1293) of Romanello, son of Gentile Orsini. On 28 October, 1293, Anastasia was restored to Nola, Cicala, Atripalda, Forino and Monforte. On 27 May, 1294, a royal privilegium definitely granting them to Romanello was issued." (Powicke, p. 88) 

Notes:  "Guy was deprived of his lands on the day of the murder at Viterbo, 13 March, 1271.  It is not yet certain when they were restored to him.  Some of them were certainly administered during Guy's captivity (from June, 1287), by procuratores, on behalf of Guy or his daughter, Anastasia, the wife (1293) of Romanello, son of Gentile Orsini.  On 28 October, 1293, Anastasia was restored to Nola, Cicale, Atripalda, Forino, and Montefiore.  On 27 May, 1294, a royal privilegium, definitely granting them to Romanello was issued."  (Powicke, p. 88)

ANDREE DE VIVONNE

Notes:  "...Francis, the sixth seigneur and second Duke de la Rochefoucauld, was born 15th December 1613... [I]n 1628, he had married at Mirebeau a rich and beautiful heiress of Burgundy, Andree de Vivonne, only daughter of Andre de Vivonne, Baron of Berandiere and Chasteigneraye, Grand Falconer of France, Captain in the Guards of the Queen-Mother, Marie de' Medici, Councillor of State, and one of the most trusty followers of Henry IV...."  (Stone, Vol. 1, p. 127) 

Anicella de Fezensac

Proprietary Title:  Countess of Fezensac

Anna van Borssele (c1471-1518)

Proprietary Title:  Lady of Veere and of Vlissingen.

Parents/Pedigree:  [She] "...was the daughter of Wolfart VI van Borssele (d.1486) and Charlotte de Bourbon. Her first marriage was to Philip of Burgundy, a son of Anthony of Burgundy, 'le Grand Batard.'.... [L]ess that amonth after the death of Anna's father..., the young couple was installed as lord and lady of Veere. (Bietenholz, et. al., pp. 173-174)

Notes:  "BERSALA, ANN, Daughter and principal heiress of Wolfard de Borselle, and of Charlotte de Bourbon-Montpensier, who was married June the 17th., 1468; she was wife of Philip of Burgundy, son of Anthony of Burgundy, Lord of Bevres, of the illegitimate sons of the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good. She brought to him, for her dowry, the lordship of Vere, that of Flushing, and some others, and had by him one son and two daughters. Erasmus had a peculiar esteem for her. He thus writes to a friend:—"We came to Anne, Princess of Vere. Why should I say anything to you of this lady's complaisance, Benignity, or liberality? I know the embellishments of rhetoricians are suspected, especially by those who are not unskilled in those arts. But, believe me, I am so far here from enlarging, that it is above the reach of our art. Never did nature produce anything more modest, more wise, or more obliging. She was so generous to me—she loaded me with so many benefits, without my seeking them! It has happened to me, my Battus, with regard to her, as it often used to happen with regard to you, that I begin to love and admire most when I am absent. Good God, what candour, what complaisance in the largest fortune, what evenness of mind in the greatest injuries, what cheerfulness in such great cares, what constancy of mind, what innocence of life, what encouragement of learned men, what affability to all!" (Adams, p. 105) 

ANNA VAN NOORDWIJK 

Proprietary Title:  Lady of Obdam, Hensbroek, Spanbroek and Opmeer in West-Friesland.

Notes:  "...In 1503, on his second marriage, the second son, Gijsbrecht, lord of Den Bossche, took as his wife the heiress Anna van Noordwijk, lady of Obdam, Hensbroek, Spanbroek and Opmeer in West-Friesland...."  (van Nierop, p. 16)

ANNA VAN NASSAU-DILLENBURG (1441-1514)

Power Exercised:  Duchess-Regent of Brunswick-Luneburg

[She]...survived a poisoning attempt right before her second marriage to become a successful regent, developing sound financial policies that her successors continued." See (p. 318)

ANNA VON HALICH (Galicia)

Power Exercised:  Regent of Halich and Volhynia, 1205-1214

Progeny/Posterity:  She was the wife of Roman Mystaslavych (1160-1205), also known as Roman the Great, with whom she had 4 children including Danylo and Vasylko.

Notes:  "Most princesses and noblewomen used their energies to support the interests of their principalities. Once such woman was Anna Romanovna, the wife of the prince of Galich, of the late twelfth and early thirtheenth century. In widowhood, she enjoyed the support of only a small portion of the nobility in her efforts to develop Galich's growth, commerce, and international stature. In the short period of her ascendancy, she succeeded in negotiating treaties with Hungary, Lithuania, and Poland on an equal basis. When a coup d'etat deprived her of her throne, she fled, according to one chronicle account, 'through a gap in the city wall' to Poland... (B)ut in exile she planned to return with her former allies. She sent notice to her enemies in Galich that she 'wanted to rule by herself' and was determined to do so. It took Anna nearly forty years to achieve her goal. Finally she did, with the support of the neighboring states with which she had previously concluded treaties of mutual aid. King Andrew II of Hungary provided the most assistance... Anna ordered the arrest of the boyars who had opposed her and the confiscation of their property. Once restored to power, Anna devoted herself to expanding the territory of her principality, annexing several small cities on the eastern frontier of Galicia: Tikhoml, Peremysl, and Vladimir-in-Volhynia. In 1214, she decided to transfer the throne to her sons, dictating terms to them in the same way she determined the distribution of her property." (Pushkareva and Levin, 1997, pp. 18-19)

ANNA VON KONIGSTEIN-EPPSTEIN

Proprietary Title:  Heiress

Progeny/Posterity:  Married in 1500 married Count Botho of Stolberg. (Bietenholz, et. al., p. 136).

ANNA VON NEUFFEN (1327-1380)

Parents/Pedigree: Sole heiress of Berthold V of Neuffen and Elisabeth of Truhendingen.  

Progeny/Posterity: Married in 1360, Friedrich (1339-1393), Duke of Bavaria, 1375, with whom she had an only child, Elisabeth (1361-1382) who married Marco Visconti, Lord of Parma.

Notes:  "...Swabian nobleman Berthold of Neuffen [was the] heir to the county of Marstetten.  Louis the Bavarian appointed him imperial vicar in Lombardy,  captain of Upper Bavaria, advocate of Ottobeuren in Swabia, and Landrichter of the Franconian county of Graisbach.  His daughter and sole heiress Anna married a grandson of Louis the Bavarian with a view to creating Graisbach and Marstetten as the appanage of their line, but their only child Elizabeth went to Italy to marry Marco Visconti and died young."  (Arnold, p. 213) 

 ANNA VON PRUSSIA (1576-1625)

Notes:  "Eleonora of Cleve was the sister of the last Duke of Julich.  Her only child, Anne, was, therefore, the heiress of the duchy of Prussia, and of the Julich duchies, comprising the duchies of Julich, Cleve, and Berg, and the counties Mark, Ravensberg, and Ravenstein.  As stated in the text, Anne had married John Sigismund, grandson of the then ruling Elector of Brandenburg."  (Malleson, p. 235)

Notes:  "...[T]he marriage between John Sigismund and Anna also opened up the prospect of a new and rich inheritance in the west.  Anna was not only the daughter of the Duke of Prussia, but also the niece of yet another insane German duke, John William of Julich-Kelve, whose territories encompassed the Rhenish duchies of Julich,Kleve (Cleves) and Berg and the counties of Mark and Ravensberg.  Anna's mother, Maria Eleonora, was the eldest sister of John William.  The relationship of her mother's side would have counted for little, had it not been for a pact within the house of Julich-Kleve that allowed the family's properties and titles to pass down the female line.  This unusual arrangement made Anna of Prussia her uncle's heiress, and this established her husband, John Sigismund of Brandenburg, as a claimant to the lands of Julich-Kleve...."  (Clark, p. 10)

ANNA VON ZAHRINGEN

Notes: "The house of Kyburg, one of the most powerful in all Helvetia, had, besides its own possessions in Thurgau, acquired by marriage the extensive domains of the extinct house of Lenzburg, in Aargau, and the country of Zug.  Ulrich of Kyburg married Anne, sister to Berthold V, last duke of Zahringen.  By the death of the latter without issue in 1218, the whole rich inheritance of the house of Zahringen fell into the house of Kyburg, including the counties of Thun, of Berthoud, the town of Freyburg, and the landgravite of Burgundy.  Ulrich and Anne left two sons and a daughter;  Hedwige, the latter married Albert, count of Habsburg, by whom she had Rudolph, afterwards emperor, and head of the house of Austria.  By this marriage, and the subsequent death, in 1264, of Hedwige's brother, Hartmann of Kyburg, called 'the old,' whose estates were left to his nephew Rudolph, the paramount greatness of the house of Habsburg was established in Helvetia.  That house was possessed already of part of Aargau, and of the wardenship of Bipp, Falkenstein, Bechburg, Olten, and Soleure.  Rudolph of Habsburg now inherited the bulk of the united patrimonies of the houses of Lenzburg, Kyburg, and Zahringen, in which spendid inheritances were included the greater part of Thurgau, Zurichgau, Oechtland, Zug, the towns of Sursee, Sempach, and Winterthur,the counties of Baden and Lenzburg, in Aargau, the wardenship of the convent of Seckingen and Glaris, and the Landgraviate of Burgundy, from Thun to Aarwangen...."  (Vieusseux, p. 34)

ANNA OF TEBIZOND (d.1342)

Proprietary Title:  Empress of Trebizond, 1341-1342 

Anna von Veldenz (1390-1439)

Notes:  Heiress of Friedrich III of Veldenz whose marriage to Stefan of Palatinate-Simmern-Zweibrucken brought the county to the Wittelsbachs in 1444. Anna also had half of the rights to the undivided County of Sponheim. Her eldest son, Friedrich I of Zweibrucken, inherited the Sponheim portion while Veldenz went to his brother Ludwig I.

ANNA DALASSENA (c1025/30-1000/02)

Mother of the Comneni 

Power Exercised:  Regent of the Byzantine Empire, c1081-1082

ANNA PALAEOLOGINA

Power Exercised:  Despina-Regent of Epirus, 1335-1340

ANNA FRANCECA PINELLI RACASCHIERI FIESCHI (1702-1779)

Proprietary Title:  6th Princess of Belmonte,5th Duchess of Acerenza, 8th Marchioness of Galatone, 5th Countess of Copertino, 7th Baroness of Badolato, Signore di Veglie, Leverano, San Cosimo etc.  

Parents/Pedigree:  Daughter of Oronzo Pinelli Ravaschieri Fieschi, 5th Prince of Belmonte, and of Violante di Sangro.  

Progeny/Posterity:  Married, in 1721, Antonio Pignatelli y de Vaez (1685-1771), 1st Prince of the Holy Roman Empire; their son Antonio II Pignatelli Pinelli Ravaschieri Fieschi became the 7th Prince of Belmonte.

ANNA MARIA RAVASCHIERI FIESCHI (d.1685)

[Belmonte Profile]

Proprietary Title:  3rd Princess of Belmonte

Parents/Pedigree:  Daughter of Orazio Giovan Battista Ravaschieri Fiesche, 1st Prince of Belmonte, and of Anna Maria Caracciolo Pisquizi di Sicignano. Progeny/Posterity:  Married Cosimo Squarciafico Pinelli, 2nd Duke of Acerenza; their sons: Galeazzo Gaetano were 4th Prince of Belmonte, Oronzo Pinelli Ravaschieri Fieschi, 5th Prince of Belmonte. 

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REFERENCES

Freeman, Edward (1869).The History of the Norman Conquest of England, Its Causes and Its Results (Vol. III). Oxford: Clarendon Press.