Publisher Description

This collection brings a transcultural and transnational perspective to the study of early modern women rulers and female sovereignty, a topic that has until now been examined through the lens of a single nation. Contributors to the volume juxtapose rulers from different countries, including well-known sovereigns such as Isabel of Castile and Elizabeth Tudor, as well as other less widely studied figures Isabeau of Bavaria, Jeanne d'Albret, Isabel Clara Eugenia, Juana of Austria, and Catherine of Brandenburg. Several essays also focus on the representations of foreign rulers such as Catherine de' Medici in England and Elizabeth I in France. Drawing on early modern literature and historical documents, this study investigates the various political, discursive, and symbolic measures employed to negotiate and support female sovereignty by both early modern writers and the rulers themselves. The detailed analysis of the women's responses--or inability to respond--to these strictures underscores the relationship between early modern authors and sovereigns and the complex and vexed situation of European women rulers. Contributors are Tracy Adams, Anne J. Cruz, Éva Deák, Mary C. Ekman, Catherine L. Howey, Elizabeth Ketner, Carole Levin, Sandra Logan, Magdalena S. Sánchez, Mihoko Suzuki, and Barbara F. Weissberger.

Notes

A transnational comparison of women rulers and women's sovereignty throughout Europe from the late medieval period.

Author Biography

Anne J. Cruz is a professor of Spanish in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Miami. Mihoko Suzuki is a professor of English and the director of the Center for the Humanities at the University of Miami.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments   vii
Introduction   1 Anne J. Cruz and Mihoko SuzukiPART 1: THE RULE OF WOMEN: THEORIES AND CONSTRUCTION
1. Notions of Late Medieval Queenship: Christine de Pizan's Isabeau of Bavaria   13 Tracy Adams 2. "Satisfaite de soy en soy mesme": The Politics of Self-Representation in Jeanne d'Albret's Ample déclaration   30 Mary C. Ekman 3. Tanto monta: The Catholic Monarchs' Nuptial Fiction and the Power of Isabel 1 of Castile   43 Barbara F. Weissberger 4. Sword and Wimple: Isabel Clara Eugenia and Power   64 Magdalena S. Sánchez 5. "Princeps non Principissa": Catherine of Brandenburg, Elected Prince of Transylvania (1629-30)   80 Éva Deák
  PART II: SOVEREIGNTY AND REPRESENTATION
6. Juana of Austria: Patron of the Arts and Regent of Spain, 1554-59   103 Anne J. Cruz 7. Elizabeth I as Sister and "Loving Kinswoman"   123 Carole Levin 8. Fashioning Monarchy: Women, Dress, and Power at the Court of Elizabeth I, 1558-1603   142 Catherine L. Howey 9. Thrice Royal Queen: Katherine de Valois and the Tudor Monarchy in Henry V and Englands Heroicall Epistles   157 Sandra Logan 10. Warning Elizabeth with Catherine de' Medici's Example: Anne Dowriche's French Historie and the Politics of Counsel   174 Mihoko Suzuki 11. History, Power, and the Representation of Elizabeth I in La Princesse de Clèves   194 Elizabeth Ketner Selected Bibliography   205
Index   217

Review

"This valuable collection of theoretically engaged and empirically grounded essays greatly broadens scholarly understanding of late medieval and early modern women and rulership in Europe, shifting the focus from the masculinist political-religious discussion to a feminine perspective." Theresa Earenfight, editor of Queenship and Political Power in Medieval and Early Modern Spain

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A transnational comparison of women rulers and women's sovereignty throughout Europe

Long Description

A transnational comparison of women rulers and women's sovereignty throughout Europe.This collection brings a transcultural and transnational perspective to the study of early modern women rulers and female sovereignty, a topic that has until now been examined through the lens of a single nation. Contributors to the volume juxtapose rulers from different countries, including well-known sovereigns such as Isabel of Castile and Elizabeth Tudor, as well as other less widely studied figures Isabeau of Bavaria, Jeanne d'Albret, Isabel Clara Eugenia, Juana of Austria, and Catherine of Brandenburg. Several essays also focus on the representations of foreign rulers such as Catherine de' Medici in England and Elizabeth I in France. Drawing on early modern literature and historical documents, this study investigates the various political, discursive, and symbolic measures employed to negotiate and support female sovereignty by both early modern writers and the rulers themselves. The detailed analysis of the women's responses--or inability to respond--to these strictures underscores the relationship between early modern authors and sovereigns and the complex and vexed situation of European women rulers. Contributors are Tracy Adams, Anne J. Cruz,

Review Text

''This valuable collection of theoretically engaged and empirically grounded essays greatly broadens scholarly understanding of late medieval and early modern women and rulership in Europe, shifting the focus from the masculinist political-religious discussion to a feminine perspective.'' Theresa Earenfight, editor of Queenship and Political Power in Medieval and Early Modern Spain

Review Quote

"This valuable collection of theoretically engaged and empirically grounded essays greatly broadens scholarly understanding of late medieval and early modern women and rulership in Europe, shifting the focus from the masculinist political-religious discussion to a feminine perspective."--Theresa Earenfight, editor of Queenship and Political Power in Medieval and Early Modern Spain

Description for Bookstore

This collection brings a transnational perspective to the study of early modern women rulers and female sovereignty, a topic that has until now been examined through the lens of a single nation. Contributors juxtapose rulers from different countries, including well-known sovereigns such as Isabel of Castile and Elizabeth Tudor, as well as other less widely studied figures Isabeau of Bavaria, Jeanne d'Albret, Isabel Clara Eugenia, Juana of Portugal, and Catherine of Brandenburg. Several essays also focus on the representations of foreign rulers such as Catherine de' Medici in England and Elizabeth I in France. Contributors are Tracy Adams, Anne J. Cruz,

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