Papers by Phyllis Jestice
Springer eBooks, Dec 31, 2022
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Kaiserliche Damen der ottonischen Dynastie
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The American Historical Review, Oct 1, 2019
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Medieval People, 2020
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This forum grew from a realization that virtually all medievalists who work on medieval women, fa... more This forum grew from a realization that virtually all medievalists who work on medieval women, family, or gender, or on early medieval history, admire the scholarship of Pauline Stafford, particularly her seminal book Queens, Concubines, and Dowagers: The King’s Wife in the Early Middle Ages (QCD), published in 1983 by the University of Georgia Press and reprinted with a new preface in 1998 by Leicester University Press. Over the years, all three editors have talked excitedly with colleagues, sharing stories of how we first read the book or the influence it has had upon our own work. Pauline’s scholarship has spurred many to become medievalists, to study women, queens, and their families, and indeed to see women as a part of the fabric of the medieval world, not as a separate or lesser subject. To younger generations of medievalists, QCD was already a classic and often served as the benchmark against which to measure one’s own scholarly contributions. For these reasons, as the thirt...
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Speculum, 2018
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Wayward Monks and the Religious Revolution of the Eleventh Century, 1997
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This chapter opens with the motif, new in the tenth century, of the Virgin Mary as queen of heave... more This chapter opens with the motif, new in the tenth century, of the Virgin Mary as queen of heaven, demonstrating how images of Mary and the Ottonian queens were conflated. Jestice argues that queens carefully cultivated a reputation for piety, but their virtue was distinctly royal, marked by benefactions that showcased the wealth and prestige of the dynasty. Several imperial ladies won a reputation for sanctity, and Adelheid was formally canonized. This queenly piety became an important political tool, which members of the dynasty were able to use to enhance their position and influence members of their society.
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This chapter examines the political role of Ottonian queens in their husbands’ lifetime. Despite ... more This chapter examines the political role of Ottonian queens in their husbands’ lifetime. Despite the fragmentary nature of the evidence, Jestice argues that the pattern can be seen clearly that Ottonian queens as a matter of course took on an increasingly public role over time. She argues that the title consors regni that was accorded queens was not just an honorific but denoted a real sharing in rule. Over time, the Ottonian queens came to serve as their husbands’ deputies and as “partners” in rule when circumstances warranted.
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Ottonian queens, especially Adelheid and Theophanu, were startlingly wealthy. Their spouses grant... more Ottonian queens, especially Adelheid and Theophanu, were startlingly wealthy. Their spouses granted them a dos of lands and rights upon marriage far greater than their predecessors had enjoyed, and they also brought large dowries to their marriages. Jestice argues in this chapter that queens were able to use and control these resources to reward servants, endow religious houses, and awe observers. These resources gave the Ottonian queens the means to influence others and impose their will far more than their predecessors. This was a conscious Ottonian policy, allowing the queens to play a larger role in governance.
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The Ottonians emphasized the sacrality of the ruler, presenting the anointed and crowned king as ... more The Ottonians emphasized the sacrality of the ruler, presenting the anointed and crowned king as the “anointed of the lord” in a liminal space between God and his subjects. Ottonian women were also anointed and crowned as queens and empresses and Jestice explores the ways in which this unction endowed them with a special charisma. The whole family enjoyed special sacred status, but it was by far the strongest for queens, as can be seen in representational art of the time, especially the ruler portraits that accompanied many benefactions.
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In the epilogue, Jestice pulls together the book’s argument that the women of the Ottonian dynast... more In the epilogue, Jestice pulls together the book’s argument that the women of the Ottonian dynasty were consciously endowed with the means to be effective sharers in the work of rule. Their prestige—both in terms of material wealth and symbolic authority—made them valuable tools of government under ordinary circumstances and preservers of Ottonian rule when the throne crisis of 984 forced them to take center stage.
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Papers by Phyllis Jestice