Examining the Resources and Revenues of Royal Women in Premodern Europe

This research project brings together an international group of researchers to share their research on the economic activities and agency of queens and royal women across premodern Europe. Through a series of workshops and a conference, we will bring together case studies which demonstrate the role of queens and royal women as administrators of large portfolios of landholdings, investors in cultural and business enterprises and financial managers of diverse streams of revenue and complex household budgets. Through the presentations of individual research and group discussions, we will build a better understanding of key themes and issues in the economic aspect of rulership with regards to a variety of royal women including the consorts of sovereign and territorial rulers, regnant queens and dowagers. We will look at trends of continuity and change over time and compare different frameworks for queenly finances. Ultimately, we aim in the next phase of the project to bring this work together into a comprehensive database to map the lands and revenues controlled by royal women and provide links to key documents and evidence to promote further study to help us fill this significant lacuna in the field.
More information and announcements here.

Core research group: Dr Elena Woodacre (Winchester); Dr Charlotte Backerra (Göttingen); Prof Dr Amalie Fößel (Essen); Dr Chloë R. McKenzie (London); Prof Dr Ana Maria S. A. Rodrigues (Lisbon); Dr Cathleen Sarti (Oxford)