The Queens and Royal Women of Sweden, c. 970–1330: Their Lives, Power, and Legacy

By Caroline Wilhelmsson

Routledge
ISBN: 9781032491172

Over thirty Swedish queens are profiled in this book, the first major study of royal women in Sweden between the 10th and 14th centuries. It offers new insights into the evolution of medieval queenship.

Excerpt:

No monograph, in either English or Swedish, has been written before about the Swedish queens of that period. While there have been studies concerning elite women in medieval  Scandinavia, especially in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, very little has been written about royal women. This is partly the result of limited sources, but is also due to traditional and outdated dis‑courses which ignored women’s capabilities and framed them as secondary to their husbands, and powerless. Many undoubtedly were: medieval society was highly patriarchal, and most women never reached their full potential as the constraints of the world they lived in hampered their personal ambitions. However, to think that Swedish queens were powerless would be factually untrue, and it is time to revise the outdated view that powerful female leaders were rare and exceptional in the Middle Ages.

As will become clear in this book, many directly influenced Swedish politics, religion, and culture; and helped shape a monarchy which aimed to emulate European examples. This is the interesting fact about medieval Swedish queens (and, indeed, many others across Europe): most were not Swedish at all and instead brought with them their own customs, education, and prestige. This book, therefore, will be telling the stories of several generations of women without whom Sweden would not have become the powerful, sophisticated, and Europeanised kingdom that it had become by the end of the Middle Ages.

Who is this book for?

Truly a book that has not been written before, this book will be an excellent resource for those intersted in either medieval Sweden and its politics, or in medieval queenship.

“This book educates and inspires, underscoring the importance of preserving and studying the legacies of women whose contributions have too often been overlooked. Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of medieval queenship and the intricate tapestry of European history should delight in this recommended textbook.” ~ review by Kimberly Anne in World History Encyclopedia

The Author

Caroline Wilhelmsson is an Assistant Curator at the Tower of London. You can listen to Carole in this episode on Medieval Queenship from The Royal Studies Podcast.

You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website.

You can buy this book on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk