Illustrious ladies: Birgittine models of authority and female rulership in the late Middle Ages

The purpose of the project has been to analyse the conditions for female political power during the later Middle Ages. The point of departure is that during the later Middle Ages we observe a change in the overall structures of political power. Individuals and groups who hitherto had little or no chance of participating in the political discourse could now make their voices heard. This applied to women, but also groups that had not been able to participate in political events. The religious sphere also underwent a transformation whereby the space for interaction was widened, and female visionaries became more prominent than before.

We see several examples in the Nordic region, from the middle of the 14th century, of women creating a much stronger power base for themselves than before. Birgitta Birgersdotter, who became the only canonized saint from Sweden, generated a large and influential body of literature in the form of Revelations, letters, canonization material and miracle stories. In the material she advocated a strong female authority in spiritual as well as worldly matters. This position was motivated and legitimized by invoking the example of the Virgin Mary, who had ruled as queen of Heaven. In the project, the life and career of Birgitta Birgersdotter is connected with three other powerful women. Queen Blanche of Namur (c. 1320-1363) and saint Birgitta collaborated closely from the late 1330s onwards and to the end of the 1340s. The connection between the queen and the visionary is discussed as a necessary precondition for the development of the authority and influence of both women. The daughter of Birgitta Birgersdotter, Märta Ulfsdotter, was later lady in waiting to the young queen Margareta I (1353-1412), who developed a unique power base in the Nordic realms. The project ends with an analysis of the power of Queen Philippa (1394-1430). She linked herself to Vadstena abbey and the Birgittine order in a close and mutual cooperation, which gave her a strong position and a very positive legacy.

The study has depended on several kinds of source material, and has also been analysed as a series of stories about these women, told from the Middle Ages until our day. The Sabbatical grant is unique in Swedish funding as it seeks to give time for finalizing the writing of research that has already been conducted for some time. Nevertheless it has been possible to achieve new results and to develop a deeper and more complex understanding of the research question over time. These results can be summed up as three distinct themes.
 
First of all, an intensive survey of the earlier research and of the late medieval and early modern material regarding the four women that they have all been the subject of repetitive and stereotypical history writing that can be traced back to their own contemporary observers. Saint Birgitta and queen Philippa have mainly been portrayed in a positive light, and presented as examples for later women to emulate, although there is also a parallel tradition of strongly critical portrayal of the saint. The mainly positive legacy has been further underlined by their roles as symbols in the female emancipation movements of the past 150 years. Queen Margareta has on her part mainly been portrayed as someone unique, with a special status within Nordic political history. This is not without good reason. Queen Blanche, on the other hand, has been described as a weak queen and the criticism levelled against her, primarily in the 1360s and 1370s, that is after her death, have been the basis of the most current portrayals of her. The strong influence she exercised during the 1340s and the close collaboration with Birgitta Birgersdotter has not been highlighted or has been used as a prelude to understanding the conflicts of later decades. In the coming monograph this historical tradition, and the positive as well as the negative stereotypes regarding these female rulers will have a more prominent place than in the original plan. A more nuanced analysis will replace an older, repetitive tradition.
 
Secondly, the networks of the women, in terms of relatives and friends, is now a more decisive factor in the analysis than originally envisioned. An example might illustrate this aspect. When saint Birgitta received her calling vision in the middle of the 1340s, she was in the city of Arras in Flanders. This is emphasised in the Revelations as well as in the material assembled for the canonization process. That region, namely Artois, was ruled at the time by the extended family of Queen Blanche. Widening the analysis to include a wider circle of familial ties has deepened the understanding of the transnational networks of these high-born ladies. The geographic mobility and the specific places that are connected with specific encounters, Revelations and reports can be understood in a different light if the close relationship between the queen and the future saint is taken seriously. The relations of the queen and their political strategies then become part of the political aspirations and interests of the Nordic regents – and therefore also their close associate, their lady in waiting.

Thirdly, the project depended on a theoretical model that emphasised the changing conditions for female political communication and choices during the period c. 1330-1430. This is still a fundamental structure in the analysis, but the differences between the four women is just as interesting. Whereas Queen Blanche and Queen Philippa are more alike, both powerful within the contexts of their royal marriages where they were co-regents and sometimes vice-regents to their husbands, Queen Margareta and Saint Birgitta represent a separate category. They are independent widows with their own agendas. Both have generated considerably more ample and complex source material than the first two, and also inspired more intensive scientific research. This came as no surprise, but the project has developed a more nuanced analysis of the agents where differences as well as similarities are discussed.

New research questions
The project has generated a new understanding of the mechanisms behind the lack of impact of women’s and gender history on the master historical narrative. Despite decades of progress the master narrative remains largely male-dominated, with a few exceptional women added as illustrations of exceptions to the rule. The tendency to maintain traditional methodology and interpretations has been illuminated and led to an understanding of the importance of taking on greater structural discussions in future research.

International collaborations
An important aspect of the project was to collaborate with international research environments. During the academic year 2015-2016 I was guest at the Saxo Institute at the University of Copenhagen, where there is a medievalist seminar and several researchers who work on questions relating to power, resources, gender and text production during the Middle Ages. I also visited the medievalists at the University of Southern Denmark (Odense) and collaborated with researchers at the National Museum in Copenhagen. To deepen the perspective on the familial ties and background of Queen Blanche and her transnational network in Namur, Artois and other parts of the region that is in the intersection of the Low Countries and northern France I visited the universities of Leiden and Louvain-la-Neuve. In September 2016 I worked in Paris, primarily to deepen the French context of the project. During Michaelmas term 2016 I was Academic Visitor at Somerville College, oxford, where there is a strong medievalist group of researchers. All together the project has been embedded in several international research environments.

In Copenhagen I discussed my research with Associate Professor Carsten Jahnke, who analyses the power and position of queens using later examples. I also collaborated with, among others, museum curator Vivian Etting , who has written prolifically on Queen Margareta. In Leiden my chief contact is professor Jeroen Duindam, specialist on early modern court culture and politics. In Louvain-la-Neuve my primary interlocutor is professor Gilles Lecuppre, who analyses political power as a struggle where both women and men can be taken hostage quite literally. These different interactions with international researchers has also provided important perspectives on the different national frameworks that have informed our understanding of what is essentially transnational phenomena.

In Oxford, dr Benjamin Thompson and Professor Almut Suerbaum, as well as the Somerville Medievalist group and a wide research environment, have been important sounding boards for the project.

I have also presented important aspects of the project at several international conferences, among others:
“Fashioning influence: St Birgitta and the loci of the sacred”, Changing Senses of Sacrality. Objects, Beliefs, and Performances from the Medieval to the Early Modern Era. Helsinki 1-2 December 2016.
 “Illustrious ladies:  Birgittine models of authority and female rulership in the late Medieval Nordic region”, European Social Science History Conference (ESSCH), Valencia 30 March - 2 April 2016. (Session: Territory and Society: Secular and Ecclesiastical Models of Governance in Medieval and Early Modern Europe.)
 “Queens and the troubles of inheritance. Legitimacy and the constructions of succession in Scandinavia, ca 1375-1430”, Dynasty and Dynasticism 1400-1700, Somerville College, University of Oxford, 16 -18 March 2016.
 “Illustrious ladies – Seals and female authority in Sweden, c. 1300-1430”, Seals and Status 800 - 1700, British Museum, 4-6 December 2015.
“En medeltida hjältinnesaga. Kvinnorörelsen och behovet av ny historiekunskap, ca 1859–1921,” Sjätte Nordiska utbildningshistoriska konferensen, Uppsala 20-21 August 2015.
“Illustrious ladies: Birgittine models of authority and female rulership in the late Middle Ages”, XIth Nordic Women’s and Gender History Conference, Stockholm University, 19-21 August 2015.
 “Queen Philippa of Scandinavia, female piety and authority. Two Bohun prayer books and their shifting late medieval contexts”, Kings & Queens 4: Dynastic Changes and Legitimacy, University of Lisbon, 24-27 June 2015.

Dissemination outside the scientific establishment
The results of the project have been communicated to the general public in the form of talks. During the spring of 2016 I participated in a televised symposium arranged by the journal Axcess, where I gave a presentation on the subject “Queen Margareta of the three Nordic realms: a woman in the role of a regent”. The paper will be published in an edited volume, due during the spring 2017. In August 2016 I gave a talk at the Medieval week (Medeltidsveckan) in Visby, Gotland, on the theme “Illustrious ladies: Queens Blanche, Margareta and Philippa during the later middle ages.”

The two main publications
“A Medieval Heroine for the Modern Woman. The Fredrika Bremer Association writes women’s history (c. 1859-1916)”. Scandinavian Journal of History 2017:1, s. 46-70.
The article treats the ways in which the early Women’s movement highlighted medieval female rulers as models and weapons in the quest for female suffrage. The purpose of this specific examination was twofold. Firstly it presents part of the analysis of previous research and historical writing about illustrious medieval ladies, contributing to a deeper understanding of how these have become part of a transmission of stories of heroines and villains from the past. Secondly the purpose is linked to contemporary problems of school-room history almost devoid of women’s history and portraits of influential women.

Illustrious ladies. Birgittine models of authority and female rulership in the Late Middle Ages.
The main publication is a monograph in English which is as yet forthcoming. The monograph will be organized as a chronological presentation, but will also focus on key themes throughout, themes generated by the empirical analysis. The associations of the queens to North European conflicts and competition will be made clear, and thus their importance in political matters will be explained. Moreover the tools at their disposal will be discussed, such as spiritual and secular networks, the importance of family and friends, the role of the royal couple, economic and legal power, ceremonial and chivalrous power, and individual skills.

The publication strategy
The project will chiefly be presented in a monograph. Contact has been established with an English publisher, and the plan is to publish abroad to achieve a greater dissemination among interested scholars and other readers. Moreover an article has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and two texts are to be published in edited collections, of which one is primarily aimed at the greater public. The project is also expected to generate another article in which the travelling strategies and international network of saint Birgitta are discussed more in depth.