Medieval Queens

Throughout the Middle Ages, women held important leadership positions in royal settings, serving as queen consorts, regnants, regents, and dowagers, among others. The upcoming issue of Medieval World: Culture & Conflict features an article on queenship and power in the global Middle Ages, written by Gabrielle 'Gabby' Storey.

From Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122/24–1204) to Empress Ki of China (1315–1369), and from Empress Theophanu (ca. 955–991) to Blanche of Castile (1188–1252), queens wield authority in all centers of the medieval world. Their fascinating stories remain to be uncovered and written in full.  

In addition to reading the upcoming magazine article to learn more about medieval queens, check out Team Queens! This is a digital global queenship project run by #teamqueens, a collective of scholars working on queenship who are passionate about bringing biographies of female rulers from around the globe and across time to a wider audience.

The project can be found on Twitter and Instagram @teamqueenshist, and on the website teamqueens.org. Biographies of queens are shortly due to be held on the website as a permanent resource. The website also features blog posts including specialist research from the team members and guest contributors, alongside book, film, and exhibition reviews. The site currently provides a growing and updated list of resources for the wider public and scholars interested in queenship in the Middle Ages and beyond.

Team Queens was founded by Gabrielle 'Gabby' Storey in 2020 (@GabbyStorey | gabriellestorey.com). The project builds upon a community of queenship scholars that began under Elena Woodacre. 

Key titles on global queens and queenship by Elena Woodacre include A Companion to Global Queenship (2018) and Queens and Queenship (2021).