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Twelfth-Century English Queens: Charters and Authority

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Twelfth-Century English Queens: Charters and Authority 1 Twelfth-century English queens: charters and authority M. Phil. Medieval History 2010 Lida Sophia Townsley, B.A., M.A. Supervised by: Dr. David Ditchburn and Dr. Peter Crooks Trinity College, Dublin 2 Declaration of originality I hereby declare that this thesis has not been submitted as an exercise for a degree at this or any other university, and that it is entirely the work of my own research, except as cited in reference. _____________________________________________ 3 Summary This thesis examines the authority of the first five English queens of the twelfth century, as seen through the English charters from this period. Surveying the charters issued by, witnessed by, and mentioning Matilda of Scotland, Adeliza of Louvain, Matilda of Boulogne, Empress Matilda, and Eleanor of Aquitaine provides a glimpse into the authority held and exercised by each. The definition for authority employed for this investigation includes a provision concerning not only actions but also means of action. Those means of action are seen here as preconditions for authority. Three preconditions are analyzed, namely alliances through dowries, land through dowers, and wealth through Queen's Gold. Once this basis for authority has been established, the authority itself is appraised. The charters are divided into two main categories for this study: those the queens issued themselves, and those they witnessed. The charters for which a queen was 'actor' are examined first, numerically, chronologically, and contextually, with a clear emphasis on the beneficiaries. Then, the charters witnessed by each queen are examined, based on the same criteria. What this material together shows is that there was little of a defined role for the queens in the administration of the kingdom, and that they all exercised their authority, to varying extents and at diverse periods of their reign. 4 Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge my supervisors here at Trinity College, Dublin, Dr. David Ditchburn and Dr. Peter Crooks, and offer my thanks for their dedication. I am very grateful for all the advice, support, and suggestions I received from my colleagues, Ute Kühlmann and Sarah Connolly, in the hours we spent discussing my topic and the general difficulties in writing a thesis. I could not have made it through this process without all the encouragement and laughter with which you provided me. Thank you. Thanks are definitely also owed to Casey Lozier, Catherine Roe, and Nella Porqueddu for all their positive distractions and commiserations. Knowing we were all in this together was a great help for me. Thank you. I am extraordinarily grateful to Salvatore Platania, who read through draft after draft after draft of each chapter of this thesis, checking the clarity of the writing and offering his suggestions on different points I made. Your patience with me and all the help you offered is greatly appreciated. Thank you. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank, with all my heart, my parents, for their continued encouragement and support, both emotional and financial. You have done so much for me, helping me find my way in the world and inspiring me to follow my dreams. Much love and many thanks to you, Momma, Foss, Nettie, Pop, and Sarah. 5 Table of Contents Abbreviations......................................................................................................................6 Introduction: Authority.......................................................................................................8 The queens: an overview...............................................................................................9 Queenly power: historiography....................................................................................10 Charters: authority in dialogue.....................................................................................14 'Actor', witness, and mention.......................................................................................16 Chapter 1: Preconditions for authority.............................................................................19 Authority through allies: dowries................................................................................21 Authority through land: dowers...................................................................................25 Authority through wealth: Queen's Gold.....................................................................29 Chapter conclusion.......................................................................................................32 Chapter 2: Queens as 'actor'..............................................................................................33 Issuing charters: active in administration....................................................................33 Beneficiaries: intercession and alliances.....................................................................39 Lost and confirmations: qualified authority.................................................................44 Chapter conclusion.......................................................................................................46 Chapter 3: Queens as witness...........................................................................................48 Charters witnessed: supportive queens........................................................................50 Beneficiaries: individuals and religious houses...........................................................54 Changing perspective: referenced queens....................................................................57 Chapter conclusion.......................................................................................................59 Conclusion........................................................................................................................61 Appendices.......................................................................................................................65 1 Genealogy................................................................................................................65 2 Charter graphs: Percentage per role.........................................................................66 2.1 Matilda of Scotland..........................................................................................66 2.2 Adeliza of Louvain...........................................................................................66 2.3 Empress Matilda...............................................................................................67 2.4 Matilda of Boulogne........................................................................................67 2.5 Eleanor of Aquitaine........................................................................................68 3 Charters issued by the queens..................................................................................69 3.1 Matilda of Scotland..........................................................................................69 3.2 Adeliza of Louvain...........................................................................................70 3.3 Empress Matilda...............................................................................................71 3.4 Matilda of Boulogne........................................................................................74 3.5 Eleanor of Aquitaine........................................................................................75 4 Dower lands held by queens-consort, in England....................................................76 5 Ecclesiastical map of the British Isles in the Middle Ages......................................77 5.1 Known dower lands marked where possible....................................................77 6 Coinage....................................................................................................................78 6.1 Map of Empress Matilda's coin minting locations...........................................78 6.2 Empress Matilda's coins...................................................................................79 Bibliography.....................................................................................................................80 Primary sources............................................................................................................80 Secondary sources........................................................................................................83 Abbreviations 6 Abbreviations Acta I Acta of Henry II and Richard I: Hand-list of documents surviving in the original repositories in the United Kingdom, part 1, ed. Holt & Mortimer. Volume 21 in List and Index Society, Special Series (London, 1986). Acta II Acta of Henry II and Richard I: A supplementary handlist of documents surviving in the original in repositories in the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Belgium, and the USA, part 2, ed. Nicholas Vincent. Volume 27 in List and Index Society, Special Series (London, 1996). Ancient charters Ancient charters, royal and private prior to A.D. 1200, part I, ed. and annot. John Horace Round (London, 1888). Bec cart. Select documents of the English lands of the abbey of Bec, ed. Marjorie Chibnall, Camden Society Third Series, vol. 73 (London, 1951). Boxgrove cart. Cartulary of the priory of Boxgrove, ed. Lindsay Fleming, Sussex Record Society, Vol. 54 (Cambridge, 1960). Chichester cart. The cartulary of the High Church of Chichester, ed. W.D. Peckham, Sussex Record Society,
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