Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Letras The power of the Genitrix - Gender, legitimacy and lineage: Emma of Normandy, Urraca of León-Castile and Teresa of Portugal Ana de Fátima Durão Correia Tese orientada pela Profª Doutora Ana Maria S.A. Rodrigues, especialmente elaborada para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em História do Género 2015 Contents Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………. 3-4 Resumo............................................................................................................... 5 Abstract............................................................................................................. 6 Abbreviations......................................................................................................7 Introduction………………………………………………………………..….. 8-20 Chapter 1: Three queens, three lives.................................................................21 -44 1.1-Emma of Normandy………………………………………………....... 21-33 1-2-Urraca of León-Castile......................................................................... 34-39 1.3-Teresa of Portugal................................................................................. 39- 44 Chapter 2: Queen – the multiplicity of a title…………………………....… 45 – 88 2.1 – Emma, “the Lady”........................................................................... 47 – 67 2.2 – Urraca, regina and imperatrix.......................................................... 68 – 81 2.3 – Teresa of Portugal and her path until regina..................................... 81 – 88 Chapter 3: Image representation ……………………………………......… 89 – 114 Chapter 4: Genitrix of Kings: lineage, legitimacy and bloodline ……..... 115 – 142 Conclusion..................................................................................................... 143– 145 Bibliography .................……………………..……….….......................... 146 – 166 2 Acknowledgements No path is without shadows and no task is fulfilled without pains. No road travelled is always full of light, for most of times the brightest beam is found while stumbling through the darkness. It is the journey that truly matters not your destination and a new beginning always starts at the end. In truth, this work is a product of countless hours of procrastination and despair mixed up with mental resilience, determination and inner strength. Losing faith makes a crime and far too many times I lost hope and inspiration writing this work due to countless adversities. But I was fortunate to have incredible people who walked at my side, urging me forward, whether it was with a simple suggestion, a kind word, an incentive talk, a leaning shoulder, or loving arms when I was faithless. Our paths are ours to walk alone but I do not mind to walk alongside these wonderful souls. This work would not have been possible without you so I salute myself and you as well. I express my thanks firstly to my mentor and professor Ana Maria Rodrigues for her wisdom, patience and understanding, but also for the trust she put in my capabilities in pulling this off. Without her guidance and knowledge this project would have died without even having begun. Everyone we encounter during the course of our lives teach us something. Some stay, others part, but the memories we make and the experiences we have help us grow and mature as individuals. Thus to the colleagues and professors (too many names to write it down!), I had the opportunity to meet during academic courses, a big thank you. You gave me more than you will ever know. 3 To my professor and friend Francisco Carromeu, (the first person to tell me straightforwardly “if your passion is History, just follow it!”), your energetic personality, extensive knowledge on several topics and way of teaching turned every history into a story. My mind drank from your teachings and gave me courage to pursue this field of study, though I will permanently remember what you shouted after I had enrolled at the university – “Congratulations! Will it bring food to your plate?”. I do not know at this stage yet professor, but I am willing to find out! There is magic when we believe in the power of dreams. But sometimes we can only begin to believe we can do “six impossible things before breakfast” when someone reminds us to chase them down, no matter how hard it may seem. To my professor Angélica Varandas, I want to express my appreciation for her role in my life, not just the academic life, but personal as well. You have become a friend to me, my “celtic mother”, and I will be forever grateful and proud that our paths have crossed. Your friendly ear and advices mean the world to me. Finally, to those who are dear to me, to my friends. We have come a long way. You always hear me going on and on about how words are my weapon and my curse, how you can only see the “real” me when I write. Now they falter, for no words can express how much your love and companionship were and are important to me. Only one word can convey what we are - “Always”… Lastly, to my parents, who are my beacons and support me in whatever road I travel on. Thank you so much for reminding me of who I am in times when I cannot find myself, for encouraging and giving me sometimes a much needed head-butt (and the “angry talk”!). I know you only want what is best. “Do whatever makes you happy”. I know I will always have a home in your loving arms no matter what happens. I am proud to be your daughter. This work is also for you. 4 Resumo Durante a Idade Média, o papel e poder da mulher como rainha não é só ambíguo e limitado mas também em permanente fluxo de transformação. Para rainhas do século XI e XII, como Emma da Normandia (Emma Ælgifu), Urraca de Leão e Castela e Teresa de Portugal, a afirmação do seu status, tanto real como social, dependia, não só da sua identidade como individuo consagrado e detentor de um cargo, mas também do ofício desempenhado ao lado do elemento masculino. Os mecanismos regentes visavam, em última instância, uma partilha de poder e, porém, os percursos de vida de Emma, Urraca e Teresa e as acções tomadas pelas mesmas afirmaram-nas como autoridades individuais, gerando conflito com o entendimento intelectual e governativo na época, de maioria (se não inteiramente) masculina. Dificuldades de análise e a multiplicidade de papéis e facetas das rainhas da Idade Média tornam necessárias abordagens inovadoras para decorrer sobre esta discussão sobre poderes e títulos. Os estudos de género oferecem possibilidade para construir pontes de diálogo entre culturas, espaços e tempos. As três personagens referidas são precisamente exemplo desta interação. Foram três mulheres, filhas, mães, esposas e rainhas que colocaram modelos e realidades em debate, compelindo a mudanças e/ou adaptações nas regras impostas ao seu género pelos cargos e papéis desempenhados. A fim de melhor compreender o poder destas mulheres e a sua importância para a história e para o género, propomo-nos analisar e contextualizar as várias identidades que se agruparam no título de cada uma das rainhas - domina, mater regis, regina, conlaterana regis, imperatrix - com o objectivo de as enquadrar num espaço de diálogo e interdisciplinaridade entre o mundo Anglo-Saxónico e o Ibérico. Pretende-se igualmente compreender a relação que estabeleceram com os seus filhos como suas genitrix, por modo a verificar qual o contributo e reconhecimento inegável que tiveram na transmissão e legitimação de poderes de gerações futuras. Palavras-chave: género; linhagem; legitimação; regina; genitrix 5 Abstract During the middle Ages, the role and powers of women as queens suggested not only ambiguity and limitation, but also a permanent flux of transformations. For queens of the eleventh and twelfth-century like Emma of Normandy (Emma Ælgifu), Urraca of Leon-Castile and Teresa of Portugal, the confirmation of their status, both royal and social, relied not only on their identity as consecrated individuals and owners of an office, but it also depended on how that office was carried out beside its masculine counterpart. The current mechanisms were designed ultimately for a share in power, and yet the life paths of Emma, Urraca and Teresa and the actions they took confirmed them as individual authorities, generating a conflict with the intellectual and government understanding of their time, in its majority (if not entirely) masculine. Difficulties of analysis and the multiplicity of roles and faces of middle ages’ queens call out for creative approaches especially in discussions concerning powers and titles. Gender studies offer the possibility to build communicational bridges between culture, time and space. These three characters in this study are examples of this interaction. They were three women, daughters, mothers, wives and queens, that forced models and realities into debate, and called out for changes and /or adaptations to rules imposed to their gender by their performed offices and roles. Aiming for a better understanding of the power of these women and its importance to history and to gender, we propose to analyze and contextualize their lives and the various identities that were gathered in the title of each one of the queens – domina, mater regis, regina, conlaterana regis, imperatrix –with the intend to create a space where dialogue and interdisciplinarity between the Anglo-Saxon world and the Iberian can converge. Furthermore, it is our purpose to understand the relationship they established with their sons as their genitrix, and thus verify their part in the transmission of powers and legitimacy