Talk: The shape of a queen’s authority

Mathilda of Flanders’ body and the Norman Conquest

Dr. Laura L Gathagan, professor of history at SUNY Cortland, visits the University of Richmond for a talk on her scholarship on queenship and Mathilda of Flanders:

The Norman conquest of 1066 changed the face of Europe. Mathilda of Flanders was the duchess of Normandy and, after 1066, the conquest queen of England. Mathilda's consciousness of her own royal body functioned as an instrument of rule. Royal authority—so often assumed to be masculine in the modern world—was made visible and legitimate in her person. In a series of masterful and sophisticated strategies, Mathilda demonstrated how a queen’s authority could shape a new polity that challenged and even enraged her enemies.

Co-sponsored by the University of Richmond Humanities Center and Department of History.