Noblewomen: the first ladies
Noblewomen: the first ladies!
by Jan-Olov von Wowern
The role and position of noblewomen in later medieval Europe is
a subject about which comparatively little has been written. The
noblewomen, particularly those of the higher nobility, usually
found themselves in a situation where it was taken for granted
they would marry and strengthen the position of the family by
forming a union with a man of similar (or better) standing.
Then, as now, the importance of the continuation of the family
line was a constant concern. For gentlemen who were "upwardly
mobile" the marriage to a noblewoman of high standing could be
the means of getting estates and allies.
It was not unusual to find noblewomen holding and inheriting
land and estates. She could have inherited them from her father,
brother or a deceased husband, and in many regions this was
fully accepted. The male line in a noble family could become
extinct for a number of reasons: the sons could die on the
battlefield, they could die of one of many diseases, some would
go into the Church and be celibate, etc. So in many cases the
continuation of the entire family depended on the succession
through the female line, which (certainly in the case of absence
of male heirs) was usually accepted.
There was the problem with the dowries, and to avoid the
breaking up of the estates there was during the later 13th
century and onwards a growing emphasis on male primogeniture,
that is, the firstborn son inherited the estates (and where
appropriate the title that went with it). The dower became more
and more restricted over time during the later Middle Ages,
until they were finally abolished and became more of a symbol.
This helped to stop the dispersal of the estates outside the
original family.
Another important factor in the growing emphasis on male
primogeniture was the forming of political alliances through
marriages. When arranged marriages became increasingly important
as a tool in the political formation of Europe, high social
status by birth (and the benefits it brought along) was
considered a powerful assset. But many noblewomen were not
passive spectators, though the emphasis on the male line of
descent meant that their financial and political activities of
more and more depended on their male relatives: husband, father,
sons, brothers. In many cases, however, the noblewoman was not
completely subsumed in the families of her male relatives. There
is evidence that noblewomen continued to use the seals, surnames
and titles that was theirs by right of birth even after getting
married.
In my own family tree I have found several examples of the
importance of the role of noblewomen. In some cases on eof my
ancestors married a lady from another important noble family,
and this was recorded as a significant financial and political
alliance. In other cases a lady from our family had a successful
career of her own (e.g. as Abbess of a convent). In many cases
the coat-of-arms of a noblewoman who married into our family was
recorded and quartered in the arms of that branch of the family.