Audebrand, Justine
Empresses and abbesses: Ottonian dominae imperiales (tenth and eleventh centuries)
- 2021.
91
At the end of the tenth century, in Ottonian Germany, in particular political circumstances, a new form of feminine power developed: it was no longer confined to queens. The daughters and sisters of emperors, especially Matilda, abbess of Quedlinburg, followed by Sophia of Gandersheim and Adelaide of Quedlinburg, actively participated in government and in the imperial representation of power. They were able to exercise regency and they received new titles, such as dominae imperiales, conferred on them by the female author of the Annals of Quedlinburg, which is a remarkable reflection of the power of these women at the beginning of the eleventh century. This new configuration exemplifies the full integration of women into the Ottonian dynasty, which depicted itself as a sovereign dynasty.