Women and power in times of dynastic crises (selected examples from English medieval history)

Abstract

The paper examines the connection between women and power during the dynastic crisis. More precisely, the paper primarily refers to members of the high nobility and ruling houses during the dynastic crisis in the fifteenth century in England. In order to achieve a more accurate picture of the possibilities that an aristocratic woman, connected by family ties to the center of ruling power and authority in the person of the ruler - the king, had in order to legitimately possess and retain power, the paper will talk about the changes in social relations that occurred in earlier periods, about the difference in power and ruling authority, and then about similar examples in the wider European context. Special attention will be paid to the female actors of the Wars of the Roses (1455-1487), which culminated in the dynastic crisis, but which was further deepened by it, as well as to the perception of their power.