Synopses & Reviews
This is the first account in English of the entire, forty year military career of one of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages. Challenging the boundaries between military and gender history, it explains how one famous noblewoman rose to the defense of the reforming papacy, defeated the Holy Roman Emperor and turned the tide of the first great war between Church and State. The Military Leadership of Matilda of Canossa adopts an interdisciplinary perspective towards the abundant and diverse sources for her life, reading the narrative sources against the letters, polemics, diplomas and canonical collections. It combines these to reconstruct Matildas campaigns in painstaking detail, and reconsiders the limits of medieval womens military agency in light of her demonstrable successes. Both scholarly and accessible, all Latin quotations in the book are translated and the introduction provides a primer on the Investiture Contest. This work will be of greatest value to specialists in medieval gender, military and church history.
Synopsis
The Military Leadership of Matilda of Canossa adopts an interdisciplinary perspective towards the abundant and diverse sources for her life, reading the narrative sources against the letters, polemics, diplomas, and canonical collections. This is the first account in English of the entire, 40-year military career of one of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages. Challenging the boundaries between military and gender history, this book explains how one famous noblewoman rose to the defense of the reforming papacy, defeated the Holy Roman Emperor, and turned the tide of the first great war between Church and State. It combines these to reconstruct Matilda's campaigns in painstaking detail, and reconsiders the limits of medieval women's military agency in light of her demonstrable successes.
Synopsis
The first account in English of the entire, 40-year military career of one of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages. Surveying a vast range of contemporary sources, it explains how Countess Matilda rose to the defense of the reforming popes, defeated the Holy Roman Emperor in battle and turned the tide of the so-called Investiture Contest..
About the Author
David J. Hay is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Matilda of Canossa and the ‘Investiture Contest * Going to Canossa: Matildas rise to power, 1046-74 * Baptism by fire: The outbreak of war to the Battle of Sorbara, 1075-84 * A ‘Feminine triumph: Matildas counterattack and the emperors defeat, 1085-95 * La Gran Contessa: Matildas later campaigns, 1096-1115 * ‘Weakness of sex: Matilda and medieval constructions of gender * Conclusions: Matildas campaigns and the study of womens military leadership * Bibliography * Index