Identifying Queenship in Pre-Conquest England

The political agency of England’s early medieval queens consort is attested throughout the breadth of the historical record. They most often remain, however, marginal figures in the narrative of England’s early political history. The source, function, and limitations of their agency is not always clear, and what power they did reserve for themselves was defined and delimited by their relationship to the King. Here, Firth provides an overview of English queenship from the arrival of Augustine’s mission in 597 through to the Norman Conquest of 1066, taking a thematic approach. This chapter first seeks to define “queenship” in early medieval England, differentiating it from concubinage and examining the role marriage played in legitimising queenly authority. It goes on to trace how queenship evolved over the centuries leading into the era of Norman rule, examining how individual queens adapted to dynastic and religious policies, and positing an increasing institutionalisation of queenship as an “office.”