Motherhood, heraldry and power. The biblical matriarchs and the capetian queenship in 13th century
Abstract
This article analyses the use of the figure of Saint Anne and other biblical matriarchs for the promotion of Capetian Queens in the 13th century. The most interesting and precedent-setting case is that of Blanche of Castile (1188-1252), who used the great women of Sacred History to justify her position as regent and royal advisor. Her successors, Margaret of Provence (1221 - 1295) and Mary of Brabant (1254 - 1322), would continue the pattern of equating the lineages of the Kings of Israel and the Capet from a female point of view. The origin and evolution of this new image of power, and how motherhood and heraldry became its central themes, will be explored through the study of iconographic programmes, mainly present in their devotional books.
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