Cnut Sweynsson (990-1035): The Great Medieval King Who Conquered England, Denmark and Sweden.

On this day, it is this formidable king known by many as Cnut the Great the subject of our blog. He is considered by many one of the most famous personalities to rule in the period we regard as Middle Ages. However, compared to his predecessor, the Anglo-Saxon king of Wessex, Alfred -who was also styled as the Great- and even to the last two saxon kings who later succeeded his crown, Edward the Confessor and Harold II, Cnut is not often the centre of discussion amongst medievalists. After all, we question ourselves: who was he? What kind of king was this foreigner viking who managed to conquer the English lands long before the conquest of William of Normandy? In a humble attempt, we hope to enlight this historical figure and provide a discussion of his role in the formation of the English society. 

Cnut, also spelled Canute (in Old Norse: Knútr) or Knut, was the second son of the Prince of Denmark named Sweyn Forkbeard, who, in turn, was the grandson of Gorm the Old, who was once the subject of this blog. Regarding the identity of his mother, it is supposed that she was Sweyn's consort, a Polish princess named Gunhid. Because "Harald, the Crown Prince of Denmark, was their father's heir, Canute, as the second of the king was not expected to rule but was expected to lead troops and fight. According to sources the young Canute was trained by the legendary Thorkell the Tall of the Jomsviking in the art of combat. It is thought that Canute joined his father in battle at the invasion of Norwich in 1003/4 in response to the St Brice's Day Massacre of 1002, as the Skalkd, Óttarr svarti, describes a campaign similar to Norwich and states that Canute was 'of no great age' at the time."

Indeed his warrior skills would be effective to his next invasion in England. His father, Swein, managed to conquer all England, but unfortunately his reign did not last any more than 5 weeks. As we can observe below:

"The Danish north of England gave itself up and when the south followed suit, King Aethelred II fled to Normandy in December leaving Sveinn as sole king. But Sveinn died on 3 February 1014, Aethelred returned, and the young Cnut, who had been accepted as king by the Danelaw and Viking fleet, was forced back to Denmark"

For Cnut, though, the situation was not hopeless, for "Aethelred had fallen ill, and his son Edmund Ironside was in a violent dispute with Eadric Streona, the powerful ealderman of Mercia." It is thought he had an agreement with his brother, then king of Denmark, of which the latter would provide Cnut a marine force along a very well trained army if he did not try to claim the Danish throne,

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, the said dispute between Edmund Ironside and Eadric happened "at the same time (...) King Knute (...) went soon (...) about Kent into Wessex, until he came to the mouth of the Frome; and then plundered in Dorset, and in Wiltshire, and in Somerset. King Ethelred, meanwhile, lay sick at Corsham; and Alderman Edric collected an army there, and Edmund the Etheling in the north. When they came together, the alderman designed to betray Edmund the etheling but he could not; whereupon they separated without an engagement, and sheered off from their enemies. Alderman Edric then seduced forty ships from the king, and submitted to Knute. The West-Saxons also submitted, and gave hostages, and horsed the army. And submitted, And he continued there until the midwinter."

The conquest was a bloody one, with several battles between Edmund Ironisde and Cnut Sweynsson, as reported by the "Chronicles", but, "in 1016 Canute returned and was victorious at the Battle of Ashingdon (Ashingdown) over Edmund 'Ironisde', Aethelred's eldest son and successsor. Canute and Edmund drew up the Treaty of Olney, which allotted The Danelaw and the English midlands to Canute, while Edmund retained control of southern England. (...) Edmund died shortly after this treaty and so Canute found himself the first Viking king of all England."

Unlike his predecessors, Cnut styled himself as King of all England, not 'king of the English'. His first years as king of England was, however, not the easiest: to settle down as uncontested monarch to the newly united land he used propaganda as one weapon and political tactics as other. For example, he got rid of one of Aethelred's survivings sons, contribuited to send to exile Edmund's own children aside of having killed the two-faced and highly distrustful ealdorman Eardric and other political rivals. It is surprising, though, how, despite the early oppositions, his authority was shaped successfully and through that the rise of an empire that, sadly, would not go pass by the next generation. So in the next paragraph, through the use of propaganda, we can observe that:

"Cnut (...) employed one of Aethelred's main counselors, Wulfstan, achbishop of York, to be his right hand man. A similar concern for showing continuity can be seen in the laws that Cnut issued. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle notes that in 1018: "Dene 7 Engle wurdon sammaele aet Oxnaforda to Eadgares lage" (the Danes and English came to an agreement in Oxford to [follow] the law of Edgar). 'Edgar' is King Edgar the Peaceful of England (943-957) and Cnut appears to have modeled his own law codes on those of Edgar, e.g by copying the introduction of Edgar's laws at verbatim. By presenting his own laws as being in line with those of Edgar, Cnut places himself within an Anglo-Saxon tradition of government. (...) Cnut's second strategy was to identify himself explicitly with the AngloSaxons. He did so, for example, by addressing the Anglo-Saxons with words like 'we' and 'us' in his Letter to the English of 1020."

A close approachment was a tactic used to cast a shadow at his 'foreigner' side, since the English disliked those who were not their countrymen, and a way to distant himself of politics that constant placed the Danes and the English in opposite sides, perhaps trying to reapproch these social groups. Also, "another instance in which Cnut seems to align himself on the side of the Anglo-Saxons, against the Danes, is by favouring the cults of specific Anglo-Saxon saints who had been martyred by Vikings. An example of such a saint is Aelfheah ('elf-high'), a bishop who was brutally murdered in 1012 by drunk Danes."

Indeed, Cnut had a great relationship with the Church. and by having the Archbishop of York Wulfstan as one of his closest advisors is another evidence of it, next to the buildings of churches and patronising Anglo-Saxons saints. He also divided the realm at first to four earldormen who were his counterparts before replacing them by native men of his trust. One of the greatest achievements of Cnut was not only building an Anglo-Scandinavian empire, which improved the relationship of these countries, contributing for the commerce and trade; but also his sense of justice and peace, when he held peace for the 19 years of his reign, since he provided security by preventing further incursions of the Vikings to England's shore. His marriage to Aelthered's widow, Emma of Normandy, also supplied the necessities of a better standing concerning the attempts on the king's part to reconcile the interests as himself as king and also on the behalf of the kingdom. He was, thus, the first monarch to have ruled England in a certain unity that would be seen better fortified after the Norman conquest in 1066.

As for the matter of the matrimony, briefly mentioned in the last paragraph concerning the widow Emma, it is one filled with controversy, though. For apparently "he had as well a consort in Denmark, Aelfgifu of Aelfhelm, with whom he had initiated a relationship in 1013 while holding charge of the fleet at Gainsborough. His marriage to Aelfgifu was after the Danish custom and not one sanctioned within the Christian church; together they had two sons, Harald Harefoot and Sweyn. When Canute then married Emma, a precondition was that the sons of their marriage would stand in line for the English throne before Canute's older sons or Emma's sons by Ethelred. The royal couple would eventually have two children, a boy, Harthacanute, and a girl, Gunhild, who later married Prince Henry of Germany."

But when Cnut came to die in 1035, the succession line was questioned due to a power struggle between Aelfgifu and Emma, but eventually the English chose Harald to succeed Cnut, forcing Emma to flee with her sons. Nonetheless, Harald would reign very briefly, for five years only, and he would be succeeded by his controversial brother Harthacanute, before the crown was inherited by Edward the Confessor, Emma's son with Aelthered. With the death of Harthacanute, though, also came to die the empire Cnut struggled to build. And after the conquest of William of Normandy, in 1066, Cnut's deeds were basically left to the margins of history. Is it fair that William receives the title of conqueror when he was not the first of doing so? Should Cnut or his father be acknowledged as both having important roles in shaping England's society?

It is difficult to respond these questions, but one at least can be sketched, on the basis of suppositions. But in a society ruled by a pious man as Cnut, who internalized years of pre-cristian cultures and practices, it was through his relationship with the Church that helped in to the development of a better relationship between the Christianism and the popular religion, which was strained for centuries, especially with the Vikings incursions -as a consequence of. these, some practices were inserted along with Christian practices that were already stablished with some of which being disapproved by the members of the Church. By holding an Archbishop who had an interest in changing that relationship, was a very clever move of Cnut, because that way he could also reconcile the interests of distant cultures that had its days of rivalries.

So that was also a way that Cnut, unlike one of his sons, was not seen directly as "foreigner". He learned much with his father, that is true. But Cnut held the capacity of making an empire that his heirs failed to hold. Through a religious perspective, it is important to notice that, especially because by having good relations with the Church in those days, was also an excellent instrument to hold the power uncontested in a society where religion was intrinsic to other social fields, On that matter, Cnut was, then, as successful as William of Normandy would be in his own days, except perhaps he could not produce a strong lineage to follow his steps. Perhaps, as we now say in our own days, it was just not meant to be.

Bibliography:

https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/20968/GAG_MAGCnut.pdf;jsessionid=CE9D497756B02EF40654ACF7342FF60C?sequence=1

https://talkinghumanities.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2016/06/28/from-worse-to-better-the-reign-of-cnut-the-great-1016-35/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnut_the_Great

http://storbritannien.um.dk/en/Culture/cnut-the-great-king-of-england-1016-to-1035/cnuts-conquest-and-reign/

http://www.viking.no/the-viking-kings-and-earls/canute-knud-the-great/

http://biography.yourdictionary.com/canute-i-the-great

http://historymedren.about.com/od/cwho/p/canute-the-great.htm

http://www.jorvik-viking-festival.co.uk/about/canute/

http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/viking-knowledge/viking-age-people/historical-characters/cnut-the-great-of-denmark-england-and-norway/

http://www.medievalchronicles.com/medieval-kings-2/early-medieval-kings/king-cnut-the-great/

http://www.fortidensjelling.dk/jellinge49.htm

https://ia902605.us.archive.org/2/items/Anglo-saxonChronicles/anglo_saxon_chronicle.pdf

Maria de Molina: Three Times Queen Of Castile (1265-1321)

On today's post, we will discuss the life of a royal woman who was queen of Castile three times: first as consort of Sancho IV, second and third as regent for her son and grandson. Despite the fact there is little bibliography found about this figure, we hope we can at least enlight the person she was and set alight an interest about her.

María de Molina was born around the year of 1265, being the daughter of Alfonso of Léon, Lord of Molina, who was a young son of King Alfonso IX of Castile with his second wife Berengaria of Castile, and his third wife Mayor Alfonso of Menezes. She was a great-great granddaughter of Henry II of England and a sister to Alfonso, lord of Menezes, and a half-sister to two daughters Alfonso previously had with his two other wives.

Little is known regarding Maria's infancy, though it is presumed it was a happy and quiet one. We can also suppose she had a good education, considering later in life her role as consort to both her son and grandson.

So what is known about her comes next:

"In 1282, María was married to Sancho, the second son of the king Alfonso X and the queen Violante. The marriage did not begin well, for not only there was a struggle concerning the nullity about the consanguinity of third degree but also Sancho had already taken as wife, years before, Guillerma de Montcada, daughter of Vizconde de Bearne, though on his part this was never revoked."¹

The result of this was the question of the legitimacy concerning the children of this marriage, especially the heir of the Castilian crown, later known as Fernando IV, though her place as queen remained undisputed. The nature of the marriage is also not known, but their offspring not only includes Fernando but also Isabel (or Isabella), future Queen of Aragon and duchess of Brittany, Alfonso, Henry, Peter,Philip, Infante of Castile, and Beatrice, Queen of Portugal. Only Alfonso and Henry did not make to childhood.

However, in 1295, "(...) Sancho IV (...) was succeeded by his eldest son Fernando IV, who was under age. Though according to the Crónica de Sancho IV, Sancho designanted Maria as the sole regent", but, "she was forced to share the regency with Sancho's uncle, Infante Enrique El Senador (Henry of Castile the Senator), younger brother of Alfonso X. Fernando's rule was challenged by a coalition that included his uncle, Infante Juan, his cousins the infantes de la Cerda, sons of the infante Fernando de la Cerda, eldest son of Alfonso X, as well as King James II of Aragón and King Dionisio I de Portugal." ²

Her main role had been converted in being "tutor of the boy king Fernando, who (...) was not declared legitimate. She then started the rough task in getting supports for the cause of her son, supports which she found in urban oligarchies that gave their support to the young king in the courts of Valladolid. Years later in 1301, she achieved another goal with the bull of the pope Boniface VIII in which was given the validity the matrimony of Sancho IV and Maria de Molina, consequently recognizing Fernando IV as a legitimate king."³

Civil War continued for years between those who supported Fernando's cause, on the side of María, who "built her own coalition, relying on the Castilian Cortes to confirm her authority and playing the powerful family clan of Haro against the Lara clan, who supported the opposition." Nonetheless, victory came to her cause when the leader of the opposition reconciled with the king and Portugal withdrew from the wars, returning to an allegiance with the king by offering the hand of the infanta Constance as the consort of Fernando.

It is said she disappears from the court after the birth of Fernando's heir, but returns after the death of both Fernando and Constance in different times, thus becoming regent for her grandson, Alfonso XI. This regency on her part lasted for nine years until her death in 1321, before it was moved forward to her son Philip, who shared regency with Juan el Tuerto, a Castilian Infante.

Nothing else is said about this woman, who held her position as Queen and as regent despite many struggles to do so in days where her gender was undermined by the Salic Law. It is not surprise to find strong women such as María among the Queens who made History in what we today regard as Spain. But even so, there is so little about her that it was with that in mind, we came to propose a discussion about her. Every woman held importance for the age they lived, they thus helped to shape the society they were inserted to. The victory of María proves the strenght she had to bear to survive: as wife, to have her marriage recognized by the Church; as queen, to have her right of being a regent uncontested and foremost, as a mother, who would not give up until having her son as crowned king, but legitimized.

Though it is sad we have no more informations to enlight the figue of such a woman, one expects this is only the start for a discussion concerning the medieval queens and their roles back to the time and place they lived in. María was not the first nor will be the last to constitute an exception among the expectations driven back to her gender, but certainly will continue to inspire a discussion about the importance of queens to the days they lived.



¹ "En 1282 María se casaba con Sancho, el segundo hijo del rey Alfonso X y la reina Violante. El matrimonio no empezó con buen pie pues no sólo se enfretaban a la nulidad por una consanguinidad de tercer grado sino que, además, Sancho ya había celebrado esponsales años atrás con Guillermina de Montcada, hija del Vizconde de Bearne, pero nunca los había revocado". (http://www.mujeresenlahistoria.com/2012/04/tres-veces-reina-maria-de-molina-1264.html)

² Wikipédia

³ "(...) María se convertia en tutora del rey niño Fernando, (..) no declarado legitimo. Empezaba la dura y ardua tarea de conseguir los apoyos suficientes para la causa de su hijo, apoyos que encontró en las oligarquías urbanas las cuales dieron su apoyo al joven rey en las Cortes de Valladolid. Años despúes en 1301, conseguía su otro objetivo, la bula del papa Bonifacio VIII en la que daba por válido el matrimonio de Sancho IV y Maria de Molina y consecuentemente Fernando IV se convertía en un rey legítimo." (http://www.mujeresenlahistoria.com/2012/04/tres-veces-reina-maria-de-molina-1264.html)

Bibliography:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_de_Molina

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_XI_of_Castile

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_of_Molina#Marriage_and_children

http://www.mujeresenlahistoria.com/2012/04/tres-veces-reina-maria-de-molina-1264.html

http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/m/maria_demolina.htm

Amélie de Leuchtenberg: The Second Empress of Brazil (1812-1873)

From medieval to modern days, we today come across with an Empress who ruled very shortly an Empire located in the tropics, during the mid of 19th century. As the second consort of Emperor Pedro, Amélie of Leuchtenberg held briefly the title before she was sent to exile with her husband after he was forced to abdicate. Her figure is very little discussed amongst Brazilian's historiography and few are the sources about this interesting woman, who's the subject of the blog on this day.

Amélie de Leuchtenberg (Portuguese: Amélia Augusta Eugénia de Leuchtenberg; French: Amélie Auguste Eugénie de Leuchtenberg) was born on the 31st day of July, 1812 in Milan. Her parents were Eugène de Beauharnais, duke of Leuchtenberg and only male son of the famous Empress Josephine of Beauharnais of France with her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais, and princess Augusta of Bavaria, whose father was the king of Bavaria, Maximilian I. Amélie was the fourth of the seven children of her parents, who included the Queen of Sweden Josephine, and her education was tutored by her own mother, princess Augusta.

There is almost nothing regarding her childhood and education, except when it comes to the fact she seemed to have filled the demands of the emperor of Brazil for a second wife. Pedro of Braganza was crowned Emperor of Brazil in December 1st 1822 after the political process he and his then first wife the Archduchess of Austria Maria Leopoldina participated, of which culminated in Brazilian's independence and formation of the empire of Brazil. However, with the death of Leopoldina in 1826, Pedro I was in need of a new wife as much as the country required a new Empress. Yet, his reputation at the European courts was not one of the bests because of the mistreatment he caused to his deceased wife by having an affair with Marquesa dos Santos (Marchioness of Santos). Therefore, to find a new consort for the Emperor was a troubled ask his most trusted advisor, known as Barbacena, was confided.

"After the death of his first wife, the Austrian archduchess Maria Leopoldina in December 1826, Emperor Pedro I of Brazil (and King Pedro IV of Portugal) sent the Marquês de Barbacena to Europe to find him a second wife. His task was not easy; several factors complicated the search. First, Dom Pedro had stipulated four conditions: a good family background, beauty, virtue and culture. Conversely, the emperor of Brazil did not have a particularly good image in Europe: his relationship with the Marquesa do Santos was notorious, and few eligible princesses were expected to be eager to leave the courts of Europe to marry a widower who had a tarnished reputation as a husband, becoming step-mother to his five children. To make matters worse, the former father-in-law of Dom Pedro, Francis I of Austria, had a low opinion of his son-in-law's political views, and apparently acted to prevent a new marriage to ensure that his grandchildren would inherit the throne of Brazil if they survived infancy."

However, not all was lost. "Amélie now became a good possibility, but their encounter was brought about not by Barbacena, but by Domingos Borges de Barros, Viscount of Pedra Branca, minister in Paris, to whom she had been pointed out. She came from a distinguished and ancient line on her mother's side, the Wittelsbachs, but her father, an exile who shared the disgrace of Napoleon Bonaparte's deposition as emperor, was not an optimal marital match. However, that was her sole "defect". The princess was tall, very beautiful, well proportioned, with a delicate face. She had blues eyes and brownish-golden hair. António Teles da Silva Caminha e Meneses, Marquês do Resende, sent to verify the beauty of the young lady, praised her highly, saying that she had "a physical air that like that the painter Correggio gave us in his paintings of the Queen of Sheba". She was also cultured and sensitive. A contemporary piece in The Times of London affirms that she was one of the best educated and best prepared princesses in the German world."

How must have Amélie felt when she was betrothed to a man whose reputation was low and hardly well seen by the noblest families of Europe? It's difficult to say, but we may assume she followed with her duties and was well prepared and advised by her mother to what was coming straight ahead. The marriage treaty was signed in England then ratified by Amélie's mother, princess Augusta. When the match was confirmed by Dom Pedro, he broke any links he had with the Marchioness, which was important if he was willing to remarry.

Once her noble and beauty traits were confirmed, "a proxy marriage ceremony on 2 August in the chapel of the Palais Leuchtenberg in Munich was a simple affair with few in attendance, as Amélie insisted on donating to a Munich orphanage the appreciable amount Dom Pedro had sent for a ceremony with full pomp. Dom Pedro was represented by the Marquês de Barbacena. Amélie was barely seventeen years old; Dom Pedro was thirty."

Carl Friedrich von Martius, a scientist, and Ana Romana de Aragão Calmão, Countess of Itapagibe, were sent to aid Amélie in preparing her for the role of which she was expected to perform. She was taught Portuguese, her husband-to-be's personalities and his likes, aside of the journey that would lead her to Brazil. Of her mother, Amélie was advised "that she be demonstrative of her feelings and overcome and timidity so as not to discourage her husband, that she be loving toward her stepchilden, and above all that she remain faithful, as empress, to the interests of the Brazilians."

She then left to Brazil with her brother, Auguste, embarking on the frigate Imperatriz and sailed from Belgium to Rio de Janeiro. There, she would arrive at October 15th of 1829, and so "traditions says that upon hearing that the ship was approaching, Dom Pedro embarked on a tugboat to meet it on the far side of the bar, and that he collapsed with emotion upon seeing his wife on deck."

The children of Pedro I's first marriage were brought to meet their new stepmother once the first meeting of the newlywed's occurred. She was later formally introduced to court, and it seemed she was well received by those present at the moment as we can see below:

"In January 1830 the new empress was formally presented in court, with a dance at which all of the ladies dressed in pink, the empress's favorite color. The following day, the couple began their honeymoon (...). Upon settling into the imperial palace, the Paço de São Cristóvão, and perceiving what she considered an inadequate standard of protocol, Amélie established French as the court languaged and adopted a ceremonial modeled after European courts. She sought to update the cuisine and fashion, redecorated the palace, acquired new tableware and silverware, and attempted to refine the manners of the court. She achieved at least a partial success in this last, and the elegance of the Empress, always impeccably dressed, became internationally famous."

In comparsion to her predecessor, Maria Leopoldina, Amélie succeeded better by having a place in her husband's heart and dealing well with the court, in its majority composed by Portuguese people or, at least, of Portugueses origins. As the late paragraph attested, she remodelled the court in an attempt to draw it closer to Europe's standards, an effort of modernising the country. One may assume that Pedro II's equally attempts of modern policies he followed might have come from his stepmother, with whom he had an excellent relationship.

Although she did improve the popularity of Pedro I as Emperor of Brazil, she could not manage the decline of it with the succession of crisis that made him renounce his crown for his younger son, the five year old Pedro de Alcântara. Nevertheless, it does well to point that:

"Their marriage was a happy one, unlike Dome Pedro's first, and she reportedly had a good relationship with her legitimate stepchildren as well. Her beauty, good sense, and kindness promptly won the affections of both her husband and his children by his first marriage. She made sure that the latter had a good family environment and received a good education. Shortly after the marriage, a French traveler reported "it appears that the empress continues to exercise her influence over the children of Dom Pedro. The happy results are already apparent, she has already made considerable renovations to the palace, and order has commenced to reign; te princesses' education is supervised and directed personally by the empress", with the same care going to the heir of the throne, little Pedro de Alcântara (later Pedro II of Brazil); the proof of this last being that he soon began to call her "mamãe" ("mommy"). Amélie always expressed her affection for Pedro II, and maintained a correspondence with him until the end of her life, trying to instruct and support him. Nearly six decades of their correspondence survive. Dom Pedro II reciprocated her kindness, soliciting her help in arranging marriages for his own daughters and visiting her in Lisbon in 1871".

At the exile, this non-melancholical woman, kind and subtle in her strong-will personalitly, Amélie would still support her husband and his ilegitimate daughter, the duchess of Goias, whom she came to adopt as if she was of her own, until the end of his days. It was also in exile that she came to give birth to their only daughter, who received the name Maria Amélia. Towards them, she would commit herself, and for the first years in exile, especially after the death of Pedro I, Amélie attempted to be recognized as part of the royal family, but, because of the regency of the monarch fearing she might try to influence the young Pedro II, they declined to do so. This problem, however, was only solved after Pedro's majority.

As said before, Amélie and Pedro II still exchanged letters and even indirectly she had a role in his life. Regarding her daughter, Maria Amélia, she was also very devoted to, tutoring herself as she was tutored by her own mother. The princess was even betrothed to the archduke of Austria, Maximilian, but she soon started to show symptons of tuberculosis. Amélie tried a change of airs to help her daughter's health improve, but no change was seen and before her 20's, Maria Amélia of Bragança was no longer breathing.

The death of her daughter affected the empresss dowager and duchess of Bragança so much that she visited Maria Amélia's tomb every year on the anniversary of her death, and financed the construction of a still-extant hospital in Funchal named "Princesa Dona Maria Amélia"".

With time, Amélie's own health started to deterioriate and in her will, she made her sister, Queen of Sweden, her heiress, despite leaving many of her properties to her almost son-in-law the previously already mentioned archduke of Austria. So she settled in Lisbon and in 26 January 1873, she came to die. At the present days, she is found buried at the "crypt of the Monument to the Independence of Brazil in São Paulo." Amélie de Leuchtenberg was 60 years old.

Bibliography:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am%C3%A9lie_of_Leuchtenberg

http://www.revistadehistoria.com.br/secao/artigos/a-outra-noiva-do-imperador

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2281566/Dom-Pedro-I-Brazils-emperor-exhumed.html

https://thenewroyaltyworldblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/amelie-of-leuchtenberg/

http://www.polyvore.com/am%C3%A9lie_leuchtenberg/set?.embedder=0&.src=share_html&.svc=twitter&id=62019337

Empress Wu Zetian: The Only Woman To Sit On The Chinese Throne (624-705)

                                           

                                           

Whenever we come to the idea of studying strong women who made the difference in the societies they lived, it is not unusual we deal with female royals who are mostly favoured by historiography. This, however, is neither a criticism or a fault on the part of historians. It's understood that a personal interest is mostly what motivates them in search of comprehend the role of a Queen, duchess, or any female whose royal status is entwined with historical events and the facility which sources may provide. And whilst historiography usually gives a great focus to British, French, Spanish or Portuguese ladies of noble birth, we here humbly attempt to do otherwise by telling the story of Wu Zetian of China.

That being said, who was Wu Zetian? What lies behind the female figure who stands as the only of her sex crowned as Empress of China? Who was she? And what were her deeds? On today's post, we attempt to enlight the person that was Wu Zetian, who definitely made history in a traditional line of Emperors of the Tang Dynasty.

Born Wu Zhao in Wenshui County, Shanxy Province with some sources claiming the birth date being February 17th, 624. She was raised within a wealthy family, with her father apparently being one of the Emperor Taizong's ministers, and was given a good education for a girl of her status, in which she "was taught to read, write, and to play music. Wu was an intelligent and ambitious girl who learned all she could about politics and how the government worked."

At the age of 13, she was summoned to the palace to become the Emperor's concubine, a title used to the monarch's lesser wives, due to her beauty and intelect she would later be praised for. But "it is said that her mother wept when they came to take her away, but Wu consoled her by saying that this was her destiny." In the next paragraph, we can have a better observation of how was her life at court:

"Wu began her life at court taking care of the royal laundry but one day dared to speak to the emperor when they were alone and talked about Chinese history. Taizong was surprised that his latest concubine could read and write and became fascinated by her beauty and wit in conversation. Taizong was so impressed by her intellectual abilities, he took her out of the laundry and made her his secretary. In her new position, she was constantly involved in affairs of state at the highest level and must have performed her duties well because she became a favorite of Taizong."

However, with the death of Taizong around the year of 649, as she did not deliver him a son, she was sent to a Buddhist nunnery, a place reserved to the Emperor's widows. There, those who were once the concubines of the Emperor had to follow an ancient chinese custom which involved having their "heads shaved and (...) thrown into a convent." But, if in the past she captivated the then prince Li Zhi with her charms, when he became Emperor Gaozong, she would not be forgotten and, in fact, was summoned to court by Empress Wang, who sought to distract Gaozong from a concubine with whom she was disputing the attentions of her husband.

"Attaining that position first required Wu to engineer her escape from a nunnery after Taizong's death--the concubines (...) were immured in convents for the rest of their lives, since it would have been an insult to the dead ruler had any other man sullied them--and to return to the palace under Gaorzong's protection before entrancing the new emperor, removing empress Wang and the Pure Concubine, promoting members of her own family to positions of power, and eventually establishing herself as fully her husband's equal. By 666, the annals state, Wu was permitted to make offerings to the gods beside Gaozong and even to sit in audience with him--behind a screen, admittedly, but on a throne that was equal in elevation to his own."

"In time she became a favorite concubine of the new emperor, giving birth to the sons he wanted. As mother of the future emperor of China, she grew in power. She managed to eliminate (...) Empress Wang, by accusing her of kiling (...) newborn daughter."

Many historians believe that it was Wu who strangled her own daughter, in order to destitute Empress Wang of her title and so thus become Empress herself. Once she managed to do so, "many of the state affairs were up to her for final decision since Emperor Gaozong was weak-minded. In that period of time, Wu managed to remove a group of political enemies thus clearing away all the obstacles in her political career. Beginning in 660 when Emperor Gaozong caught an eye disease, Wu began to grasp all the real power in the guise of assisting the Emperor in dealing with state affairs"

Concerning the nature of Wu, there can be only speculations as, according to historians, most of sources praise her deeds whilst her enemies accuse her of plenty of murderers. However, even surrounded by so many controversials, it seems possible to say, based on the degree of her actions that leaded her to the Chinese throne, that she was indeed a very clever and ambitious woman who was wise enough to keep herself behind the curtains of power and laterwards, knew how to use it for herself and her family. Her mother, "Lady Yang had been created the Lady of Rong, and her older sister, now widowed, the Lady of Han. Her brothers Wu Yuanging and Wu Yuanshuang and cousins Wu Huaiyun, despite the poor relationships that they had with lady Yang, were promoted".

When Lady of Rong died, the Emperor, perhaps attracted to the beauty of the deceased Lady's daughter or moved by a compassionate feeling, wanted to keep her in the court and this may have displeased the Empress greatly for it was said she poisoned her niece, only to blame her brothers later. It is from such events that she is claimed by her enemies to have been a murderer, possibly a sorcerer and a merciless woman who would do anything to be where she is. Some historians agree with that image, which might explain why the only Empress of China has been so controversial throughtout the centuries.

However, it is wise to remember that "as a leader, Emperor Wu ruled beningly over 50 million people. Under Confucian philosophy, an emperor's primary job is to promote stability and care for his (or her) subjects, which Wu managed spectacularly. She promoted Buddhism during her reign, and without her support, it would probably never have become such a profound influence on Chinese culture. She avoided major wars, and expanded Chinese territory to stretch into present-day Xinjiang to promote trade along the Silk Road. She also introduced an updated form of the civil service exams that were merit-based-hypotheticallly, anyone could be an adviser to the emperor of they were driven and intelligent enough, and aspects of this system lasted well into the 20th century."

From concubine, to Empress consort, Empress dowager until she finally became Empress herself. The methods perhaps were a little too bloody, but which Emperor or King in those days were not possible to do the same thing? In the last paragraph, we saw how the ruler and the person she was were divided. She managed a realm and was the only woman for doing so. Some might think she was merely doing what any men would in her position, whilst others stick to the view she was a blood-thirsty women who had no scruples to rise. But who was she? Was the Empress a good ruler and yet a tyrannical to those who opposed her? Or was she only a woman who did what she could to survive?

To those questions, we have no answers, though. A most important question rises, nevertheless: if she was cold, brutal and bloody as ruler, and her figure laterwards is seen with suspicious and dislike for the next generations, why was her reign successful? If we take a look deep inside her reign, we will find there was little opposition: she took the crown from her sons, causing the exile of one, the deposition of other, but to keep it, how successful she was? An exerpt on the next paragraph will better explain of how successful her deeds were.

"Remembering her peasant roots, Wu reformed agricultural laws to lessen the tax burden on peasant farmers across China, instituted some of the world's first labor laws, streamlined the bloated military into a more efficient fighting force, and cut the fat in her own government by forcing any government administrator to complete a ridiculously-difficult civil service examination to prove they were smart enough to have the job. She kicked out useless politicians, brought in well-trained scholars, built irrigation systems to improve farming (...)"

The Empress was also reported to have enjoyed a few number of favourites, especially towards the end of her reign. She did not remarry, and one assumes she refused doing so not to share the crown she struggled to keep. So "in the early eight century, Wu fell ill, and shortly before her death in 705 political maneuvering and fighting amongst her rivals forced her to abdicate the throne to Li Xian, thus ending her Zhou dynasty and restoring the Tang. She died soon afterwards."

Bibliography:

http://totallyhistory.com/empress-wu-zetian/

http://www.headstuff.org/2014/08/wu-zetian-female-emperor-china/

http://chineseculture.about.com/od/historyofchina/fl/Wu-Zetian.htm

http://www.warriortours.com/intro/history/tang/wuzetian.htm

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2014/09/badass-ladies-of-chinese-history-wu-zetian/

http://www.badassoftheweek.com/index.cgi?id=52787309381

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Zetian

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