Women of Power: Queens and Abbesses
Examining figures like Eleanor of Aquitaine and Nicola de la Haye who exercised significant political influence.
Key Questions
- 1How could women exercise power in a patriarchal society?
- 2What was the role of a "Queen Consort" versus a "Queen Regnant"?
- 3Why were some medieval women more powerful than many men?
National Curriculum Attainment Targets
Suggested Methodologies
Ready to teach this topic?
Generate a complete, classroom-ready active learning mission in seconds.
More in Medieval Women and Daily Life
The Working Woman: Peasantry and Trade
Exploring the daily tasks of women on the manor and the "brewsters" and "silkwomen" in the towns.
3 methodologies
Childhood and Education
Investigating what it was like to grow up in the Middle Ages, from toys to apprenticeships.
3 methodologies
The Jewish Community in Medieval England
Tracing the arrival of Jews after 1066, their role in finance, and their tragic expulsion in 1290.
3 methodologies
Crime and Punishment: Keeping Order
From the Tithing system to the Hue and Cry, how a society without a police force maintained law.
3 methodologies
Medieval Medicine and Science
Exploring the "Four Humours", barber-surgeons, and the influence of Islamic medicine on the West.
3 methodologies