The Participation of Women in Rulership in Early Modern Times. Regencies in the Holy Roman Empire in a Western European Perspective
Final Report Abstract
The regency of a minor ruler was a frequently practised form of government in the premodern era. For a long time, researchers have viewed these regencies as mere interruptions or short term interims to ensure the continuity of dynastic rule, thus largely neglecting them in historical research. New impetus came from women's and gender history, highlighting them as rare instances of women's direct involvement in rule. However, a systematic, territorial and gender-specific comparative study of the phenomenon was still lacking. The project aimed to fill this gap with the elaboration of two publications. The first one is a monograph, which is currently being completed as a dissertation entitled "tutela et administratio. Regentschaften in Savoyen und Württemberg, 15.–17. Jahrhundert". The second is the forthcoming "Handbuch der Regentschaften in den Territorien des Heiligen Römischen Reiches 1495-1806", which will be published in spring 2025 and will provide the first systematic overview of the referred regencies in the Empire. One of the key findings of the project is the widespread prevalence of regencies as a legal instrument in the Holy Roman Empire, far exceeding than previously assumed. In addition, contrary to the dominant view in historical gender research, our findings challenge the notion that these regencies were predominantly led by the mothers of underage heirs. Instead, the data collected reveals an almost gender-equal distribution when the regency was assumed by family members. If no relatives were involved, regencies were led exclusively by men. Moreover, our research shows that regencies not only occurred in secular territories, but also were used in ecclesiastical principalities and in the territories of secondary branches of a dynasty. The project findings also debunk the long-held belief in a consistent hierarchisation of guardians across the early modern period. The relevance of wills, inheritance contracts and imperial confirmations emphasised by older research for the ordering of regencies must also be relativised. The contracts negotiated after the death of the ruler and the consent of the estates proved to be much more effective as a constitutive element for the regency order. The findings from this project can serve as a foundation for further research into regional and imperial history. The project offers new perspectives with regard to the study of territoriality and dynasty as well as early modern gender relations. The handbook, in particular, is expected to encourage comparative studies at a regional level, while the dissertation marks a pioneering effort to apply both a regional and gender-specific comparative analysis within this field of research.
Publications
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Formen und Funktionen weiblicher Herrschaftspartizipation im Heiligen Römischen Reich am Beispiel der Herzoginnen von Kleve (1417–1609). Transkulturelle Annäherungen an Phänomene von Macht und Herrschaft, 213-252. V&R unipress.
Rutz, Andreas
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Beten für den Gatten. Zur Inszenierung von Weiblichkeit in den Briefen Sibylles von Jülich-Kleve-Berg an Johann Friedrich von Sachsen (1546 bis 1553). Neues Archiv für Sächsische Geschichte, 90, 43-64.
Rutz, Andreas
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Frauen und Männer zwischen Bibel und Biologismus. Geschlechterdiskurse von der Antike bis ins 19. Jahrhundert, in: Hirschfelder, Dagmar (Hrsg.): Frauenkörper. Der Blick auf das Weibliche von Albrecht Dürer bis Cindy Sherman, Petersberg 2021, S. 32–47
Rutz, Andreas
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Macht der Mätresse und die Ohnmacht der Ehefrau. Zur Darstellung von Frauen in der DEFA-Produktion „Sachsens Glanz und Preußens Gloria“ (1985/87). Neues Archiv für sächsische Geschichte, 92, 415-444.
Rutz, Andreas
