When do you have to name an heir?

[Demetrios]

Women on the throne in the Middle Ages was rare, but not unheard of. Besides the aforementioned women, Matilda of Tuscany comes to mind as a powerful magnate in her own right. And while Eleanor may have been imprisoned by Henry II, she was always legally the Duchess of Aquitaine, and both her royal husbands were merely consorts, not rulers, in her duchy. And the Empress Matilda just had the bad luck of not being as close to the centers of power in England as Stephen was at the time of the death of Henry I - things would probably have been much different if she had...

In game terms, a daughter should be allowed to be appointed an heiress, but it should only be a feasable proposition if there are no legitimate sons available, and should only go smoothly if there are no near male relatives at all...

 

[Idiotboy]

Originally posted by Demetrios

In game terms, a daughter should be allowed to be appointed an heiress, but it should only be a feasable proposition if there are no legitimate sons available, and should only go smoothly if there are no near male relatives at all...

Exactumundo. And IMO if they choose to wed should suffer a risk to loose some ar all of the power. It would require a very powerful woman to cling to power in those days.

 

[unmerged(6668)]

Ahh, right... I totally forgot Matilda di Canossa, La Gran Contessa! Well no matter what happened to the other women, she certainly made a case for it. She was more of a man than I am! Dominated central Italy, led her own boys in battle, and arguably saved the Pope's holy white ass during the IC. And just from looking at illuminations of her...you know she just had to be hot...

 

[unmerged(485)]

Originally posted by Demetrios
......... And while Eleanor may have been imprisoned by Henry II, she was always legally the Duchess of Aquitaine, ..............

Which is why he didn't try to divorce her. He didn't want to lose those lands.

 

[unmerged(8698)]

Originally posted by Demetrios


the Empress Matilda just had the bad luck of not being as close to the centers of power in England as Stephen was at the time of the death of Henry I - things would probably have been much different if she had...

She also took a stupidly long time to head over to England and press her claim.

 

[Winkelried]

Originally posted by Sonny


Which is why he didn't try to divorce her. He didn't want to lose those lands.

That's exactly the mistake Louis VII. of France made. He was her husband but divorced her because she didn't give birth to sons but only daughters. Guess he must have been pissed, once he saw Aquitaine becoming a part of the Angevin kingdom.

 

[unmerged(485)]

Originally posted by Demetrios
........ And the Empress Matilda just had the bad luck of not being as close to the centers of power in England as Stephen was at the time of the death of Henry I - things would probably have been much different if she had...

............

IMHO things would have been much the same. Maybe the war would not have lasted as long because things might have come to a head earlier. Just can't see her getting any more support than she did. If by closer to the center of power that seh was in London with the Archbishop of Cantebury ready to place the crown on her head then yes, she might have gotten away with it (if Robert of Glouster was also nearby).

 

[unmerged(6668)]

I agree with Sonny for at least one good reason: after Stephen's capture at the Battle of Lincoln (1141), Matilda temporarily enjoyed what we could call "widespread support". The Earls of Gloucester, Cornwall, Devonshire, & Hereford were her men, the Earl of Cheshire somewhat of an ally, as was his rival King David of Scotland, whose family held the Earldoms of Northumberland-Cumberland & Huntingdon-Cambridge. The Earls of Essex, Oxfordshire, & Norfolk were won over, and even the Beaumont Bishop of Winchester joined her.

But the haughty, domineering attitude she had inherited from her Norman forefathers combined with the regal arrogance and distrust of the nobility she acquired as Holy Roman Empress caused her to blow the whole thing, even though she was right there in the "centers of power", ie, Winchester & London! So I dont think it mattered much where Matilda's base was as long as she was that special endearing blend of Norman queen & German empress...