Author Description

Gendered Practices Of Rulership Explores The Ways In Which Socially Constructed Differences Between Men And Women Supported The Dynastic Practice Of Power In The Early Modern Duchy Of Württemberg. The Book Investigates Three Generations Of The Württemberg Ducal Family From The Late Sixteenth To The First Half Of The Seventeenth Century. In Five Chapters, Five Gendered Practices Are Examined. They Include The Gendering Of Courtly Space, Of High Ceremonial Events, And Of Dynastic Marriage And Concubinage, As Well As The Gendering Of Kinship Practices. The History Of The Württemberg Dynasty In This Period, Allows For The Observation Of A Range Of Approaches To The Practice Of Power. It Is Documented By Rich Archival Sources - Many Of Which Are Analysed Here For The First Time - And Thus Provides Opportunities For Comparison Between Different Ruling Couples. The Book, However, Does Not Merely Seek To Show How Individual Men, Women, And Couples Engaged In Dynastic Rulership Through Gendered Relationships. Instead, It Also Seeks To Identify The Types Of Gendered Work The Dynastic System Fostered In Order To Remain Functional Over A Long Period Of Time. To Do So, Examples Of Failed Relationships Are At Least As Useful As Those Of Marriages Built On Common Understanding. As A Result Of This Methodological Shift, Aspects Of Life At Court Emerge That Have Previously Escaped In-depth Discussion; For Instance, The Emotionally Cohesive Effects Of Gendered Court Topography, As Well As The Crucial Emotion Work Dynastic Women Were Expected To Perform In Their Marital Relationships, And Which Had Wide-reaching Political Consequences-- Provided By Publisher.