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Medieval Queens, Empresses, and Women Rulers

Women of Power in the Middle Ages

By , About.com Guide

Berenguela of Castile

(1180 - 1246) Married briefly to the King of Leon before their marriage was annulled to please the church, Berenguela served as regent for her brother, Enrique (Henry) I of Castile until his death. She gave up her right to succeed her brother in favor of her son, Ferdinand, who eventually also succeeded his father to the crown of Leon, bringing the two lands together under one rule. Berenguela was a daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor Plantagenet, Queen of Castile.

Blanche of Castile

(1188-1252; France)
Blanche of Castile was ruler of France twice as regent for her son, Saint Louis.

Brunhilde

(about 545 - 613; Austrasia - France, Germany)
A Visigoth princess, she married a Frankish king, then revenged her murdered sister by starting a 40-year war with a rival kingdom. She fought for her son, grandsons and great-grandson, but was finally defeated and the kingdom lost to the rival family.

Catherine of Valois

(October 27, 1401 - January 3, 1437; France, England)
Catherine of Valois was the daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother of kings. Her relationship with Owen Tudor was a scandal; one of their descendents was the first Tudor king.

Catherine Parr - Sixth Wife of Henry VIII

Catherine Parr, after a Holbein painting© Clipart.com
(1512? - September 5 or 7, 1548; England)
Sixth wife of Henry VIII, Catherine Parr was initially reluctant to marry Henry, and by all accounts was a patient, loving, and pious wife to him in his last years of illness, disillusion, and pain. She was an advocate of Protestant reforms.

Cecily Neville

(May 3, 1415 - May 31, 1495; England)
Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, was mother to two kings of England, and wife to a would-be king. She plays a part in the politics of the War of the Roses.

Edith (Eadgyth) of England

(about 910 - 946; England)
Daughter of King Edward the Elder of England, she was married off to the Emperor Otto I as his first wife.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Effigy of Eleanor of Aquitaine, tomb at Fontevraud Touriste at wikipedia.org, released into the public domain
(1122 - 1204; France, England) Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of France and England through her two marriages and ruler of her own territories by right of birth, was one of the most powerful women of the world in the twelfth century.

Eleanor, Queen of Castile

(1162 - 1214) Daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine, and mother of Enrique I of Castile as well as daughters Berenguela who served as a regent for her brother Enrique, Blanche who became Queen of France, Urraca who became Queen of Portugal, and Eleanor who became (for a few years) Queen of Aragon, Eleanor Plantagenet ruled alongside her husband, Alfonso VIII of Castile.

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I - Painting by Nicholas Hilliard© Clipart.com, modifications © Jone Johnson Lewis
(September 9, 1533 - March 24, 1603; England)
Known as Queen Bess or the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I ruled at a key time in England's history, and is one of the most-remembered British rulers, male or female.
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