Medieval Queens, Empresses, and Women Rulers

Women of Power in the Middle Ages

By Jone Johnson Lewis, About.com Guide

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Mary I

(February 18, 1516 - November 17, 1558; England)
Daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, Mary's reign in England attempted to restore Roman Catholicism. The execution of Protestants as heretics earned her the sobriquet "Bloody Mary."

Mary Queen of Scots

(December 8, 1542 - February 8, 1587; France, Scotland)
A potential claimant to the British throne and briefly Queen of France, Mary became Queen of Scotland when her father died and she was only a week old. Her reign was brief and controversial.

Mary of Burgundy

(February 13, 1457 - March 27, 1482; France, Austria)
Mary of Burgundy's marriage brought the Netherlands to the Habsburg dynasty and her son brought Spain into the Habsburg sphere.

Mary of Guise (Mary of Lorraine)

(November 22, 1515 - June 11, 1560; France, Scotland)
Mary of Guise was part of the powerful Guise family of France. As wife of James V of Scotland, and mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, she worked to suppress Protestantism in Scotland and triggered a civil war.

Mary Tudor

Henry VIII's younger sister, Mary Tudor, was married at 18 to the 52-year-old King of France, Louis XII. When Louis died, Mary secretly married Henry VIII's friend, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. She was the grandmother of Lady Jane Grey.

Empress Matilda (Matilda or Maud, Lady of the English)

Widow of the Holy Roman Emperor, she was named by her father, Henry I of England, as his successor. She fought a long war of succession with her cousin, Stephen, who seized the throne before Matilda could be crowned.

Anna Nzinga

(1581 - December 17, 1663; Angola)
Anna Nzinga was a warrior queen of the Ndongo and queen of Matamba. She led a resistance campaign against the Portuguese and against slave trading.

Olga of Russia

(about 890 (?) - July 11, 969 (?); Kiev, Russia)
A cruel and revengeful ruler as regent for her son, Olga was the first Russian saint in the Orthodox Church, for her efforts in converting the nation to Christianity.

Empress Suiko

(554 - 628)
Although the legendary rulers of Japan, before written history, were said to be empresses, Suiko is the first empress in recorded history to rule Japan. During her reign, Buddhism was promoted official0y, Chinese and Korean influence increased, and, according to tradition, a 17-article constitution was adopted.