Chapter 1 - Elena Woodacre
Understanding the Mechanisms of Monarchy
This chapter looks at monarchy through a wide-reaching theoretical lens, examining the key elements which underpin monarchy across all eras, cultural, and geographical contexts. It posits a conceptual framework for understanding monarchy through the interplay of nine key elements: power, law, and religion; ceremonial, representation, and display; and finally dynasty, court, and realm. By examining how these key elements interact and form the foundation upon which monarchy rests, we gain a deeper understanding of how rulership is constructed and functions. This chapter intends to provide a theoretical basis for the case studies in the collection which follow and gives an introduction to the central ideas which run through the rest of the volume.
By Elena Woodacre
Dr. Elena (Ellie) Woodacre
Dr. Elena (Ellie) Woodacre is a specialist in medieval and Early Modern queenship and a Senior Lecturer in Early Modern European History at the University of Winchester. Her publications include her monograph The Queens Regnant of Navarre. Succession, Politics and Partnership (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and she has edited/co-edited several collections including, Queenship in the Mediterranean (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), The Image and Perception of Monarchy in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (Cambridge Scholars, 2014), Royal Mothers and their Ruling Children (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), Virtuous or Villainess? The Image of the Royal Mother from the Early Medieval to the Early Modern Eras (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), A Companion to Global Queenship (ARC Medieval Press, 2018), Premodern Rulers and Postmodern Viewers (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) and she is the lead editor of History of Monarchy (Routledge). She is currently developing a monograph on Joan of Navarre and a short work on the historiography of queenship studies. Elena is the organizer of the ‘Kings & Queens’ conference series and the founder of the international Royal Studies Network (www.royalstudiesnetwork.org), a resource which aims to bring together scholars who work on monarchical topics. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Royal Studies Journal, an academic, peer-reviewed, multi-lingual and fully open-access publication which was launched in 2014. In addition, she is the lead editor of ARC Humanities Press’ Gender and Power in the Premodern World book series.
She is also the co-editor of the Queens of England series at Routledge
Further author information
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Related Chapters
Chris Jones: Introduction (See Chapter 2)
Lucinda Dean: Introduction (See Chapter 11)
Russell Martin: Introduction (See Chapter 24)
Zita Rohr: Introduction (See Chapter 35)