ABSTRACT
Itisthebeliefofsomescholarsthat'feminist'historyisadistinctmodeof intellectualinquiry,tobedistinguishedfrommoretraditional'source-based'history.' Thisallegeddichotomymightseemtobehighlightedbythepresenttopicofroyal womenlinkedtothecourtsofHenryIIIandLouisIX.Thesewomenwereallin varyingdegreeswomenofpower,andanystudyoftheirexperiencetouchesona themeintensivelycultivatedbygenderhistorians.IntroducingWomenand Sovereigntyin1992,LouiseFradenburgwrote:'Inthelasttwodecades,thestudy ofwomenandpowerhasconstitutedoneofthemostgroundbreakingareasof culturalanalysisinspiredbyfeministtheoryandhistoricalscholarship.' 2Sovereignty itself,shesuggests,'doesnotexistapartfromgender;sovereigntyservesand pursuesendsthroughthematrixofculturalconstructionsofgender'.3Theseare significantclaims,andonemightatleastexpectthatthesubstantialwork,towhich sherightlyrefers,mighthavehadappreciableimpactonthewritingoftraditional politicalhistory.
