ABSTRACT
Gender is the analytical tool that allows us to explore and understand the social, not the biological, role of the two sexes. It is particularly fruitful as a means to think about the cooperation between men and women and how they were conditioned by their social roles in society. Memory is the result of a digestive' process whereby past deeds are churned up and presented in the light of present circumstances. Within historical studies there has recently been increasing attention regarding how exactly memorial processes take place and influence the representation of the past. Royal or imperial descent was a crucial factor in the self-image of aristocratic women and its knowledge was handed down through many generations, as is illustrated by the many women and indeed men, who in the central Middle Ages cited descent from Charlemagne. Commemoration of deceased husbands was the most easily performed duty and is the one for which we find the most unambiguous information.
