ABSTRACT
Maud and Margaret, connected minimally by blood but even more by affinity, were connected by shared ambitions and a proximity to power. Their stories provide a fascinating glimpse into the myriad ways in which aristocratic women operated as conduits of land and authority from their natal families to their families by marriage and also as participants in the intricate weaving of the personal and the political that characterized the medieval aristocratic world. This chapter describes the careers of these two women parallel closely and also that they shared a number of very specific agendas: to promote alliances within the affinity and kin of the Marshal earldom of Pembroke in two important incarnations. It describes to perform acts of conspicuous piety that emphasized associations with specific monastic groups related to these affinities; and to present themselves as effective actors in the larger environment of aristocratic public life.
