ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys the evolution of queenship over the period 850–1000 and examines the evidence for its institutionalisation over the period. Through these years, queenship was increasingly defined by a set of traditional prerogatives, lands, and revenues. This is particularly the case through the tenth century, though the evidence is fragmentary and, at times, inconclusive. It is, nonetheless, an important aspect of the transition of queenship from a conceptually nebulous role for which we have little extant diplomatic evidence to something approaching an ‘office’. Beginning with the ordines of the queens Judith and Ælfthryth, this chapter considers the politicisation of queenly status and the effect this could have on dynastic legitimacy. It then turns to the performance of queenship through advocacy, patronage, and land ownership, questioning the extent to which such prerogatives can be considered to exist on a continuum.
