Women as mediators between two Hapsburg Empires. Noblewomen in client networks of Spanish kings in the 16 th and 17 th centuries.
Provider: Grantová agentura ČR
Programme: Standardní projekty
Implementation period: 01.01.15 - 31.12.17
Workplace:
Fakulta filozofická - Ústav historických věd
Investigator: Marek Pavel
Description:
The main subject of the research will be the role of noblewomen in the process of political and cultural communication between Central European Hapsburg monarchy and Spanish Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. Wedding alliances will be analyzed properly, they were a means of bonding nobility to imperial Spanish policy and at the same time, they were a necessary requirement in the process of creating supra-national aristocracy. That group of noble families would be connected by catholic belief and loyalty to the reigning dynasty. The author will try to prove that noblewomen were not only passive objects of political interest but they were often given a great deal of social capital. It enabled them to influence their husbands´ and their sons´ careers. Finally, many noblewomen had a significant position in Spanish kings´ client network due to the above mentioned factors and they played key roles in the process of implementing Spanish imperial and antireformist policies in Central Europe.
The main subject of the research will be the role of noblewomen in the process of political and cultural communication between Central European Hapsburg monarchy and Spanish Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. Wedding alliances will be analyzed properly, they were a means of bonding nobility to imperial Spanish policy and at the same time, they were a necessary requirement in the process of creating supra-national aristocracy. That group of noble families would be connected by catholic belief and loyalty to the reigning dynasty. The author will try to prove that noblewomen were not only passive objects of political interest but they were often given a great deal of social capital. It enabled them to influence their husbands´ and their sons´ careers. Finally, many noblewomen had a significant position in Spanish kings´ client network due to the above mentioned factors and they played key roles in the process of implementing Spanish imperial and antireformist policies in Central Europe.
