Abstract

CORREA BARBOZA, Marcela  and  RODRIGUEZ, Nora. Women's empowerment: The cases of Leonor de Guzmán and Mariana de Austria. Aljaba [online]. 2006, vol.10, pp.205-227. ISSN 1669-5704.

Women's power is an issue which historiography, in particular that one which takes gender as an analytic category, is paying special attention to. In this paper, we would like to present and study two aspects under consideration. Firstly, the roles that Doña Leonor de Guzmán and Doña Mariana de Austria played during Alfonso XI and Carlos II reigns, respectively; secondly, the way historiography dealt with the topic of power exercised in each of these cases. On the one hand, Doña Leonor de Guzmán excrcised her power in Castilla-León kingdom in the time she had a love affair with Alfonso XI which lasted twenty years (1330-1350). During that period she acted as a royal concubine. On the other hand, Doña Mariana de Austria, was king FelipeIV legitimate wife, and she acted as the regent queen (1665-1675) during prince Carlos II childhood. Taking these differences into account, we will deal with the role each of them played and the cultural, social and political circumstances that allowed them to exercise a royal power, that is to say, empowerment.

Keywords : Power; Concubine royal; Queen regent; Empowerment.