What's in a signature? Assessing the use of the royal signature by the Queens of Portugal in the late Middle Ages

Keywords: Royal Signature, Queenship, Late Medieval Portugal, Self-representation, Assinatura Régia, Reginalidade, Portugal Medieval, Autorrepresentação

Abstract

A signature is a personal sign left by the emissary of a document. In the Middle Ages a royal signature was a powerful representation of the monarch. The Queens of Portugal are no exception to both ideas. Through the centuries, the typical queenly signature became part of the queenship apparatus. However, these royal women had the choice to manipulate the signature to some extent to represent themselves and their circumstances. This paper reflects on the meanings of the establishment of a queenly signature and the insights the shifts upon that signature can give us.

 Uma assinatura é uma marca pessoal deixada num documento pelo emissário. Na Idade Média a assinatura régia foi uma representação poderosa do monarca. As rainhas de Portugal não são exceção a ambas as ideias. Através dos séculos, a assinatura típica da rainha tornou-se parte integrante da função de consorte. Contudo, estas senhoras tiveram a possibilidade de modificar a assinatura até certo grau, para se representarem e responderem às circunstâncias. Este artigo reflete sobre o significado da criação da assinatura reginal e o que podemos compreender através das mudanças que a mesma sofre.

Author Biography

Inês Olaia, Centro de História da Universidade de Lisboa

Inês Olaia is a PhD candidate in History at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon. She’s working on a thesis titled “By the Grace of God Queen of Portugal: queens’ functions and practices in Medieval Portugal”, for which she was granted a Scholarship (04440.2020.BD) from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia. She holds a MA in Medieval History, with a dissertation studying the jurisdictions of Alenquer and Aldeia Galega da Merceana and the queens’ rule over these towns. She has published several articles in scholarly publications, including a study on emotions and political change and inquest into Filipa of Coimbra, sister of queen Isabel, wife of Afonso V.

Published
2023-12-20
Section
RiMe 12/I n.s. (June 2023). Special Issue