Initiatives taken by women during the Middle Ages, particularly those of the upper social strata, were reflected strikingly in art, regardless of whether the women had commissioned the works, were benefactors, or were directly involved as active participants in a wide range of activities as founders. One should not overlook the actual creative activities of women – in all social strata they could doubtless also work as artists. Conference contributions on topics from art history (including architecture, sculpture, painting, and the decorative arts) will be accompanied by, among other things, discussion of questions in literary history and musicology. The conference seeks to provide space for wide-ranging interdisciplinary discussion at an international level.

Queens, Noblewomen, and Burgher Women, 1300–1550:
Initiative Takers or Passive Patrons?
10–11 November 2022, Academic Conference Centre, Husova 4a, Prague

Thursday 10th November 2022
9.00 Morning coffee, registration

9.45–10.00
CONFERENCE OPENING AND WELCOME SPEECH
Tomáš Winter, Director of the Institute of Art History of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
Welcome speech
Helena Dáňová, Institute of Art History of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
Opening

Each paper represents 20 minutes speech and 10 minutes discussion

10.00–12.15
I. INTRODUCTION: THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES
10.00
Elena (Ellie) Woodacre, Faculty of Humanities and Social Science, University of Winchester, UK
Initiatives in Queenship Studies: Tracing the trajectory of the field

10.30
Helena Dáňová – Klára Mezihoráková, Institute of Art History of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
Initiative or passivity? The role of women in the material culture of the Middle Ages in the Czech Lands

11.15
Amalie Fößel, Institute of History, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Reflections on the Queens’ Agency during the 14th century

11.45
Noelia García Pérez, Faculty of Arts, University of Murcia, Spain
Defining Themselves or Defined by Others? Women, Portrait and Art Patronage in Early Modern Europe

12.15 – 14.00: Lunch break

14.00–17.00
II. INITIATIVES OF QUEENS AND WOMEN OF HIGH NOBILITY: CASE STUDIES
14.00
Alexandra Gajewski, The Burlington Magazine, London, UK
Jouarre Abbey in the 13th century and a new tomb of princess Osanna

14.30
Klára Benešovská, Institute of Art History of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
A Dual Path to the Salvation of the Self, of the Family, of the Kingdom: Elizabeth Richenza (1288–1335) and Elizabeth Přemyslid of Bohemia (1292–1330)

15.00:
Elena (Ellie) Woodacre, Faculty of Humanities and Social Science, University of Winchester, Great Britain
Family Dynamics & Personal Initiative: The Patronage of Joan of Navarre (c. 1368–1437)

15.30–16.00: Coffee break

16.00
Dagmar Eichberger, Institute of European Art History, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Margaret of Austria (1480–1530): Artemisia, Juno or Caritas? Shaping a public persona in religious and political contexts

16.30
Olga M. Hajduk, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland – Jarosław Pietrzak, Institute of History and Archiving, Pedagogical University in Kraków, Poland
The Queens as founders and collectors: remarks on the activities of Bona Sforza (1494–1557) and Anna Jagiello (1503–1547)

17.00: Discussion & Wine

ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

Friday, 11th November 2022
9.30 Morning coffee

10.00–11.30
III. CREATIVE ACTIVITY OF NOBLE AND BURGHER WOMEN: WOMEN ARTISTS AND WOMEN INITIATORS
10.00
Milada Studničková, Institute of Art History of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
Laywomen as the Commissioners and Users of Prayer Books in Medieval Bohemia

10.30
Agnieszka Patała, Institute of Art History, Faculty of Historical and Pedagogical Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
(In)visibility of female artists and patrons in Breslau (1300–1550)

11.00:
Ciprian Firea, Institute of Archaeology and Art History Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Clara Thabiassy – a Transylvanian noblewoman living in the town of Sibiu and her patronal enterprises (c. 1520–1525)

11.30 –13.30: Lunch Break

13.30–15.00
IV. WOMEN AND LITERATURE: WRITERS – POETS – READERS
13.30
Soňa Černá, Masaryk Institute and Archive of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
Johann von Neumarkt and his 'Hieronymus Epistles'. A translation for Elisabeth, Margravine of Moravia († 1409)

14.00
Jana Fantysová-Matějková, Masaryk Institute and Archive of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
Surrounded by poets and books: Bonne of Luxembourg (1315–1349) and her relationship to literature

14.30
Věra Soukupová, Institute for Czech Literature of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
Christine de Pizan (1364–1430) and women artists

15.00–15.30: Coffee break

15.30–16.30
V. WOMAN’S PERCEPTION OF ART AND SPIRITUALITY
15.30
Hana Vlhová-Wörner, Masaryk Institute and Archive of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
Psalterium de Nativitate Domini nostri Ihesu Christi for the Abbess Cunigunde (1265–1321)

16.00
Lenka Panušková, Institute of Art History of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
Meditating the Passion in the Passional of the Abbess Cunigunde (1265–1321): A Case Study

16.30: Conclusion & Discussion

18.00
Excursion to the St. Anne Church at the Prague Old Town, the former convent church of the Dominican nuns’ monastery

The conference is organized by the Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Masaryk Institute and Archive of the Czech Academy of Sciences with the support of the Strategy AV 21 Programme (Anatomy of European Society – History, Tradition, Culture, Identity)

Registration
The conference is open to the public. For the Zoom link, please, register for free at the e-mail addresses below before 10th November 2022.
The organizers provide accommodation only for active participants of the conference.

Contacts:
Helena Dáňová
Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Husova 4
110 00 Prague 1
Czech Republic
e-mail: danovaudu.cas.cz

Klára Mezihoráková
Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Husova 4
110 00 Prague 1
Czech Republic
e-mail: mezihorakovaudu.cas.cz

Jana Fantysová-Matějková
Masaryk Institute and Archive of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Gabčíkova 2362/10
182 00 Prague 8
e-mail: fantysovamua.cas.cz