This exhibition will analyse six coins minted within those territories, from the twelfth to the fifteenth century, to provide insight into how female authority was conceived and conveyed.
On a religious level, the Virgin played an important role in the visual propaganda of kings such as Roger of Salerno and Leo I. As the Mother of Christ and the Queen of Heaven, she was prayed to as a powerful intercessor capable of seeking divine mercy for those who invoked her. On a political level, female inheritance to the throne was permitted in the crusader states to ensure the continuity of the ruling family that had established itself in that region. In the absence of a son, Leo I of Armenia chose his daughter, Isabel or Zabel, as his rightful heir. Furthermore, strong regent mothers took the fate of the states into their own hands upon the deaths of their husbands, as Isabella de Villehardouin did for Achaea.
While highlighting the importance held by the Virgin, as a Queen herself, and by the women who temporarily ruled the crusader states, this interpretation also seeks to reveal the challenges they inevitably confronted in a patriarchal society. Even when legally entitled to the throne, they were often controlled or manipulated by their own families, or even by authorities from their country of origin.
These six crusader coins have been selected from among the over 800 owned by the Museum of the Order of St John. These are the only types of coin in the collection that feature female subjects, although the Museum holds multiple copies of each. Whether dedicated to the Virgin, depicting a royal couple, or minted by queens, these coins stand out for their rarity and the historical narratives they embody.
This theme was researched and written by Ilenia Favaretto as part of the University of Birmingham's College of Arts and Law Collaborative Research Internships 2024.
On a religious level, the Virgin played an important role in the visual propaganda of kings such as Roger of Salerno and Leo I. As the Mother of Christ and the Queen of Heaven, she was prayed to as a powerful intercessor capable of seeking divine mercy for those who invoked her. On a political level, female inheritance to the throne was permitted in the crusader states to ensure the continuity of the ruling family that had established itself in that region. In the absence of a son, Leo I of Armenia chose his daughter, Isabel or Zabel, as his rightful heir. Furthermore, strong regent mothers took the fate of the states into their own hands upon the deaths of their husbands, as Isabella de Villehardouin did for Achaea.
While highlighting the importance held by the Virgin, as a Queen herself, and by the women who temporarily ruled the crusader states, this interpretation also seeks to reveal the challenges they inevitably confronted in a patriarchal society. Even when legally entitled to the throne, they were often controlled or manipulated by their own families, or even by authorities from their country of origin.
These six crusader coins have been selected from among the over 800 owned by the Museum of the Order of St John. These are the only types of coin in the collection that feature female subjects, although the Museum holds multiple copies of each. Whether dedicated to the Virgin, depicting a royal couple, or minted by queens, these coins stand out for their rarity and the historical narratives they embody.
This theme was researched and written by Ilenia Favaretto as part of the University of Birmingham's College of Arts and Law Collaborative Research Internships 2024.
