When Women Ruled the World: Making the Renaissance in Europe

In this book, leading Renaissance scholar Maureen Quilligan shows how four powerful women redefined European monarchy in the 16th century.

Amidst chronic instability and religious wars, the 16th century witnessed the flourishing of a pacifist culture cultivated by extraordinary women rulers, including Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Catherine de’ Medici. Their lives were intertwined by blood, marriage, and a shared recognition of their need to unite against threats to their positions and the foundations of monarchy.

Quilligan challenges centuries of historical analysis that depicted their governments as riven by personal jealousies. Instead, this book shows how these regents carefully engendered mutual respect through gift-giving, which created a steep social hierarchy enabling women to assume political authority beyond gender norms.

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