Introduction

Gendering Late Medieval Habsburg Dynastic Politics: Maximilian I and His Social Networks

“…17 In consequence, recent studies have started to scrutinize gendered norms and political agency of both prominent and "forgotten" queens within networks of kin and court connections and as agents of cultural communication, 18 flanked by more general approaches to gender and status competition. 19 And they have looked into the social function of transregional kinship structures, thus integrating regional and global perspectives into an increasingly systematic comparative framework that helped to move gender issues center stage in studies of power and politics. 20 Gendering Maximilian's Dynastic Politics Maximilian's notorious dynastic politics included his own marriages with Mary of Burgundy and Bianca Maria Sforza of Milan and numerous marriage projects for his relatives and friends.…”