Publication: Mujeres, dones y cultura material en la Casa de Austria en la segunda mitad del siglo XVI
Authors
Sempere Marín, Alicia
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Escuela Internacional de Doctorado
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García Pérez, Noelia ; González Cuerva, Rubén
Publisher
Universidad de Murcia
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DOI
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info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis
Description
Abstract
Esta tesis doctoral analiza el papel de un grupo de mujeres de la Casa de Austria en la configuración de redes políticas, dinásticas, devocionales y sociales a través de la práctica del don en la segunda mitad del siglo XVI. El estudio parte de la hipótesis de que el don constituyó una herramienta esencial de su agencia, en tanto que medio privilegiado de comunicación simbólica, afirmación de autoridad y construcción de vínculos dinásticos.
A través del examen de los casos de Margarita, María y Juana de Austria -hija natural del emperador Carlos V e hijas de la unión de este con Isabel de Portugal, respectivamente- y de Leonor, Bárbara y Giovanna de Austria -hijas del emperador Fernando I y Ana de Jagellón-, la investigación abarca un arco cronológico comprendido entre 1538 y 1581, periodo en el que estas mujeres desempeñaron un papel determinante en la proyección internacional de la dinastía gracias a sus uniones matrimoniales. Los objetivos principales se articulan en torno a tres ejes principales que han motivado esta investigación: identificar las prácticas susceptibles de ser entendidas como don en el ámbito femenino cortesano; analizar los contextos en los que estas
mujeres articularon redes de influencia mediante el intercambio de bienes; y estudiar la materialidad y los procesos de circulación de los objetos empleados en dichas prácticas.
La metodología empleada combina el análisis histórico-artístico con herramientas de la historia cultural y dinástica, y parte de una amplia labor de investigación archivística desarrollada principalmente entre el Archivo General de Simancas y el Archivio di Stato de Florencia, Mantua, Módena y Parma, complementada con el uso de bases de datos y plataformas digitales. A partir de este trabajo, la tesis se estructura en seis capítulos. Los dos primeros ofrecen el marco conceptual y contextual de la investigación: se presentan las trayectorias vitales de las seis protagonistas, analizando sus distintas posiciones dentro de la dinastía y sus respectivas cortes, y se aborda la práctica del don en la Europa del siglo XVI desde una perspectiva teórica y material. A continuación, los tres capítulos centrales siguen una organización cronológica, coincidiendo con las principales etapas vitales de las protagonistas. En ellos se examinan las formas tempranas de patronazgo femenino, la consolidación de su autoridad política y devocional, y el uso del regalo como herramienta de mediación y comunicación simbólica. Finalmente, el sexto capítulo se dedica al estudio de los testamentos y legados post mortem, donde se analiza cómo estas mujeres prolongaron su acción de patronazgo y su memoria más allá de la muerte, completando así el panorama de las prácticas del don en el ámbito femenino de la Casa de Austria.
Los resultados evidencian que el regalo constituyó un instrumento de agencia fundamental en manos femeninas. A través de la práctica del don, estas mujeres afirmaron su posición dentro de sus respectivas cortes, reforzaron alianzas dinásticas y consolidaron redes de sociabilidad y devoción. Los regalos no solo comprendían objetos suntuarios o artísticos, sino también alimentos, textiles, reliquias o animales, cuya elección respondía a códigos de significado específicos, a la ocasión en que se produjese el obsequio y a su intencionalidad. El estudio demuestra, además, que el don funcionó como un proceso: desde su ideación y provisión hasta su entrega y recepción. En conjunto, la tesis confirma que las hijas de Carlos V y de Fernando I actuaron como mediadoras activas en la circulación de cultura material y como agentes de cohesión dinástica en la Europa Habsburgo durante la segunda mitad del siglo XVI.
This doctoral dissertation examines the role of a group of women of the House of Austria in shaping political, dynastic, devotional, and social networks through the practice of gift-giving during the second half of the sixteenth century. The study is based on the hypothesis that the gift constituted a key instrument of female agency, serving as a privileged means of symbolic communication, affirmation of authority, and construction of dynastic ties. Through an analysis of the cases of Margaret, Maria, and Juana of Austria (natural daughter of Emperor Charles V and daughters of his marriage to Isabella of Portugal) and Eleonora, Barbara, and Giovanna of Austria (daughters of Emperor Ferdinand I and Anna Jagiellonica), the research covers the period between 1538 and 1581, when these women played a decisive role in the international projection of the Habsburg dynasty thanks to their marriages. The investigation is structured around three main objectives: to identify practices that can be understood as forms of gift exchange in the female courtly sphere, to analyse the contexts in which these women articulated networks of influence through the circulation of goods, and to study the materiality and processes of exchange of the objects involved in these practices. The methodology used combines an art-historical approach with tools from cultural and dynastic history, grounded in extensive archival research mainly conducted in the Archivo General de Simancas and the Archivio di Stato of Florence, Mantua, Modena, and Parma, complemented by the use of databases and digital platforms. The thesis is structured into six chapters. The first two provide the conceptual and contextual framework of the research, presenting the lives of the six protagonists, their respective courts, and their positions within the dynasty, while also addressing the practice of gift giving in sixteenth-century Europe from both theoretical and material perspectives. The following three chapters are organised chronologically and examine early forms of female patronage, the consolidation of political and devotional authority, and the use of gifts as tools of mediation and symbolic communication. The final chapter focuses on testaments and post-mortem legacies, analysing how these women extended their patronage and preserved their memory beyond death, thereby completing the panorama of gift practices within the female sphere of the House of Austria. The results demonstrate that gift giving functioned as a fundamental instrument of female agency. Through the practice of the gift, these women asserted their position within their respective courts, reinforced dynastic alliances, and consolidated networks of sociability and devotion. Gifts included not only luxurious or artistic objects but also foodstuffs, textiles, relics, and animals, whose selection responded to specific codes of meaning, the context of the exchange, and the intention of the giver. The study further shows that gift giving operated as a process, from conception and commissioning to delivery and reception. Overall, the dissertation confirms that the daughters of Charles V and Ferdinand I acted as active mediators in the circulation of material culture and as agents of dynastic cohesion within Habsburg Europe during the second half of the sixteenth century.
This doctoral dissertation examines the role of a group of women of the House of Austria in shaping political, dynastic, devotional, and social networks through the practice of gift-giving during the second half of the sixteenth century. The study is based on the hypothesis that the gift constituted a key instrument of female agency, serving as a privileged means of symbolic communication, affirmation of authority, and construction of dynastic ties. Through an analysis of the cases of Margaret, Maria, and Juana of Austria (natural daughter of Emperor Charles V and daughters of his marriage to Isabella of Portugal) and Eleonora, Barbara, and Giovanna of Austria (daughters of Emperor Ferdinand I and Anna Jagiellonica), the research covers the period between 1538 and 1581, when these women played a decisive role in the international projection of the Habsburg dynasty thanks to their marriages. The investigation is structured around three main objectives: to identify practices that can be understood as forms of gift exchange in the female courtly sphere, to analyse the contexts in which these women articulated networks of influence through the circulation of goods, and to study the materiality and processes of exchange of the objects involved in these practices. The methodology used combines an art-historical approach with tools from cultural and dynastic history, grounded in extensive archival research mainly conducted in the Archivo General de Simancas and the Archivio di Stato of Florence, Mantua, Modena, and Parma, complemented by the use of databases and digital platforms. The thesis is structured into six chapters. The first two provide the conceptual and contextual framework of the research, presenting the lives of the six protagonists, their respective courts, and their positions within the dynasty, while also addressing the practice of gift giving in sixteenth-century Europe from both theoretical and material perspectives. The following three chapters are organised chronologically and examine early forms of female patronage, the consolidation of political and devotional authority, and the use of gifts as tools of mediation and symbolic communication. The final chapter focuses on testaments and post-mortem legacies, analysing how these women extended their patronage and preserved their memory beyond death, thereby completing the panorama of gift practices within the female sphere of the House of Austria. The results demonstrate that gift giving functioned as a fundamental instrument of female agency. Through the practice of the gift, these women asserted their position within their respective courts, reinforced dynastic alliances, and consolidated networks of sociability and devotion. Gifts included not only luxurious or artistic objects but also foodstuffs, textiles, relics, and animals, whose selection responded to specific codes of meaning, the context of the exchange, and the intention of the giver. The study further shows that gift giving operated as a process, from conception and commissioning to delivery and reception. Overall, the dissertation confirms that the daughters of Charles V and Ferdinand I acted as active mediators in the circulation of material culture and as agents of dynastic cohesion within Habsburg Europe during the second half of the sixteenth century.
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10-dic-2026
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