Queens in Tolkien & Martin | MAGICCON 6

Published by Robert Eiba at 23. March 2023

Women had various opportunities to exercise power as queens in the European Middle Ages, but only later were they accepted as arbitrary rulers, with reservations. Both J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin integrate high-handed female rulers into their cultures of Númenor and Westeros, respectively, which are strongly oriented toward European history. These queens are confronted with prejudices based on their gender. This is especially evident with Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon.

The lecture Queens in Tolkien & Martin deals with the different queens from Tolkien’s and Martin’s works, among others with reference to real historical models. The queens of Númenor are presented, whereby it also plays a role how they are portrayed in the books, or in the case of Míriel currently in Rings of Power.

In addition, it is about the most famous queens of Westeros, where the probability of finding real role models from history is the highest. Again, the way the characters and their struggle for political (and personal?) autonomy are portrayed plays a role.

Attention: Regarding House of the Dragon, there might be spoilers!

Lecturer: Isabel Busch

Duration: 60 min - The Lecture will be held in: german

Isabel Busch, M. A. is an English scholar, comparatist, and historian. She studied in Bonn and Cork (Ireland) and is pursuing a PhD in English Studies on gender concepts in the modern English fantasy novel. She has worked for the Haus der FrauenGeschichte in Bonn since 2013.

She has lectured at conferences of the German Tolkien Society, MagicCon, and for adult education centers on various topics, such as women rebels in history and pop culture or gender in J.R.R. Tolkien. Besides fantasy, she is passionate about history and likes to bring both passions together in her lectures and publications. She also loves (historical) dancing.