Rolul femeii în viața politică a Ţării Moldovei și Ţării Românești (sec. XVI-XVII)

Abstract

In this article, the author analyzes the medieval historical sources to determine the role of women in the political life of the Principality of Moldova and Wallachia in XVI-XVII centuries. Women were not allowed to exercise political power in the medieval Romanian society. However, they were often involved, sometimes contrary to their will, in solving political problems. The author concludes that, although the customary legal tradition and the Church did not allow the exercise of political power in the state, the women who were representatives of the social elite, played an important role in the political life in the Principality of Moldova and Wallachia. The visible and accepted role of the women in the Romanian medieval society was that of regent of the underage children. Likewise, women played a significant role in the achievement of the political goals of men, being forced to accept the conclusion of matrimonial alliances in order to confirm external or internal political alliances. At the same time, women - the wives of boyars - were used as means of revenge / punishment of spouses - political actors.