Conference Feature: Interview with the organizers of Kings & Queens 14

The Royal Studies Podcast

In this episode, Ellie Woodacre interviews three members of the organizing committee for next year's Kings & Queens 14 conference: Manuela Santos Silva, Maria Dávila and Inês Olaia. We talk about the conference theme, plans for the conference (including the much loved excursions), celebrating the anniversary of Leonor de Lencastre's death and tips for those who are planning to attend.
The call for papers for Kings & Queens 14 “Beyond the King: Diplomacy, Social Roles and Family Dynamics of Monarchies” is out now--the deadline for submissions is 15 December and the conference will take place from 2-5 June 2025 at the University of Lisbon. The full call for papers and more information can be found on the Royal Studies Network website.
Errata: please note that the Call for Papers for Kings and Queens 14 is due on 15 December 2024, not 2014.
Guest Bios:
Manuela Santos Silva is an Associate Professor at the History Department of the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon, at present supervisor of the Specialize Program in Gender and History. As a Researcher of the Centre for History of the University of Lisbon, she coordinates the research group “Court Studies and Diplomacy”.

Within her various fields of interest and research, queenship has been one of the most productive, as she has co-edited several books and collections with colleagues and authored books and a substantial number of articles in collective volumes and scientific journals.

She is a researcher in some international projects such as “MUNARQAS: La reginalidad ibérica desde hacia la Europa Atlántica Economías territoriales, escenarios curiales y geografías relacionales (ss. XII-XV)"”, "(REGINET) REDES DE PODER Y AUTORIDAD DE LAS REINAS E INFANTAS EN LAS MONARQUÍAS IBÉRICAS (1350-1500)", “Examining the Resources & Revenues of Royal Women in Premodern Europe”, and in a Portuguese project about Latin urban legislation.
Maria Dávila is an Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon and a researcher at its Centre for History. Her main research interests include Court Studies, especially the relationship of women and power, during the late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period, and the beginning of the Portuguese expansion. She is a member of several international research projects, including Munarqas coordinated by Diana Pelaz, "Examining the Resources & Revenues of Royal Wemen in Premodern Europe”, and the “Poder Feminino e Mecenato” project coordinated by Ana Maria Rodrigues and Murielle Gaude Ferragu. She has published several papers about elite women in the 15th century and is currently working on a new book about women at the Portuguese court, with Pedro Urbano.
Inês Olaia is a PhD candidate in Medieval History at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon. She’s working on a thesis titled “By the Grace of God Queen of Portugal: queens’ functions and practices in Medieval Portugal”, for which she was granted a Scholarship (04440.2020.BD) from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia. She holds a MA in Medieval History, with a dissertation studying the jurisdictions of Alenquer and Aldeia Galega da Merceana [alternatively: two medieval adjacent towns near Lisbon] and the queens’ rule over these towns. She has published several articles in scholarly publications, including a study on emotions and political change in Portuguese chronicles in 2020, an inquest into Filipa of Coimbra, sister of queen Isabel, wife of Afonso V, in 2022, a study on the rule of queens Teresa and Sancha over a few towns in Portugal and a work on the itineraries of the queens from the time of Manuel I in 2023. Inês has also worked in the history of emotions and published a dozen sources. She’s a team member of several projects, including the eReginae Project (devoted to ed