Runaway Rulers: Marriage, Power, and Building a Wider Medieval Europe

Abstract

1066 is a staple of narratives of medieval Europe. Less often discussed are the horizontal ties connecting its famous participants into a wider medieval Europe. This article will examine the runaway royals, male and female, from Anglo-Saxon England (and elsewhere), and how they sought support and alliances with Rus’ and Ireland. Dynastic marriages were a staple of medieval European political interactions because they allowed rulers to give aid to other runaway rulers and to enhance their own political positions. Iaroslav the Wise of Rus’ was well known for marrying his children to royals from throughout medieval Europe. His example demonstrates the guiding principle that marriages were often made by ruling families with perhaps little more than the hope that the subjects of the marriage, typically exiled royalty, would return to their home kingdoms and take the throne or some similar position of power. In Ireland, we see less a focus on marital relationships and more on martial ones, as Diarmait mac Máel na mBó of Dublin lent military aid and ships to the runaway Anglo-Saxons and others in a bid to help them, while also potentially enhancing his own position—much like the guiding principle seen in dynastic marriages. This article serves as a way to nuance and enrich the stories that we tell about medieval Europe; stories that demonstrate not just the traditional master narrative but the breadth of the web of medieval Europe.