Reviewed by: Women and Economic Power in Premodern Royal Courts ed. by Cathleen Sarti Frank Swannack Sarti, Cathleen, ed, Women and Economic Power in Premodern Royal Courts, Leeds, Arc Humanities Press, 2020; hardback; pp. 108; R.R.P. €69.00; ISBN 9781641892728. Conceived from discussions amongst scholars at numerous academic conferences, Women and Economic Power in Premodern Royal Courts merges two novel approaches. The notion of analysing premodern royal courts as businesses; and the businesswomen behind them. What is remarkable about the volume is that despite being absent from historical records and subjected to patriarchal prejudice, the women studied here made themselves known through economic power. As editor Cathleen Sarti asserts in the introduction, the volume contests 'dominant narratives of women's dependence on their spouses' (p. 2). The essays collected as four chapters restore the imbalance of previously disregarded or understudied premodern records in order for the women of the royal courts to reassert their vital importance. Chapter 1, by Michele Seah and Katia Wright, focuses on fourteenth- and fifteenth-century queenship. In particular, they tackle the ambiguity of noblewomen's inferior social status to men despite being allowed to be autonomous landowners through royal marriage. The major problem to researching economic medieval queenship is that the evidence found in the chancery and exchequer mainly focus on the crown's administration records. Seah and Wright discover the best sources detailing a queen's economic activity are found in their dowers. They also probe the importance of landownership through two illuminating case studies. The first case study is a legal dispute between Margaret of France (Edward I's widow) and the four heiresses of one of her tenants. The intriguing picture emerging from the legal records is how the queen was active in managing the administration of the king's and her own estates. In the second case study, Patent and Parliamentary Rolls provide the evidence for Margaret of Anjou's lands and estates. A careful examination of the records reveals how Margaret's considerable revenue supported the king's finances and enabled her habit of giving expensive gifts to her staff. In Chapter 2, Charlotte Backerra and Cathérine Ludwig-Ockenfels examine the often-overlooked economic power of empresses and princess consorts of the Holy Roman Empire. An obstacle to their research is how records of empresses' financial activity were disregarded and even destroyed. Backerra and Ludwig-Ockenfels focus on Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, the last of the grand ducal dynasty, specifically, her role in managing her personal finances as electress in the Holy Roman Empire, and as a widow committed to investing in the memoria of her late husband. [End Page 257] Laura Tompkins questions Alice Perrers's infamous reputation as Edward III of England's gold-digging mistress. Perrers's image as a 'greedy harlot' has endured historic infamy until the last fifty years has seen her character reappraised by critics (p. 63). Tompkins goes further by exploring the deeply rooted prejudices towards women with considerable economic power. What emerges from Tompkins's study is that Perrers used her political influence and power as the king's mistress to augment her personal wealth beyond Edward III's provision. Perrers comes across as a mafia-style businesswoman in a ruthless patriarchal world that ultimately condemned her. Cathleen Sarti examines the anomalous Sigbrit Villoms, a 'foreign, non-noble woman', and the mother of the Danish king Christian II's mistress, who handled Danish monetary affairs and influenced political change (p 73). Through letters and legal documents, Sarti pieces together an incredible woman who managed the king's finances, helped her daughter the queen through five pregnancies (1517–23), and even taught new medical knowledge to Paracelsus. The fascinating and well-researched articles in Women and Economic Power in Premodern Royal Courts present a clear picture of women's considerable economic skills in premodern royal courts. Kings, it would seem, were often more reliant on their queens and mistresses for financial advice than has been previously considered. Another undervalued aspect of economic life that transpires from the contributions is the women's generosity. With the considerable financial resources available, the women of royal households placed high value on gift...