King as Mother: Gendered Metaphors of Power in Early Modern Europe

Abstract: The metaphor of the king as mother drew from biblical and classical sources and evidence from nature to describe the authority and legitimacy of male rulers across early modern Europe. Maternal imagery contributed to discussions on differential relations of power and authority. For example, metaphors of nursing kings helped rulers and other officials to articulate the qualities of good rulers and relationships of power between rulers and subjects, royal ministers, and the church. Early modern notions of motherhood were cited to explain hierarchies of authority that appealed to hierarchies seemingly found in nature. The analysis of gendered metaphors can expose assumptions that are often invisible in such vital political concepts as patriarchy, absolutism, and tyranny. The analysis of the metaphor about the king as mother also contributes to our understanding of female authority and of the effectiveness of women’s agency based on the same metaphors and images.