So far, there has been no volume presenting the biographies of all the empresses of the Middle Ages. Now, renowned historians have come together under the editorship of Professor Amalie Fössel to fill this gap. Readers can expect a collection of impressive portraits based on the latest scientific findings. The following questions are central to this work: Why did one become an empress? How did one become one? What responsibilities did an empress have? What influence did she wield? What did it mean to be an empress? Among those presented are Irmingard, Adelheid, Theophanu, Kunigunde, Gisela, Agnes of Poitou, Bertha of Turin, Mathilde of England, Richenza, Beatrix of Burgundy, Constance of Sicily, Constance of Aragon, Margarete of Henngau, Anna of Schweidnitz, Elisabeth of Pomerania, and Eleonore of Portugal. Contributions by Brigitte Kasten.