Virtue, Sanctity, and Charity of the Royal Women of Fez. The ‘Mothers of the Believers’ of the Merinid Dynasty

Abstract

The history of the Banū Marīn of the kingdom of Fez (seventh–ninth/thirteenth–fifteenth centuries) cannot and should not be reconstructed without a gender perspective which gives the women of this dynasty a place within its historic discourse. They played a key role in the political and religious legitimacy of the rulers, as reflected by the Banū Marīn historiography which, mirroring the idiosyncrasy of medieval Berber societies, afforded its women a visible space. However, as it was always subject to the clear interests of male political-religious legitimacy, this space for visibilisation is worthy of analysis. This study examines the different profoundly religious behaviour and capabilities which the chronicles assigned to different royal Merinid women, as related in the various anecdotes transmitted in their pages. Additional analysis is carried out on how these model characterisations aimed to increase the aura of spirituality of the amīrs, influenced by their close relationship and everyday contact with these women.