Maria sealed documents as a widow.
A widow’s seal from 1594 survives in the House Bergh archive. It carries her name, titles and an alliance coat of arms.
Sources and women’s power
Letters and quiet power
Not all power was exercised on battlefields. Noblewomen governed through property, family ties, letters, education, seals and the household.
1594
What can a seal tell us that a portrait cannot?
A face may move us, but a deed, signature or seal can show what a person actually did. Maria’s widow’s seal of 1594 is therefore one of the strongest clues to her administrative position.
The seal demonstrates administrative visibility.
Using a personal widow’s seal supports the interpretation that Maria acted independently in legal and administrative matters.
How did Maria experience that responsibility?
The seal proves an action, not an emotion. Without another source we cannot know whether she felt proud, worried, exhausted or determined.
Power without a modern office
Maria is a strong starting point for studying how elite women influenced politics and family strategy in the sixteenth century.
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