In its ability to produce sons, the maternal body offered one of the few means for women to attain power and influence in the medieval world. However, it is constantly depicted as being broken down in Old Norse legendary literature, a loose generic distinction taken here to encompass principally the poems of the Poetic Edda and the prosimetric narratives of the fornaldarsögur.
The Female Audience of the Manuscripts of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
June 12, 2018 by
This thesis finds evidence that women used the manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales in an informal way, and the books were potentially kept in close proximity at home.
Renaissance Woman: The Life of Vittoria Colonna
June 5, 2018 by
Ramie Targoff’s Renaissance Woman tells of the most remarkable woman of the Italian Renaissance: Vittoria Colonna, Marchesa of Pescara.
Fighting in women’s clothes: The pictorial evidence of Walpurgis in Ms. I.33
May 18, 2018 by
Ms. I.33 is not only the oldest of the known fencing treatises in European context, it is also the only one showing a woman fighting equally with contemporary men.
Maiden warriors in Old Norse Literature
April 14, 2018 by
In the Old Norse literature, the term ‘shieldmaiden’ (Skjaldmær in Icelandic) tends to be used with reference to a Viking woman warrior
The Women around an Emperor: Anne of Brittany
March 8, 2018 by
In the fifth in a series of features exploring the early modern women whose lives intersected in some way with that of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Natalie Anderson examines the life of Anne of Brittany.
The Spiritual Athlete: Elizabeth of Spaalbeek
February 27, 2018 by
Elizabeth stands out, though, in the sheer physical strength and flexibility shown by her ability to hold postures such as lying down with her head and shoulders elevated for an extended time – an incredible feat of core strength!
The Women around an Emperor: Eleanor of Portugal
February 7, 2018 by
In the fourth in a series of features exploring the early modern women whose lives intersected in some way with that of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Natalie Anderson examines the life of Eleanor of Portugal.
The Evangelical Pearl: The Last Masterpiece of Medieval Female Mysticism
February 6, 2018 by
This paper explores the writings of the anonymous, 16th-century female author of The Evangelical Pearl. Written in the Dutch vernacular and first published in 1537, the work proved to be a popular and influential one.
The Women around an Emperor: Margaret of Austria
February 2, 2018 by
In the third in a series of features exploring the early modern women whose lives intersected in some way with that of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Natalie Anderson examines the life of Margaret of Austria.
The Medieval Magazine: (Volume 4: No. 2): Issue 104: Winter 2018
January 30, 2018 by
Banish the January doldrums with our latest issue featuring Sirens, the Bayeux Tapestry, Joan of Arc, and a trip to Ireland.
From Noblissima Dux to Beata: Expressions of Female Authority and Influence in Medieval Florence
January 26, 2018 by
This thesis argues that, by examining four influential women of Florence and northern Italy over some five centuries’ time, historians can view change over time related to female authority and how it reflects larger social norms.
The Women around an Emperor: Bianca Maria Sforza
January 24, 2018 by
In the second in a series of features exploring the early modern women whose lives intersected in some way with that of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Natalie Anderson examines the life of Bianca Maria Sforza.
The Women around an Emperor: Mary of Burgundy
January 19, 2018 by
In the first in a series of features exploring the early modern women whose lives intersected in some way with that of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Natalie Anderson examines the life of Mary of Burgundy.
The Customary of the Royal Convent of Las Huelgas of Burgos: Female Liturgy, Female Scribes
January 19, 2018 by
This article explores the medieval customary of the royal convent of Las Huelgas of Burgos, a hitherto unpublished document of critical importance for the knowledge of one of the most emblematic institutions of medieval Castile.
A Woman as Leader of Men: Joan of Arc’s Military Career
December 26, 2017 by
Though she was radically different from other contemporary military leaders, her troops followed her with a loyalty unsurpassed by any other late-medieval captain.
Will the Real Guinevere Please Stand Up?
December 17, 2017 by
If you’ve ever watched soap operas chances are good you’re familiar with the trope of the evil twin. But did you know it extends even into Arthurian legend?
Book Tour: Heroines of the Medieval World by Sharon Bennett Connolly
November 12, 2017 by
This November, Medievalists.net is pleased to feature Sharon Connolly’s book tour for Heroines of the Medieval World. The book shares the stories of women, famous, infamous, and unknown, who shaped the course of medieval history.
Women and the Reformation
November 9, 2017 by
In 2017, we are celebrating the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 theses, the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Truly a monumental event in western history. But was it only a history initiated and carried by men?
Finding Sanjō Genshi: Women’s Visibility in Late Medieval Japanese Aristocratic Journals
November 1, 2017 by
This study examines women’s visibility in journals composed by Japanese male aristocrats in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries.
Assets to the Country: Countesses in Fourteenth Century England
October 23, 2017 by
Surviving sources can tell us much about medieval noblewomen, even if many earlier historians ignored them. We learn that these women were strong and intelligent, and can answer questions about their childhoods, their abilities to choose marriage partners, their daily and annual schedules, and their experiences during widowhood.
Women, attorneys and credit in late medieval England
October 16, 2017 by
In recent years, quantitative research regarding the use of later medieval English courts has dispelled the old myth that women at law were mostly engaged in litigation over land.
‘Nec ancilla nec domina’: Representations of Eve in the Twelfth Century
October 16, 2017 by
This thesis seeks to demonstrate the extent to which the figure of Eve operated in twelfth-century commentary on Genesis as a crucial means by which to examine some of the most fundamental and problematic areas of the hexaemeron and fall narratives.
Agatha, Clerical ‘Wife’ and Wet Nurse to King John of England, Longtime Companion to Godfrey de Lucy, Bishop of Winchester
October 16, 2017 by
Agatha is the earliest royal wet nurse for whom at least a faint sketch of her life can be drawn, and she presents a rare view of a non-noble, non-royal, non-religious English woman of the late twelfth- and early thirteenth centuries.
Women in Domesday
October 10, 2017 by
Four women may be taken as typical of the sort of information Domesday includes, and the sort of women on whom it focusses.
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