Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It

by Janina Ramírez

Contemporary writers have described her ‘new song’ as differing completely from the traditions of the time. In skipping across octaves, jumping from very low notes to very high ones, her music is unlike anything else that survives from the medieval period.80 Today she is one of the most celebrated early musical composers and the haunting originality of her pieces are as affective now as they were 900 years ago.81

Why has Hildegard’s name survived down the centuries when those of so many other medieval women have disappeared? Her longevity and productivity had a lot to do with it. If she had died aged 50 she would have left behind only a handful of songs and one book. But the latter part of her life was one of extraordinary creativity and a staggering output of work. She also had friends in the right places. The men and women who surrounded and supported her were some of twelfth-century Europe’s biggest players, and her correspondence shows that she was able to play on her reputation to get what she needed. Clearly she was extraordinary in terms of character, intellect and determination, but her most important decision was to commit her ideas to writing. She crafted her own legacy and those around her secured it. By creating the Riesencodex at the end of her life, her followers produced a single volume that has protected her vast literary and musical outpourings down the centuries.

But while Gebeno is now remembered as a footnote, Hildegard’s reputation has only grown as her achievements across the disciplines are increasingly understood and appreciated. She was finally recognised as Saint Hildegard of Bingen and one of only four female Doctors of the Church in 2012.

Although Hildegard is possibly best remembered now for her remarkable achievements in the sciences, linguistics and composition, arguably her greatest achievement was as a theologian. Women were not permitted to write on religious matters. That she developed such a sophisticated and unique religious approach, where God’s love is feminine and nurturing and creation was born of divine love, was incredible.

Within the Cathar church women could teach, preach and save.37 They shared power.

It cannot be underestimated how heavy the burden weighed on medieval women, knowing that from childhood their destiny was to put their lives in danger through childbirth. While most women might be vulnerable to rape, or rejection by a man who had impregnated her therefore rejection by society, Cathar women could lean on their promise to abstain from sex as a means of taking control. About one in 20 women died in childbirth, and many more would have to deal with losing children, physical pain and long-term health issues.38 To abstain from sexual activity on religious grounds was a safer bet for many, including for nuns, whose populations exploded during the medieval period, and for groups like the Cathars.

There are also some Cathar accounts of the biblical Fall that suggest that the devil seduced souls in the form of a beautiful woman no one could resist.39 The age-old implication that women could be temptresses was still present in the Cathar church. But overall it is fair to say that their approach to duality, the fact they perceived all human flesh as flawed, and their inclusive preaching of the Bible were more forgiving towards women than the views of the orthodox church. Women also had equal rights to land ownership in Languedoc and could be found at the head of powerful families across the region, so through their links with Catharism, certain individuals were able to enjoy influence they might not otherwise have gained.40

She was made a perfect and ran a house for Cathars in Pamiers. In the same city, two years after the death of her husband, Esclarmonde attended a council where representatives of Catholics, Cathars and Waldensians presented their beliefs. It ran for a month and each spokesperson was given a full day to argue their position. To the disdain of the predominantly male council, Esclarmonde was invited to present on Cathar beliefs. She took the stage but was heckled by the Catholic representative, Brother Étienne de Misérichorde: ‘Go, Madam, to spin your distaff. It is not appropriate for you to speak in a debate of this kind.’51 The misogynistic response has enflamed centuries of commentators, who see in Esclarmonde a proto-feminist. Indeed, she has developed legendary status in the Pays Cathare, even though it is difficult to gather facts such as where and when she died. Her involvement in a council and her derogatory treatment by a member of the clergy highlights both the positions to which Cathar women could rise, and the destruction their reputations could suffer at the hands of the orthodox church.

The girls did find refuge from time to time. At Lavaur they stayed a full year at the home of the perfect Azalais. But in May 1211 atrocities were once again close. In the same town, the local castle was attacked. The defence was led by the owner and lady of the castle, Giralda, who commanded the troops and held back Simon de Montfort’s forces for two months.54 When Giralda and her soldiers finally capitulated the punishment was extreme. Sources report that 80 knights were hung, while 400 heretics were burned. Giralda herself was thrown down a well and stoned to death.55 Her sister, Esclarmonde of Niort, would also gain lasting notoriety in her actions against the crusaders. Along with their third sister, Navarra of Servain, the three women formed the foundations of a familial network which controlled the major estates across the entire Languedoc region.56

That a woman could act as a spy for the inquisition and could simultaneously be embraced by Cathar communities shows the tightrope many walked during these turbulent years.

Jadwiga’s very life seems impossible. She was the one and only female ‘king’ of Poland. In fact, she and her sister Mary, who was declared King of Hungary, are two of the only women in Europe to have held the title of ‘Rex’ rather than ‘Regina’.

However, the university was not named after Jadwiga. Jagiełło oversaw the official opening of the Jagiellonian University just months after her death in 1399. His involvement in its creation was minimal. She dedicated her worldly possessions and energy to it. History has written her name out of her greatest legacy.

Let no man steal your legacy!

marrying Jagiełło and working alongside him as joint ruler, she ensured a dynastic relationship between Poland and Lithuania that would last four centuries. She also ensured the conversion of the last pagan country in Europe, and many Lithuanians still hold to that faith today; it is the country with the highest density of Catholics in all the Baltic states.48

While her legacy had been written out of the university she founded and the victories that cemented Poland’s prominence in fourteenth century Europe, it survives in the artworks she commissioned – a trail of breadcrumbs leading back through time.

Margery will be our guide to her hometown and through her we will unpack what life was like for a merchant, mystic and self-professed ‘mad’ medieval woman. By understanding this extraordinary self-determined, entrepreneurial, outspoken woman from six centuries ago we will see that our modern notions of female agency have far older roots than we might imagine.

Margery was in contact with the very highest men in the church and was able to defend herself rigorously and learnedly under examination, using her humour and her knowledge of religion. Proving a woman could be well-educated and informed on matters of faith, her command of religious principles was just as strong as many of the men of her time. According to the Book, the lawyers of Lincoln even claim ‘we’ve been schooled for years, and yet we’re not as competent to answer as you’.46

Perhaps the most noteworthy of her female interactions is with the famous anchorite, Mother Julian of Norwich. The tone of Margery and Julian’s books couldn’t be more different, with the latter’s Revelations of Divine Love unfolding gently like a web of contemplation. Her famous phrase, ‘all shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well’ epitomises what makes Julian’s work so special: a consistent quality of patience and calm – Margery’s chaotic and, at times, difficult work makes for a striking contrast. But when writing about their meeting, Margery manages to capture Julian’s voice. We recognise the anchoress’s tone as we know it from Revelations in Julian’s line, ‘He who is always doubting is like a wave on the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind’.73 The interaction between two of Norfolk’s most famous medieval women shows Margery’s ability to record not just what a person said to her, but also capture nuance in the way in which it was said.

This was certainly the case in towns connected by the Hanseatic League, but during the period of Viking expansion there were also many people moving and being moved from Asia, the Middle East and northern Africa into Europe and vice versa. There is even a reference to Vikings in Newfoundland returning with two Native American children, who may have settled and ultimately entered the gene pool in Iceland.14 In 2011 a DNA feature (C1e) was identified in the Icelandic population which is not of European or Asian origin, and may have arrived with a Native American woman around the year AD 1000.15 Enslaved people moved in multiple directions and came from different ethnic backgrounds. While some historians maintain that ‘there were no slaves in northern Europe in the late-medieval period, let alone black ones,’ this simply was not the case.16

Slavery continued after the collapse of Rome, and during the centuries known as the ‘Barbarian Invasions’ prisoners of war were rounded up and moved, sold or forced into servitude. Thousands of Irish female slaves were taken to Iceland and their DNA integrated with Norwegian men during the original settlement of the ninth and tenth centuries. Caucasian slaves were valued highly in Islamic Spain with women selected to birth children for the Caliphs of Córdoba.

The potential for widening global reach was not lost on international rulers either. In the twelfth century Emperor Frederick Barbarossa sought to expand the Holy Roman Empire to encompass all of Christendom and beyond. He introduced imagery of non-white individuals into the visual arts of his court, and representations of black saints, like Maurice, increased as a means of showing the international influence of Christianity with Barbarossa at its head. He drew people from across Europe, Asia and Africa to his court.27 He favoured Islamic scholars and made peace treaties with the Sultan of Egypt to secure a Christian presence in Jerusalem. Always at loggerheads with the papacy, Barbarossa’s tolerance of non-Christians was criticised by the church. Yet the image of a diverse, expansive Holy Roman Empire had a lasting impact on medieval art, thought and state-building.28

We are all responsible for how people in the future will interpret the historic times we are living through. But first, we need to look backward to understand where we are now and create the future we want to see.

These medieval women changed the times they lived through and left echoes of their lives for us to uncover centuries later. Every one of us is part of the ever-shifting passage of history. It is our responsibility to think about how we want it recorded and remembered.