Heroines of the Medieval World
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
These are the stories of women, famous, infamous and unknown, who shaped the course of medieval history. The lives and actions of medieval women were restricted by the men who ruled the homes, countries and world they lived in. It was men who fought wars, made laws and dictated religious doctrine. It was men who were taught to read, trained to rule and expected to fight. Today, it is easy to think that all women from this era were downtrodden, retiring and obedient housewives, whose sole purpose was to give birth to children (preferably boys) and serve their husbands. Heroines of the Medieval World looks at the lives of the women who broke the mould: those who defied social norms and made their own future, consequently changing lives, society and even the course of history.??Some of the women are famous, such as Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was not only a duchess in her own right but also Queen Consort of France through her first marriage and Queen Consort of England through her second, in addition to being a crusader and a rebel. Then there are the more obscure but no less remarkable figures such as Nicholaa de la Haye, who defended Lincoln Castle in the name of King John, and Maud de Braose, who spoke out against the same kingís excesses and whose death (or murder) was the inspiration for a clause in Magna Carta.??Women had to walk a fine line in the Middle Ages, but many learned to survive ñ even flourish ñ in this male-dominated world. Some led armies, while others made their influence felt in more subtle ways, but all made a contribution to their era and should be remembered for daring to defy and lead in a world that demanded they obey and follow.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
History blogger Connolly (History... the Interesting Bits!) has parlayed her passion for the little-known histories of women into this informative, well-researched book about European women in the 11th 15th centuries. As she points out, her subjects were accomplished women "who stood out in a world dominated by men" to survive in the historical record. The chapters are organized thematically by categories of women ("Disinherited Heroines," "Warrior Heroines," and so on), beginning with "The Medieval Ideal," which outlines the standards to which women were held. These unrealistic expectations were modeled on royal women such as Matilda of Flanders, who married William the Conqueror and was "renowned for her piety," and Blanche of Lancaster, "pregnant for most of her married life." The chapter on literary women includes Marie de France, a mysterious poet whose work drew on Greek, Celtic, and Arthurian legends and inspired Geoffrey Chaucer. The chapters contain a nice mix of well-known women, including religious martyr Joan of Arc, and those less familiar, such as Princess Nest of Wales, mistress of Henry I, who later had children fathered by a succession of three husbands as well as some unknown men. The narrative flow sometimes gets clogged with lengthy recitations of lineage, a minor price to pay for learning about women who found ways around patriarchal social rules to affect "not only their families, but... future generations of women," often through exerting influence over politics. As Connolly ably demonstrates, knowing about these fascinating women is essential to fully understanding medieval Europe. Illus.
