I promised a friend that I would start this thing off with a new post about Matilda of Flanders, so here we go. *daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, and Adela, whose father and brother were kings of France *highly educated - possibly couldn't write, it wasn't a common skill, but knew Flemish, Latin,... Continue Reading →
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Welcome!
Welcome to Medieval Herstory, a repository for all of my ramblings about medieval women. 2ish years ago I started writing quick Facebook posts about women I came across during my MA studies. The posts were never meant to be super detailed, just a list of fun things I thought other people might also find interesting.... Continue Reading →
Sigrid the Haughty
Drunk Saturday 5 Things About Sigrid the Haughty, 10th/11th century Viking queen *Pursued by her foster brother and another suitor who both tried to pressure her into marriage, so she held a feast, invited them both, and then set the feast hall on fire and burned them to death because no means no motherfucker *Courted... Continue Reading →
Joan of England
Drunk Friday History and for a long time now I've been thinking about Joan of England, daughter of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault. This girl has been actively living in the back of my mind for months and passively there for years, almost like she was just waiting for the right time. So here... Continue Reading →
Shajar al-Durr
Drunk Saturday it's been a long time real talk PhD programs will sap your will to live I've been sitting on this one for literally 2 months today's the day let's talk about Shajar al-Durr. -born sometime in the 13th century -purchased as a slave by a sultan of Egypt whose name I can't remember... Continue Reading →
Hildegard of Bingen
Last post written while drinking for a bit (though not last post in general, you don't get off that easy) so let's talk Hildegard of Bingen, because she's been in my head for some reason. *12th century nun, mystic, all-around brilliant lady *Produced a substantial amount of visionary writing, endorsed by the Pope as being... Continue Reading →
Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians
Drunk Summer Vacay and okay fine let's do Aethelflaed. Now I know a lot of you stan The Lady and you might want to fight me when this is over but I have Thoughts so I'm risking it. (Also holy shit this is so, so long, fair warning.) Okay. So for background, which you might... Continue Reading →
St. Isabella of France
It's Women's History Month and y'all know what I study, so I'm going to torture this captive audience and tell you allllll about some of my very favorite ladies. First up: Saint Isabella of France, 13th century princess of I Don't Give A FUCK. Lemme school you on Isabella. -Isabella was the only daughter of... Continue Reading →
Emma of Normandy
I wasn't sure which of my medieval favorites I wanted to spotlight next for Women's History Month - I have so many! - but today I feel like talking about a woman who fucking won. So let's chat about Emma of Normandy, a queen I love so much she made it on my graduation cap.... Continue Reading →
Aelfgifu of Northampton
This got rather long but oh well. Story time. Once upon a time, the country we now know as England was being overrun by Vikings. They kept coming in, doing damage, and then leaving again after getting big payments from the country's terrible, terrible king. Eventually even that financial incentive stopped working, and they decided... Continue Reading →
Judith
Hey. Hey. Hey. Do you know about Judith? Can I tell you about Judith? Let's Drunk Friday History about Judith. Buckle up, butterfucks. So according to the Bible, Judith was this very rich, VERY beautiful widow. Her village was in line to be taken over by this general named Holofernes, who worked for Nebewhateverthefuck (I'm... Continue Reading →
She-Wolves, Mad Mothers, And Also Some Nuns 