Everything is terrible, I know, but it's still Women's History Month and I still have things to share with you. Today I'm going to tell you about Julian of Norwich, a 14th century mystic and anchoress who was pretty cool. -Julian of Norwich was born. Yay! That's it, that's all we know. Most of what... Continue Reading →
Blog
Earl Godwin, This Fucking Guy
Drunk Friday and a few days ago I described the Godwins as "objectively terrible people" and I remembered that I once said I could do a whole ass rant about Earl Godwin so here it is. Earl Godwin. -this motherfucker -Earl Godwin was born in who-the-fuck cares to some people. Before he was an earl... Continue Reading →
St. Olga of Kiev
Taking a break from finishing this paper to tell you quickly (or not so quickly) about Olga, Grand Princess of Kiev. -Olga was about 15 when she married Igor, the grand prince of Kiev. When she was 20 Igor was murdered by enemy troops after he double-crossed them and tried to collect extra tribute. Which... Continue Reading →
A Language Diversion
Drunk Friday and for something different let's talk about the Old English word tungelwitegan and why I hate to see it translated as 'astronomers' because yes I've been thinking about it. So in Old English there are two words: tungelwitegan and tungelcraeft. Both are compound words, okay? Tungel, or tungol, has various meanings - star,... Continue Reading →
Joan of Arc
Okay okay okay. It's Drunk Friday and I'mma subject you to Joan of Arc, 'cause I've been thinking about her all day for some reason. Okay? Okay. So the French, they're just real fucked up right? In a real mess. Their king is crazy - like, thinks he's made of glass kind of crazy -... Continue Reading →
Edith of Wessex
Oh hey it's Drunk Friday, let's talk about Edith of Wessex, who gets ignored a lot but was actually probably more powerful than she's given credit for -daughter of Earl Godwin, who had his sticky fucking fingers in everyfuckingthing (I am willing to do a Drunk Rant just about This Fucking Guy, lemme know), and... Continue Reading →
Margaret Cheyney & Margaret Tyrrell
Drunk Friday and I was gonna tell you about Hildegard but fuck it, instead we're gonna talk about two women who came up against Henry VIII and paid for it with their lives. No, not those two. Margaret Cheyney was born. We don't know when, or where. But she lived, and people loved her. She... Continue Reading →
Isabella, She-Wolf of France
Drunk Friday on Isabella of France let's go -born 1295, a princess of France -Parents: Philip IV King of France (cold, murdery, hot but horrible) and Joan of Navarre (p. cool, don't know much but led an army herself at one point). Grandparents: yep, had 'em. Great-Grandparents: Louis VIII (meh) and Blanche of Castille (yikes,... Continue Reading →
Isabella of Angouleme
Drunk Friday (or early Saturday whatever) and have I told you about Isabella of Angouleme? I don't think I have. Really not a great person but I have a soft spot for her anyway so let's try this with no references giddy up. -Married Bad King John when she was like 12 years old but... Continue Reading →
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 →
She-Wolves, Mad Mothers, And Also Some Nuns 