My suspicion is that earlier Christianity might hold the answer as I think it provided women with new power - only to then be eroded in later centuries again when the religion became more and more linked to state politics. Is be interested to know when you think this power became more diminished and what caused that to happen. Even in later centuries we see Byzantine empresses like Zoe ruling with an iron fist and influential women like Eleanor of Aquitaine, or - going back to there religious sphere - people in Germany like Hildegard of Bingen. Something happened to change that. The splits in the church and the crusades are probably very linked to it too I suspect. I’d love to know more about how many women were translating ancient classical manuscripts - one often thinks of monks doing this but maybe this is totally wrong
There's a post coming up on my other newsletter, Society of History Writers, on Boudicca - tomorrow! As I wrote out the title for the piece it made me think immediately of current world politics (though I tend to shy away from talking about politics on Substack, the parallels were too great to ignore!).
I think that connection between religion and politics is an important one when thinking about the oppression of women throughout history: in its hierarchy/institutional structure, the Church was always governed by men (though that derives at least in part from Scriptural instructions, with exceptions such as Lydia in the New Testament providing parallels for the exceptional women we see in history). As the Church and State became more entwined, naturally women were relegated to back-row seats in the conversation.
I think another factor (I think Evelyn mentions this below) is cultural understandings of female power before the Church arrived in England (or returned?? It had been there before with the Romans but pretty much completely withdrew from eastern England after AD 410). We don't know much, but it seems that women played a role in handing down beliefs and rituals, and it may be that that heritage translated into Christian expressions during the early years of the Church in England.
I think there is a significant difference between the older Christianity which flourished in Britain from the early years of the Roman occupation (Celtic Christianity), which is also where the Anglo-Saxons got it from, and then the far more patriarchal, authoritarian Roman/papal version, which was inflicted completely on the people of Britannia after 1066. The older Celtic version, at least in my humble opinion, has a lot more harmonious paganism in it, which is far more spiritual and as such more gender-balanced. I'm also of the opinion this is why Rome needed to send their subversive missionaries to deal with the 'unruly Britons'. But they didn't completely succeed, I don't think. So I do think it's really only when we get subjugation by the Normans that the really horrible patriarchy happens (it's been this way eve since, alas). Although whether that was simply a means of subjugating the whole population, rather than intentionally designed to subjugate women, is another question. It's certainly true though that these violent, militaristic men did use, or misuse that 'religion' for their own ends.
But I do believe that Christianity, in whatever form, has a lot to do with the patriarchy. Ironic, really, because the one thing the British needed after 1066 was another Boudicca. Still do, actually...
I would say that yes you have convinced me! I have found it so interesting to see how the history of women is being rewritten, especially here in Norway where there has been some more focus on how some of the viking graves believed to be men are now in fact proven to be women.
I've been buried in the sixth and seventh centuries for a while now and I agree with you that there was something different about that time. I do still think patriarchy was a thing though, but there was a little more wiggle room for some women to step outside of the standard expectations for them and exercise more agency than you think they'd be able to. I love it! SO many interesting women who had extraordinary and influential roles in society. I just wrote about Queen Balthild...I'm a huge fan of her. :)
Two excellent books in regards to this topic are:
1. Medieval Elite Women and the Exercise of Power, 1100-1400: Moving Beyond the Exceptionalist Debate (this is not the exact time frame we're discussing but still a great read, it argues we need to stop thinking powerful women were the exception to the rule, but rather, were ubiquitous through out the Middle Ages)
2. Gendering the Master Narrative (this has an essay by Jo Ann McNamara discussing "The power of women through the family in medieval Europe: 500-1100" which is a seminal contribution to the topic)
I absolutely agree that patriarchy was present in those years - to say otherwise would be to ignore a lot of the key sources. There just seems, as you say, to have been quite a few more opportunities for women in those early years following Augustine's mission. What I'd give to have more detail about women's roles in the 6th century! I think we would understand the 7th century a lot more if we had greater clarity on what had come before.
And thank you so much for those recommendations!! Number 2 sounds really quite relevant to my PhD research so I will definitely look that up.
So wonderful - thank you! 🌺 Have you looked at the beguine movement at all, in the 12th-13th centuries? It’s another fascinating example of women exercising far more autonomy and power than we “expect” women in that period to have!
Omg! It’s a mind blowing movement and it’s absolutely incredible that it’s been erased from history - thousands of women all over France, the Lowlands, Germany, etc, took vows of chastity and religious devotion but weren’t nuns and lived independently, supporting themselves financially. Their communities were often large enough that they had their own church and - in Ghent - two churches and a brewery! All the living quarters were owned by the women, and if someone wanted to leave the community to marry or for any other reason, they sold their house to someone else in the community. A number of beguinages still exist and are either UNESCO heritage sites (like the one in Bruges, which has its own moat), or museums, condos for retired people, or in the case of Leuven, part of universities. (If you’re a visiting scholar at KU Leuven, you’re often put up in part of the old beguinage there). You can get a sense for how popular they were just from looking at the Wikipedia page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beguinage
I think it's important to see those blips, right? Patriarchal structures certainly dominated for a long time (including in this period), but I think having such a one-dimensional lens through which to see the past robs us of the opportunities these blips give to see women and their relationships in a different light.
I hope so! I think a strength of the age we live in (though in its shadow side it can be a weakness) is that questioning of the narratives we've received. All I wanted to do today was cast a little doubt on the way medieval history (for women) is usually presented: though much of it is fair, there are a few sparkly moments for women...!
Thank you for your very interesting article. I have never heard of a lot of the medieval ladies you mentioned so it was interesting to read about them.
I think you are right. Being in a religious order at certain points in history was very beneficial to women in terms of education and wealth.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! There were so many women in the past whose names and lives have been forgotten but they deserve to be brought back into the spotlight.
I’m not a Brit. but wasn’t this the timeframe that Christianity took hold? Seems plausible that with the unification of Christianity came a renewed respect for the role of women in society. Is there evidence of a cult of Mary, or was the Trinity emphasized?
My suspicion is that earlier Christianity might hold the answer as I think it provided women with new power - only to then be eroded in later centuries again when the religion became more and more linked to state politics. Is be interested to know when you think this power became more diminished and what caused that to happen. Even in later centuries we see Byzantine empresses like Zoe ruling with an iron fist and influential women like Eleanor of Aquitaine, or - going back to there religious sphere - people in Germany like Hildegard of Bingen. Something happened to change that. The splits in the church and the crusades are probably very linked to it too I suspect. I’d love to know more about how many women were translating ancient classical manuscripts - one often thinks of monks doing this but maybe this is totally wrong
Yup tho Americans need a Boudicca even more now
There's a post coming up on my other newsletter, Society of History Writers, on Boudicca - tomorrow! As I wrote out the title for the piece it made me think immediately of current world politics (though I tend to shy away from talking about politics on Substack, the parallels were too great to ignore!).
I think that connection between religion and politics is an important one when thinking about the oppression of women throughout history: in its hierarchy/institutional structure, the Church was always governed by men (though that derives at least in part from Scriptural instructions, with exceptions such as Lydia in the New Testament providing parallels for the exceptional women we see in history). As the Church and State became more entwined, naturally women were relegated to back-row seats in the conversation.
I think another factor (I think Evelyn mentions this below) is cultural understandings of female power before the Church arrived in England (or returned?? It had been there before with the Romans but pretty much completely withdrew from eastern England after AD 410). We don't know much, but it seems that women played a role in handing down beliefs and rituals, and it may be that that heritage translated into Christian expressions during the early years of the Church in England.
I think there is a significant difference between the older Christianity which flourished in Britain from the early years of the Roman occupation (Celtic Christianity), which is also where the Anglo-Saxons got it from, and then the far more patriarchal, authoritarian Roman/papal version, which was inflicted completely on the people of Britannia after 1066. The older Celtic version, at least in my humble opinion, has a lot more harmonious paganism in it, which is far more spiritual and as such more gender-balanced. I'm also of the opinion this is why Rome needed to send their subversive missionaries to deal with the 'unruly Britons'. But they didn't completely succeed, I don't think. So I do think it's really only when we get subjugation by the Normans that the really horrible patriarchy happens (it's been this way eve since, alas). Although whether that was simply a means of subjugating the whole population, rather than intentionally designed to subjugate women, is another question. It's certainly true though that these violent, militaristic men did use, or misuse that 'religion' for their own ends.
But I do believe that Christianity, in whatever form, has a lot to do with the patriarchy. Ironic, really, because the one thing the British needed after 1066 was another Boudicca. Still do, actually...
I agree with you it seems to long up historically.
I would say that yes you have convinced me! I have found it so interesting to see how the history of women is being rewritten, especially here in Norway where there has been some more focus on how some of the viking graves believed to be men are now in fact proven to be women.
great read!
I've been buried in the sixth and seventh centuries for a while now and I agree with you that there was something different about that time. I do still think patriarchy was a thing though, but there was a little more wiggle room for some women to step outside of the standard expectations for them and exercise more agency than you think they'd be able to. I love it! SO many interesting women who had extraordinary and influential roles in society. I just wrote about Queen Balthild...I'm a huge fan of her. :)
Two excellent books in regards to this topic are:
1. Medieval Elite Women and the Exercise of Power, 1100-1400: Moving Beyond the Exceptionalist Debate (this is not the exact time frame we're discussing but still a great read, it argues we need to stop thinking powerful women were the exception to the rule, but rather, were ubiquitous through out the Middle Ages)
2. Gendering the Master Narrative (this has an essay by Jo Ann McNamara discussing "The power of women through the family in medieval Europe: 500-1100" which is a seminal contribution to the topic)
I absolutely agree that patriarchy was present in those years - to say otherwise would be to ignore a lot of the key sources. There just seems, as you say, to have been quite a few more opportunities for women in those early years following Augustine's mission. What I'd give to have more detail about women's roles in the 6th century! I think we would understand the 7th century a lot more if we had greater clarity on what had come before.
And thank you so much for those recommendations!! Number 2 sounds really quite relevant to my PhD research so I will definitely look that up.
So wonderful - thank you! 🌺 Have you looked at the beguine movement at all, in the 12th-13th centuries? It’s another fascinating example of women exercising far more autonomy and power than we “expect” women in that period to have!
I haven’t - thanks for recommending it to me!
Omg! It’s a mind blowing movement and it’s absolutely incredible that it’s been erased from history - thousands of women all over France, the Lowlands, Germany, etc, took vows of chastity and religious devotion but weren’t nuns and lived independently, supporting themselves financially. Their communities were often large enough that they had their own church and - in Ghent - two churches and a brewery! All the living quarters were owned by the women, and if someone wanted to leave the community to marry or for any other reason, they sold their house to someone else in the community. A number of beguinages still exist and are either UNESCO heritage sites (like the one in Bruges, which has its own moat), or museums, condos for retired people, or in the case of Leuven, part of universities. (If you’re a visiting scholar at KU Leuven, you’re often put up in part of the old beguinage there). You can get a sense for how popular they were just from looking at the Wikipedia page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beguinage
That was a positive blip for women on the timeline of history. Very interesting piece and perfect for Women's History Month.
I think it's important to see those blips, right? Patriarchal structures certainly dominated for a long time (including in this period), but I think having such a one-dimensional lens through which to see the past robs us of the opportunities these blips give to see women and their relationships in a different light.
Fascinating stuff. You're opening a new way of looking at what is often hidden.
I hope so! I think a strength of the age we live in (though in its shadow side it can be a weakness) is that questioning of the narratives we've received. All I wanted to do today was cast a little doubt on the way medieval history (for women) is usually presented: though much of it is fair, there are a few sparkly moments for women...!
I feel honoured to be mentioned in such a brilliant article. Thank you! Another excellent piece.
I was very grateful to be reminded about Cynethryth!
Thank you for your very interesting article. I have never heard of a lot of the medieval ladies you mentioned so it was interesting to read about them.
I think you are right. Being in a religious order at certain points in history was very beneficial to women in terms of education and wealth.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! There were so many women in the past whose names and lives have been forgotten but they deserve to be brought back into the spotlight.
I’m not a Brit. but wasn’t this the timeframe that Christianity took hold? Seems plausible that with the unification of Christianity came a renewed respect for the role of women in society. Is there evidence of a cult of Mary, or was the Trinity emphasized?