| Biographies of
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Women
in Religion Women in the Trades
Women
in Politics
Women in War
Women
in Science and Medicine Women in the Arts
Women
in Religion
Hildegarde of Bingen
(1098-1179)
At the age of seven, Hildegarde became the
student of a German anchoress named Jutta. (Anchorites of both sexes
received the last rites and confined themselves in small cells. They
had no access to the outside world except through a small hole used to
pass food in and waste out.) Through Jutta, Hildegarde learned to read
the Psalter in Latin. After Jutta's death, Hildegarde succeeded her as
abbess, even though she, too, had become an anchoress. Hildegarde
suffered from terrible migranes, which caused her to see visions. She
confided the visions only in Jutta and in a monk named Volmar, who
became her life-long secretary and biographer. Pestered constantly by
feelings of inadequacy, aware of the numerous 12th Century religious
frauds, Hildegarde wrote to several Church officials to have her
visions supported. Pope Eugenius responded, and encouraged her to keep
writing. Hildegarde was an author and a composer, as well.
Julian of Norwich
(1342?-after 1416)
Few personal details are known about Julian
of Norwich. She was a well-known anchoress attached to the Church of
St. Julian at Conisford in Norwich, England. Julian viewed herself as
ignorant, but she had a great knowledge of spiritual literature. Her
own works were written in English, which was a language of vague
disrepute and dangerous when used in religion. Falling ill at about
age 30, Julian experienced a series of visions called "The
Showings", which revealed to her Christ, the , and the Devil.
These visions haunted her for the rest of her life.
Marguerite Porete (?-1310)
This Belgian Beguine was most famous for her
book The Mirror of Simple Souls, a verse treatment of a conversation
among Love, Reason, and the Soul. Marguerite stressed the doctrine of
seven stages of spiritual growth. This heresy brought her dangerous
attention from the Church, which burned and banned her book, and
forbade Marguerite to share her views. Marguerite disobeyed the order,
was tried for heresy, and burned at the stake.
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Women
in the Trades
Mrs. Runtinger (14th Century)
This woman, whose first name is unknown,
learned business from her husband Matthias Runtinger. She was his
witness for sales contracts and later his bookkeeper. She also kept
her father-in-law's records. She became her husband's representative
and assistant, and in the last years of her husband's life, she ran
the business herself.
Rose of Burford (14th Century)
Rose was active as a wool trader even while
her husband was alive. After his death, she became even more active in
the trade, exporting English wool to Calais. Her husband had been an
officer of the crown who had loaned money to King Edward II. Edward
hadn't paid his debt, so Rose wrote to the court several times requesting
that she be paid. When she at last arranged a scheme that
allowed the debt to be paid in refunds from Rose's export duties, her
request was granted and the debt paid.
Margery Kempe
Though married to a rich merchant, Margery
Kempe also ran her own businesses: a brewery and a mill. She had
fourteen children, but she still found time to be a businesswoman. By
her own admittance, she wanted the extra money to be able to dress as
a woman of fashion. Margery is also a mystic who made numerous
pilgrimages.
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Women
in Politics
Empress Matilda (Maud)
(12th Century)
Matilda, also known as Maud, was the
granddaughter of William the Conqueror. She retained the title Empress
from her marriage to the German Emperor Henry V, who subsequently
died. She decided to stake a claim for the English throne and wage war
with her cousin Stephen of Blois. She personally commanded her army
and accomplished a number of daring and wily escapes from besieged
castles. At one point, she was under siege in London from troops
commanded by Stephen's wife, who was also named Matilda.
Eleanor of Aquitaine
(?-1204)
An heiress, Eleanor was married at 15 to
Louis VII, King of France. He took her on Crusade with him, where it
is said she led an army of ladies all dressed in armour, expecting to
pick a fight with infidels. Their marriage was terminated when it was
alleged she had had an affair with (her uncle) Raymond of Antioch
while in the Holy Land. This didn't stop her from making a profitable
second marriage to Henry, a prince of England who would shortly be
crowned Henry II. She had four sons by him, but when he took a
mistress known as Fair Rosamund, she turned against him. She used sons
Henry, Geoffrey, Richard, and John against their father, who was
already troubled deeply by the murder of Thomas A Becket. Though she
was imprisoned for her treason, she was later released and continued
to be active in politics.
Helene Kottanerin (15th Century)
After her second marriage, Helene Kottanerin
became a lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth, the queen consort to Albert II,
the Habsburg king of Hungary and Bohemia. When Albert died in 1439, he
left one legitimate heir who was born after Albert's death and
christened Ladislas Posthumus. The infant's claim to the throne was
challenged by Wladyslaw of Poland; to strengthen Ladislas's chances,
Elizabeth asked Helene to steal the throne insignia. The theft was
carried out successfully, but Elizabeth died shortly after, dashing
the Habsburgs' hopes.
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Women
in War
 Aethelflaed
(?-918)
Aethelflaed was the daughter of Alfred the
Great of England. During her father's reign, she led troops against
Viking attacks and was responsible for the construction of numerous
fortifications. By expanding her family's influence -- i.e.,
conquering most of England -- she helped her brother Edward the Elder
become England's mightiest monarch.
Sichelgaita (?-1090)
A princess of Lombardy, Sichelgaita was the
wife of a Norman mercenary. Tall, imposing, and muscular, she was a
soldier herself and rode into battle at her husband's side. She
tolerated no insubordination from the other soldiers and threatened
potential deserters with death.
Dame Nicolaa de la Haye (13th Century)
The conflict between King John and the rebel
barons did not end with John's death. It continued with rebel attacks
on royalist strongholds like that of Dame Nicolaa, who was a royalist
and the widow of the Sheriff of Lincoln. Taking command of the
garrison of Lincoln castle, she defended it against rebel siege until
help arrived.
Countess of Pembroke (13th Century)
The Countess of Pembroke was evidently
trusted implicitly by her husband, William de Valence, Earl of
Pembroke. In 1267, he put her in charge of his knights while he was
away from home.
Black Agnes, Countess of Dunbar (14th Century)
When Dunbar Castle was under siege by Edward
III in 1338, Black Agnes led the castle's inhabitants in its defence (Power 45).
Maria (14th Century)
Few personal details are known about this
woman, but she is described in one of Petrarch's letters. She is a
soldier in an Italian army, dresses like a man, and is almost unrecognisable
in her armour. Petrarch describes his shock when he goes
to greet her as he would another man and realizes his mistake. She is
treated fairly by the male soldiers, and she surpasses them in
physical skill. Petrarch lauds her for having remained chaste.
Joan of Arc (-1431)
As a teenager, Joan believed she heard the
voices of angels telling her to help the future Charles VII, who had
been deprived of his inheritance by the English and the Burgundians,
to regain his throne. Impressed, Charles sent her to raise the siege
at Orléans, which she did successfully, driving the English from the
city and allowing Charles VII to be crowned at Rheims. She was soon
captured by Burgundians and sold to the English, who found her guilty
of witchcraft and wearing a man's clothes. She was burned at the stake
in 1431 and canonized in 1920. Joan made an interesting
comment on foul-mouthed English women -- she called them "the
Goddams" .
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Women
in Science and Medicine
Trotula of Salerno
(11th?-13th? Century)
Salerno, in Italy, was famous for its medical
school. Trotula headed a group called the "Ladies of
Salerno", who studied medicine. Because male physicians, though
they dominated the medical scene, knew little about women's health
issues, her two written works were important in educating them. Her
major work, actually referred to as Trotula Major, is Passionibus
Mulierum Curandorum (The Diseases of Women); it contains information
on many subjects, including some daring inferences and prescriptions
about impotence and childbirth.
Felicie de Almania (1292?-?)
The Parisian medical faculty prosecuted
Felicie de Almania, along with many other women, for practicing
medicine without a license -- a cardinal sin in a university town.
Felicie is notable for her excellent defence, during which she called
several witnesses to testify to her skills. She explained her view of
the law against illegal medical practice: the law existed, she
believed, to prevent quacks from harming people and not to prevent a
knowledgeable woman from helping them. She spoke of the need of women
doctors to treat women patients. The faculty banned her from practice,
but it is likely that she ignored this injunction.
Peretta Peronne (15th Century)
Another unlicensed practitioner, Peretta
Peronne was one of Paris's most successful women surgeons. Perhaps her
success led to her prosecution in 1411. She was denied access to her
patients for the duration of the trial, and her medical books were
confiscated. Her fate is unknown, but it is likely that she defied the
court's order as she had previously.
Perrenelle Flammel (Dates unknown)
Perrenelle's husband Nicholas had great fame
in his own lifetime as an alchemist. He believed he had found the
secret of transforming base metals into gold. Perenelle was his
assistant and partner in his research.
Francisca Romano (Dates unknown)
Among all the women prosecuted and banned for
practicing illegally, Francisca Romano was one woman who had trained
at a medical university. She received recognition and approval from
Charles, Duke of Calabria.
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Women
in the Arts
Anna Comnena (Dates unknown)
A historian and diarist, Anna Comnena was the
daughter of Alexius I Comnenus, emperor of Byzantium.
Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim (10th Century)
Hrotsvitha was a German nun who has many
"firsts" to her credit. She is Germany's first poet and its
first female writer, and Europe's first playwright.
Marie de France (13th Century)
Marie de France was a poetess, a French
expatriate living in England. She composed lais, romantic poems based
on old legends. Her courtly idol was William Longespée, the
illegitimate son of Henry II of England by his mistress Fair Rosamund.
Thomasse (13th-14th Centuries)
Thomasse made her living as a professional,
secular illuminator while carrying on a second trade as an innkeeper.
Christine de Pisan
(1364-?)
Christine was Italian, the daughter of an
astrologer. Her father wanted her to be educated, so she learned
French, Latin, arithmetic, and geometry. At the age of 15, she married
Etienne du Castel, who was twenty-four. He died when she was
twenty-six, leaving her with three children and numerous relatives to
support. She used her skill as a writer and poetess to earn a living. She was one of the few
true feminists before the modern era.
Anastasia (14th Century)
Christine de Pisan praises Anastasia in a
letter, calling her the best illuminator in the world -- or at least
in Paris, where the world's best work. Anastasia's specialty was
manuscript borders and backgrounds.
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Adapted with permission from Dominion
and Domination
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