Medieval Women

A new book by Michelle Rosenberg explores the lives of medieval women, including Lady Godiva, Joan of Arc, Crusader Queens, and mystics. It offers an intriguing insight into their lives and accomplishments, highlighting their ability to endure and thrive in a time when most women were subordinate to men. The book also highlights the loss of many other missing stories due to inadequate recording of women's lives.

Format: Hardback
Publication date: 30 March 2022
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

This latest release from one of Pen & Sword's women historians is a jewel of a book, containing a treasure trove of medieval dramatis personae. From the more mainstream figures such as Lady Godiva and Joan of Arc to the lesser-known Crusader Queens and mystics, the author brings to life a diverse range of characters. For the first time, we meet two elusive Jewish medieval businesswomen, one of whom was imprisoned in the Tower of London and the other who was likely one of the richest women in the world. The book is meticulously researched and clearly shows the author's keen eye for detail, building on her reputation for bringing back to life women often forgotten from mainstream history.

Relatively new figures included in the book are the elusive Virdimura of Sicily and Julian of Norwich. The medieval period saw life expectancy at around 33 years old, with the vast majority of women unable to read or write. This text weaves together a rich and broad historic tapestry of women's stories from the fall of the Roman Empire, the invasion of the Vikings, the First Crusade, the Hundred Years War, and the Black Death. It offers an intriguing insight into medieval women whose lives were deemed outstanding enough by their contemporaries to record.

Their ability to endure, thrive, and survive during a time when most women were subordinate to the men in their lives makes them extraordinary. It also makes the loss of so many other missing stories so acute and tantalizing for what our collective history has been deprived of. Imagine what richness of tales we might have had if more women's lives had been better recorded for posterity.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526731487