Femina: The instant Sunday Times bestseller – A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It

Product Information

But the actual writing and stories wasn’t thrilling… a big focus on items rather than people’s histories… a few standout moments like the early chapter on Vikings and the last chapter on migration, race and sexuality but the middle parts bored me. Throughout the trial, Eleanor shares how they had sex with men and women, using their job as a barmaid, seamstress, and prostitute to acquire clients. Perhaps this coloured my impression of the book a little, but JR’s love and passion for this project and her subject matter shines through in her voice and her words. The first thing that came to mind when I picked up this book is that this book should not be categorised as a ‘history’ book. Dr Janina Ramirez, in her new book Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It, uses this item as a point of contact to Jadwiga, the purse’s rich embroidery functioning as symbolic threads narrating the story of Rex Jadwiga, the one and only female ‘king’ of Poland and primary establisher of Jagiellonian University, and Jadwiga the woman.

From royalty and religion to fame and fury, see the medieval world - and the women erased from it - with fresh eyes. And its interesting reading forewords and the authorial voice in these projects to see the degree to which they see themselves fighting against orthodoxy (and where they come from). to Jawiga, the now sainted and the once and only female “king” of Poland and Margery Kempe, whose dictated autobiography (believed to be the first in the English language) offers a unique look at life in the late 14th and early 15th century. Queerness, in its broadest sense of a point of view or set of behaviours running at a slant to received ideas, remains the key to Femina. The middle ages are seen as a bloodthirsty time of Vikings, saints and kings: a patriarchal society which oppressed and excluded women.An instant bestseller and one of the most celebrated history books of the year, Femina reveals the power and influence of medieval women who have been written out of our history. And whilst I learnt a lot, and have plenty I want to follow up on (not least Jadwiga), the book didn't feel quite as focused as it could be.

Meaghan Allen is a Third Year PhD at the University of Manchester interested in the intersections of the medieval and the modern, especially violence towards women. In 9 chapters, Ramírez expertedly weaves an astounding narrative firmly explaining how, if not wrong, but distorted modern history truly is. The medieval period is often seen as a period heavily influenced by the clergy, with religions taking a central role in people’s daily lives as well as the men who took a central position in it. But apart from that, Janina does not only talk about women but also about the ‘now and then’ situation.

Jedoch ist die einzige Gemeinsamkeit das in irgendeiner Form Frauen beteiligt waren, und das war's auch schon. As mentioned Ramirez bounces around a lot within her definition of the medieval period, and stays solely within Europe (despite a last gasp bit of racial diversity from a Black Plague Pit).

Note: This review gives the views of the author, and not the position of the LSE Review of Books blog, or of the London School of Economics and Political Science. See the medieval world with fresh eyes and discover why these remarkable women were removed from our collective memories.Setting the stage: At the beginning of each chapter, Ramírez employed a rather ingenious writing technique. While the enslaved or free status of this woman is unclear, her skeleton’s rotator cuff disease and spinal degeneration coincide with the skeletal damage found throughout the East Smithfield excavation. Her diet there had been good, and her bones showed none of the signs of malnutrition that were a feature of the rickety English, Scots and Welsh bodies buried alongside her. Examples are a female Viking warrior, the embroiderers who created the Bayeux Tapestry, the female monarchial King Jadwiga of Poland, the musician and composer Hildegard of Bingen and a woman who travelled and saw to it that her own life history was written. As the author admits the book covers only a handful of women, so might I ask…how is individual success of a few women supposed to change the way we see the middle ages?

The subtitle also suggests there will be more about women in general, rather than focusing solely on the stories of these women who are by definition exceptional.The narrative occasionally loses its thread, describing extensive historical context before circling back to the main subject. Trotzdem ist dieses Sachbuch eine Lektüre, für die man viel Zeit und Interesse benötigt und ich glaube nicht, dass es thematisch zu allen passt. Schade - gerade angesichts dessen, das Genderrollen im Mittelalter längst nicht so binär waren wie wir uns es heute vorstellen. Diese patriarchale Sicht auf die mittelalterliche Welt stammt aus der Feder von Historikern, sie wurde Jahrhundertelang in unsere Geschichtsbücher so aufgenommen. From medieval queens, to Viking warriors, Ramírez truly does shine a light into the inner workings of the pre modern ages.