Medieval Women: In Their Own Words, British Library, until March 2 2025

Posted by Barbara on November 11, 2024 in Art, Blog, Dame designate, Europe, Exhibition, feminism, History, Women's equality issues | 4 comments

To the British Library, where a recently opened exhibition highlights voices from medieval women’s varied and active lives, revealing female impact and influence across private, public and spiritual realms.

The exhibition focuses on Europe from roughly 1100 to 1500. The women’s testimonies here offer remarkable insight into their contributions to medieval social and economic life, culture and politics, their skilful management of households and convents, and the vibrancy of female religious culture.

Unsurprisingly, there is much on display with regards to women’s health; it was assumed that their bodies were inferior to men’s, while illness and childbirth made the female body vulnerable.  Though excluded from the medical elite, women physicians, healers and carers brought a depth of female knowledge to the treatment of women’s health issues. In medieval France roughly 1.5% of medical practitioners whose names survive were women and of these, around 36% were midwives. The rest included barbers, surgeons, trained physicians and untrained healers. The mere fact that women were practising surgery at that time is astonishing and inspiring.

One of the most widely read gynaecological texts during the medieval period was The Sekenesse of Wymmen, published in the 15^th century.  Anatomical drawings accompany instructions for midwives dealing with all aspects of labour and childbirth.

It goes without saying that women of wealthy and aristocratic families had much more agency over their lives and choices; this would seem to have been carried over into the provision they made for future generations.  Apparently 48% of aristocratic women from England between 1350 and 1500 made bequests of books in their wills compared with 18% of noblemen.  I leave the reader to draw her own conclusions.

Browsing through beautifully illustrated manuscripts and books, I was delighted to find works of the Welsh nation’s favourite female medieval erotic poet on display. I have already featured the writings of Gwerful Mechain in damesnet, so it was gratifying though not surprising to come across her in the exhibition, and to happily reread her ‘Poem to the Vagina’:

‘A girl’s thick glade,

it is full of love,

Lovely bush, blessed

be it by God above.’

Property rights are explored; there is displayed an early 13^th century document issued to one Hugh Bard by Matilda de Chauz, hereditary Keeper of Sherwood Forest. The opening line states that Matilda granted her land ‘in my free power, without a husband’.  It is authenticated with Matilda’s seal.

The picture is not so good when it comes to divorce, with the Church inevitably favouring the husband; nevertheless according to the Welsh lawcode known as The Book of Iorwerth a woman could leave her husband within seven years of marriage, while retaining her rights and possessions, on one of three grounds: if he had leprosy, if his breath stank, or if he was unable to have sex.

There are fascinating exhibits from continental Europe; Christine de Pizan was the first professional woman author in Europe, writing in the early 15^th century. In the 14^th century Jeanne Montbaston was a prolific illuminator and businesswoman, with a commercial manuscript-making workshop in Paris. Nicolosa Sanuti wrote a treatise in Bologna in 1453 On the Ornament of Women, arguing women should have the right to wear what they wanted.

I end with a homage to Marguerite Porete, burned at the stake for heresy in Paris in 1310. Her treatise Mirror of Simple Souls, which depicted the soul’s mystical union with God, was too much of a threat to Church authorities, combined with her status as an independent woman, unattached to any formal religious order.  The good news is that anonymised copies of the treatise remained in circulation despite the Church demanding that all should be destroyed.