Tag: women

Book Review: “Legenda: The Real Women Behind the Myths That Shaped Europe” by Janina Ramirez

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When we think of famous medieval European women, we often think of figures like Joan of Arc and Isabella of Castile. They are seen as women who broke the mold and challenged traditional stereotypes by becoming leaders in traditionally male-dominated fields. These women would be used to craft the identities of their respective nations, but they would help shape the identities of other women from the 18th and 19th centuries. We think we know the stories about these medieval women and their lives, but what new information can we learn from their lives when we examine their lives from their eras? Janina Ramirez takes the stories of seven medieval women and their contemporaries to show how their legacies have been transformed in her latest book, “Legenda: The Real Women Behind the Myths That Shaped Europe.”

This is the third book that I have read by Janina Ramirez, as I have read her book “Femina” and her biography on Julian of Norwich, which I loved. So when I saw that she was writing a new book about medieval women, I knew it was an instant buy for me.

While there have been centuries worth of amazing women from all over the world, Ramirez is focusing on seven countries/areas of interest: France, the Iberian Peninsula, Greece, the Low Countries, Germany, Italy, and Britain. In each chapter, Ramirez focuses on two women or groups of women, one from the medieval era and one from either the 18th or the 19th century. For the medieval period, she has selected: Joan of Arc, Isabella of Castile, Anna Komene, Marie of Oignies and the Beguines, Empress Adelaide of Bavaria, Catherine of Siena, and Lady Godiva. For the more modern women, Ramirez focuses on Charlotte Corday, Agustina Raimunda Maria Saragossa, Laskarina Bouboulina, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Lola Montez, Anna ‘Nina’ Morisi, and Queen Victoria. 

What is truly inspiring about this book is seeing these stories removed from the glossy veneer used to promote nationalism, to show that these women were real and they made a difference by being themselves. We get to see warriors, writers, queens, empresses, revolutionaries, and religious women. However, we also get to see them as daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers. These women did not live in a vacuum. They lived and were more than just symbols for their nations. They fought in their own ways for what they believed was right, whether it was to protect their families or their nations, or following the path set forward by their faith. These women were real, and they were not myths; they were human. 

This is another sensational book by Ramirez. While I did know a few of the medieval women featured in this book, I knew nothing about the 18th and 19th-century women, which was thrilling to see how Ramirez weaved these tales together. I loved this book so much, and I am excited to see what she will write next. If you love medieval women’s history and learning more about their legacies, I highly recommend you read  “Legenda: The Real Women Behind the Myths That Shaped Europe” by Janina Ramirez.

Book Review: “The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court” by Susan Abernethy

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Throughout European history, we tend to think about the countries as a whole when it comes to the political sphere of influence. We think of the big countries like France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, and England as having the most impact, but we have to consider that during the Middle Ages, duchies held immense power. Take, for example, the Duchy of Burgundy, also known as the Burgundian Empire. It was a part of France, but that does not mean that the dukes stayed on the side of the French. The Burgundians used their influence to expand and marry into the medieval European families, affecting European history as a whole. While we tend to focus on the Dukes of Burgundy, we should be paying attention to the women of this duchy. That is why Susan Abernethy chose to focus on these women in her latest book, “The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court.”

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book. I enjoyed Susan Abernethy’s first book about Catherine of Braganza. When I heard that she was writing a book about medieval Burgundian women, I was intrigued. I know a little bit about historical figures connected to Burgundy, but I didn’t know much about the history of the duchy itself, so I was excited to learn more.

Abernethy begins by giving her readers a brief history of how Burgundy became a kingdom and a duchy of France. While the history of Burgundy is extensive, we are mainly focusing on the Valois Dukes of Burgundy and the women in their lives. The Valois Dukes of Burgundy were Philip the Bold, John the Fearless, Philip the Good, and Charles the Bold. While this is primarily about the women of Burgundy, it is important to understand the political and military landscape that these women had to deal with in Burgundy and other countries during this time.

The bulk of this book focuses on the women of the Burgundian empire, starting with Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant, in the 13th century, and ending with Queen Juana of Castile, in the 16th century. We get to hear stories about duchesses and queens, countesses and diplomats, and even a saint. They had to deal with wars, international diplomacy, family drama, and husbands who were not faithful. There were some familiar figures like Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scots, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy, and Margaret of Austria, but the majority of these women were new to me, which was very exciting.

It’s a lot of ground to cover, but Abernethy has a way of telling the stories of women comprehensively. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Burgundy and these extraordinary women who made the duchy an empire. If you are someone who wants to learn about the Duchy of Burgundy, I would recommend you read “The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court” by Susan Abernethy.

Book Review: “The Lives of Tudor Women” by Elizabeth Norton

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In each era throughout history, we see how men and women adapt to the struggles and triumphs of the age. Take, for example, the 16th century, primarily in Tudor England. It was a time of great religious changes and dynamic rulers who would change the course of European history forever. While men had the most power, except for a handful of women, the majority of women struggled to survive each stage of life. So, what was life truly like for Tudor women? Elizabeth Norton explores this topic in her book, “The Lives of Tudor Women.”

I have been wanting to read this particular book for years. I have enjoyed the previous books that I have read by Elizabeth Norton, so when I saw she wrote a book about Tudor women, I knew I wanted to read it. 

Norton begins by explaining how this book would be broken down in her preface, which has one of my favorite introductory paragraphs in any book. This book is divided into sections that correspond with the Seven Ages of Man, which was made famous by William Shakespeare. These ages are: the infant, the schoolboy, the lover, the soldier, the justice of the peace, the ageing retiree, and the infirm elder. Obviously, with the lives of 16th-century women, these ages are altered a bit, especially for the soldier and the justice of the peace, but the premise remains the same. Each section focuses on one of these ages and the different aspects of life during that period in a person’s life. Norton also features small snippets of extra information that don’t fit into the narrative of the chapter, but are fascinating. 

The main characters, who are the main focus in this book, are a collection of stories of women from royals to rebels. Two Elizabeth Tudors bookmark the book, one will die as a child while the other became one of the most important rulers in European history, Queen Elizabeth I. We also get to see the stories of Elizabeth and Anne Boleyn, a prophetess, Elizabeth Barton, a businesswoman named Katherine Fenkyll, the widow Cecily Burbage, the heretic Anne Askew, a rebel named Margaret Cheyne, and an expatriate named Jane Dormer. These stories and the other smaller tales paint a picture of what it meant to be a female in Tudor England.

This was another delightful book by Elizabeth Norton. While I did know some of the stories and the information featured in this book, other stories were brand new and thrilling to read about. Norton breathed new life into women’s history during the 16th century with this book. If you want a fresh approach to Tudor England with new women to learn about, I highly recommend you read “The Lives of Tudor Women” by Elizabeth Norton.

Book Review: “Julian of Norwich: A Very Brief History” by Janina Ramirez

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When we think about the most impactful women authors, we often think about writers like Agatha Christie, Mary Shelley, and Jane Austen. However, when it comes to religious texts, we have to go back in time centuries. We think about nuns like Bridget of Sweden and a mother of 14 children named Margery Kempe. Yet, we must include an anchorite who stayed in her cell for almost thirty years. Her book, Revelations of Divine Love, is considered the first great work of English prose, but many people are not familiar with the author until now. Janina Ramirez tells the story of Julian of Norwich and how impactful her book was in her book, “Julian of Norwich: A Very Brief History.”

I have heard the name Julian of Norwich before in books about the 14th century and church history, but I didn’t know much about her life. I saw this book when I was preordering the latest book by Janina Ramirez, and so I decided to give it a try.

Since this is a short book, I will try to keep this review brief. Ramirez divided this biography into sections: the history and the legacy. In history, we as readers learn about Julian’s life from the limited sources that we have about her, as well as learning about how England and Europe changed during her lifetime. It was a chaotic period in the past with the Bubonic plague, the Hundred Years’ War, the Great Western Schism, the Peasants’ Revolt, and John Wycliffe. Let’s be honest, it’s a lot to deal with, but Julian was positive in her anchorite cell. Ramirez shows how complex yet hopeful and full of love Revelations of Divine Love is while showing the theological arguments Julian of Norwich makes in her work of prose. Finally, we get to see how Julian of Norwich’s story and her writing survived for centuries.

This was a delightful little nugget of a book that was extremely well researched, that shone a light on an obscure medieval woman writer. Reading this book gave me a new appreciation for medieval female authors. If you want to learn more about this remarkable woman, I suggest you read “Julian of Norwich: A Very Brief History” by Janina Ramirez.

Book Review: “The Most Maligned Women in History” by Samantha Morris

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Throughout history, women have been seen as pious mothers, wives, or daughters who stayed in their lane or vile manipulators who wanted power and were willing to do anything to maintain their status. While the former group of women would be an interesting study, as the saying goes, well-behaved women seldom make history. So why did certain women receive a villainess lens when we look at their lives and what do the historical records tell us about them? Samantha Morris has chosen to take the stories of these misunderstood maidens and tell them in her latest book, “The Most Maligned Women in History.”

I want to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I enjoyed the previous books that I have read by Samantha Morris which covered Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia and Girolamo Savonrola When I heard that she was writing a book about maligned women in history, it caught my attention immediately as I wanted to see which women would be discussed in this book.

As Morris states in her introduction, there are numerous women who she could have chosen for this book she could make a second book, but in the end, she selected eleven women from different countries and centuries to highlight. The eleven women in this book are Cleopatra VII, Empress Wu, Joan of Arc, Lucrezia Borgia, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth Bathory, Catherine the Great, Marie Antoinette, Lizzie Borden, Empress Dowager Cixi, and Iva Toguri the “Tokyo Rose.” Morris takes the time to tell their stories succinctly while explaining why they are considered maligned.

I do appreciate the fact that she included women from different walks of life and different centuries to show how women have been vilified throughout history. We had women who were born queens, those who were mistresses or concubines and became rulers, and average women who did extraordinary things to the ire of those in charge. While I knew some of these stories like Anne Boleyn, Marie Antoinette, Cleopatra, and Lucrezia Borgia, others were completely new to me, such as Empress Wu, Empress Dowager Cixi, and Iva Toguri. The other women in this book were names that I had heard mentioned and knew some elements of their tales, but I didn’t know their full stories.

I found this book such a fun read full of vivacious women who were not afraid to go beyond the status quo. I do hope Morris will write a sequel book and include even more women from the past who have been viewed as maligned and maybe include women from Africa, Australia, and South America to show women from even more diverse backgrounds. If you want a delightful and insightful book about women who had some bad reputations, I highly suggest you read, “The Most Maligned Women in History” by Samantha Morris.

Book Review: “Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era” by Amy McElroy

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Women's Lives in the Tudor EraWhen we think about the Tudor dynasty, we often think about the famous men and women who defined the era. An era full of change in all aspects of life, from religious and political, to the arts and literature. Throughout these changes, we tend to focus on how they affected the lives of Tudor men, but there is a growing field of interest in the lives of the average Tudor women and how their lives were affected. In her latest book, “Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era,” Amy McElroy explores women’s life stages in 16th-century England and how their roles changed.

I want to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I enjoyed McElroy’s debut book, “Educating the Tudors,” and when I heard that she had another book about Tudor women, I knew I wanted to read it.

McElroy explains that like the centuries before and since the 16th century, it was riddled with negative views of women in all aspects of life. Women were seen as beneath men, which corresponded with the teachings of Aristotle. Wives, mothers, and daughters were supposed to be obedient and seen rather than heard. However, when we look at the different stages of life, we cannot separate the roles of women from everyday life.

To understand what it meant to be a Tudor woman, McElroy breaks down life into different stages, starting in childhood, going through adolescence, becoming a wife and mother, working life for women, how women relaxed, embracing widowhood, and finally, wills and death. Each stage of life is represented in a chapter in this book. McElroy takes the time to explore what it meant to be a woman at each stage of life and how their social standings changed. We see women receiving an education, going through courtships, getting married and becoming wives, starting their own families and the dangers of childbirth, how women earned a living, what they would do as recreational activities, and how they would survive if their husbands died. In each chapter, McElroy highlights women of different social statuses to show how they survived during the Tudor time.

This was an engrossing and utterly fascinating book. Some elements were completely new information for me, which was quite thrilling. The amount of details that McElroy included in such a short amount of pages was incredible. Another brilliant book by McElroy. If you want a fascinating glimpse into the lives of Tudor women, I highly recommend you read, “Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era” by Amy McElroy.

Book Review: “The Sixteenth Century in 100 Women” by Amy Licence

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16th century womenWhen we think of the phrase “16th-century women,” we often consider those from royal or noble houses throughout Europe. We tend to think of women like the six wives of Henry VIII, Mary I, Elizabeth I, Catherine de Medici, Mary Queen of Scots, and others associated who made an impact during the Renaissance and the Reformation. However, the 16th century did not stop at the borders of Europe; it extended all over the globe. There are many stories of women from all over the world and from different social classes that can help us understand how the world changed in the 16th century. Amy Licence took this concept and decided to write her latest book about a variety of women from around the world who lived in the 16th century, “The Sixteenth Century in 100 Women.”

Thank you, Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley, for sending me a copy of this book. When I heard that Licence was writing this book, it intrigued me. I wanted to know more stories from the 16th century from all around the world.

“The Sixteenth Century in 100 Women” is a collection of 100 mini-biographies of women from every walk of life and every corner of the globe. Licence has decided to organize this particular book in chronological order, with the date emphasis on the significant events of their lives. Staying true to her word, she writes about women from different countries, like Japan, Nigeria, Russia, Mexico, Poland, Chile, Morocco, and Burma, to name a few.

What I loved the most about this book is the diversity of figures that Licence chose to include in this journey from 1500 to 1600. They were not just queens, princesses, and noblewomen. Licence included women who would have been seen as outsiders in everyday society, such as prostitutes during the Banquet of Chestnuts, Margaret Drummond, Ellen Sadler, and La Malinche. There were those whose appearance made them outsiders, like Aura Soltana, Elena/Eleno de Cespedes, and Tognina Gonsalvus. Some women stood up for what they believed was right, such as Cecily Bodenham, abbess of Wilton Abbey, Lady Nata of Japan, Margaret Cheney, Sayyida al-Hurra, and Beatriz de Luna.

Some women suffered horrendous tragedies beyond their control, like Suphankanlaya, whose husband was killed in an angry rage, Amy Robsart, and an unknown woman who dealt with a tsunami in Chile. Others were women who had nasty reputations associated with their lives, such as Elizabeth Bathory, Mary Frith, and the Irish pirate Grace O’Malley. We also see female artists, authors, fictional figures, and those who sat for portraits.

Licence has painted a colorful picture of the 16th century with the 100 miniature biographies she chose to include in this book. This book may highlight only a select few stories of the century, but they were new and enthralling tales of women I had never heard of, which broadened my understanding of the era. An informative, refreshing, and unique approach to the 16th century, “The Sixteenth Century in 100 Women” by Amy Licence is a breath of fresh air for anyone who wants to discover new tales from the past.

Book Review: “Women in Medieval England” by Lynda Telford

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36762203As students of history, we understand that aspects of society change all of the time, and sometimes the change is rapid, and other times it is positively glacial. One of those aspects of culture that we have seen slow and gradual change pertains to women’s rights. Today, women have more rights than they did in the past, and they can have careers, but is this a novel concept? What were the lives of women like in other periods of history, like the medieval period? In Lynda Telford’s book, “Women in Medieval England,” she explores women’s lives from the Anglo-Saxons to the Tudors to give us a picture of what rights and responsibilities women had during this period.

I want to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. The title of this book is what drew me to it as I have read many books about individual women in medieval England, but never a comprehensive study. I wanted to learn more about women from every echelon of medieval society and how their lives differed from our own.

Telford begins her book by exploring the women who lived during the rule of the Anglo-Saxons. Reading about their experiences and the laws that dictated their lives is a critical aspect of Telford’s argument that medieval women did not have much more freedom than their counterparts from other eras. It may seem strange that as time moved on from the Anglo-Saxons to the medieval dynasties, the Plantagenets and the Tudors, women had less freedom to choose how they lived their lives. During the plague, women were called to work more to make up for men who died, but even that did not last long. Women were told how to live their lives from the men in their own families and even the church.

Telford has researched the topic of medieval women rigorously, and it shows. She has a passion for this subject, and it is demonstrated throughout this book with everything from letters to court cases. Every aspect of a woman’s life is taken into account to give her reader a better understanding of medieval society.

My problem with this book is that Telford focuses so heavily on the negative aspects of a woman’s life, like prostitution and domestic violence, that it is difficult to find the good parts of the life of a medieval woman. It was a bit too dark and depressing for my liking. I have read other books about strong and independent medieval women, but I do not see it here in this book. Telford is so focused on presenting her argument that Anglo-Saxon women had more freedom than medieval women that it obscures the facts that she does present. In short, she needed to show both the good elements and the harmful elements of the lives of medieval women to present a more balanced argument.

Overall, I think it was a decent book. This book is well researched, and it did present a side of medieval life that I was not expecting. I think it was a bit dark but informative. If you want a comprehensive study of women’s rights and lives during the medieval period, I recommend reading “Women in Medieval England” by Lynda Telford.

Guest Post: Women and the Birth of Magna Carta By Sharon Bennett Connolly

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118040039_3243809485697736_4753222466893410523_nToday, I am pleased to welcome Sharon Bennett Connolly, the author of Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England. She will be discussing the Magna Carta and the women who influenced this extraordinary document.

Magna Carta is probably the most significant charter in English history and,
today, its importance extends beyond England’s shores, holding a special place in the constitutions of many countries around the world. Despite its age, Magna Carta’s iconic status is a more modern phenomenon, seen in the
influence it has had on nations and organizations around the globe, such as the United States of America and the United Nations, who have used it as the basis for their own 1791 Bill of Rights and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, respectively.

After more than 800 years, there are only four original copies of the 1215 charter remains in existence. The best preserved of these four is thought to have arrived at Salisbury Cathedral within days of it being issued on 15 June 1215 and is housed in an interactive exhibition in the cathedral’s Chapter House. A second is owned by Lincoln Cathedral and is now housed in a new, purpose-built, state-of-the-art underground vault in the heart of Lincoln Castle. The remaining two are owned by the British Library in London, one of which was badly damaged by fire in 1731 and has deteriorated over the years; however, the other is on display in the Treasures exhibition, a magnet to visitors from all over the world, who wish to see the iconic Magna Carta.

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Originally called the Charter of Liberties, it was renamed Magna Carta or Great Charter, in 1217, when the Charter of the Forest was issued. Sealed (not signed) in the meadow at Runnymede in June 1215, the legacy of Magna Carta, down through the centuries, has enjoyed a much greater impact on history and the people of the world than it did at the time of its creation. As a peace treaty between rebellious barons and the infamous King John, it was an utter failure, thrown out almost before the wax seals had hardened, not worth the parchment it was written on. The subsequent armed rebellion saw a French prince invited to claim the English throne – if he could wrest it from John’s hands – and John spent the last year of his life clinging desperately to his crown and lands.

Royal 14 C.VII, f.9

Just fifteen months after Magna Carta was sealed, King John was on his deathbed; he died in his forty-ninth year, at Newark Castle on the
night of 18/19 October 1216. His 9-year old son, Henry III, inherited a country mired in a civil war, with half of it occupied by a French army. The young king and his regent, William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, had a fight on their hands; they wasted no time in reissuing the Magna Carta and setting about regaining control of the country.

Essentially a peace treaty, Magna Carta is the closest thing England has to a
constitution. It addressed the worries and grievances of the English nobility,
the barons, and sought to curb the powers of the king, firmly placing the
monarch below the law, rather than above it. But what of the women? A small number of Magna Carta clauses were influenced by the experiences of women or sought to protect the rights of women.

Of the sixty-three clauses, two stand out as the guarantors of liberty and the
law, not only in England but around the world. Clause 39 ensures that ‘no man shall be taken or imprisoned or deprived or outlawed or exiled or in any way ruined, nor will we go or send against him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.’ This guarantee of justice for all is believed to have been inspired by John’s treatment of Matilda de Braose, wife of William de Braose, Lord of Bamber. William was one of John’s foremost supporters in the early years of his reign, but later fell afoul of the king and saw his family hunted and hounded, almost to destruction. This clause is supported by the one following, clause 49, which states categorically; ‘To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay right or justice.’

As a consequence of John’s rancor poor Matilda and her son, also called
William found themselves languishing in one of John’s prisons. King John
made an agreement with both William and Matilda; freedom for her and a
pardon for William in return for 40,000 marks. However, being either unwilling or unable to pay, Matilda and her son remained in prison – either at Windsor or Corfe Castle – and William was outlawed, eventually escaping into exile in France, disguised as a beggar, where he died in 1211.

Matilda’s fate was more gruesome; she and her son were left to starve to
death in John’s dungeons (though whether this was at Corfe or Windsor is
unclear). Tradition has it, that when their bodies were found, William’s cheeks bore his mother’s bite marks, where she had tried to stay alive following his death:

‘On the eleventh day the mother was found dead between her son’s legs, still
upright but leaning back against her son’s chest as a dead woman. The son,
who was also dead, sat upright, leaning against the wall as a dead man. So
desperate was the mother that she had eaten her son’s cheeks. When William
de Braose, who was in Paris, heard this news, he died soon afterwards, many
asserting that it was through grief.’ (Anonymous of Bethune)

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The Magna Carta of 1215 reflects the needs and events of the time in which it was issued; an England on the brink of civil war, disaffected barons demanding redress, the church and cities, such as London, looking for protection. It was drawn up by barons looking for reparations and legal protection from a king whose word could no longer be trusted, who meted out arbitrary punishments and heavy taxes. It was not a charter that was intended for the protection and legal rights of every man, woman and child in the land; though it has come to be seen as just that in subsequent centuries. Indeed, the common man does not get a mention, and of the sixty-three clauses, only eight of them mention women as a gender.

Only one clause uses the word femina – woman – and that is a clause which
restricts the rights and powers of a woman, rather than upholding them.
Clause 54 states: ‘No one shall be taken or imprisoned upon the appeal of a
woman for the death of anyone except her husband.’ At first glance, this has to be the most anti-feminist statement ever made, a woman was not allowed to give evidence of a murder unless it was her own husband who was killed. However, the barons believed they had justification for inserting this clause. In a time when a man had the right to face his accuser in trial by combat to prove his innocence, this right would be automatically removed if his accuser was a woman; women were not allowed to use force of arms. A female accuser was seen as being able to circumvent the law, and therefore the law was open to abuse. It was not just that a woman may bear false witness and the accused would have no right of redress in battle; it was also that a woman may be manipulated by her menfolk to make an accusation, knowing that she would not be required to back it up by feat of arms. Whereas her husband, father or brother may have been challenged to do just that.

However, while it is possible to see why this clause was written, it does not
deny the fact that women were treated so differently and denied the
fundamental right to justice simply because of their gender. This very clause was used on 5 July 1215, when King John ordered the release of Everard de Mildeston, an alleged murderer. Everard had been accused of the murder of her son, Richard, by Seina Chevel. Such a charge was now forbidden under the terms of Magna Carta, and the accused was therefore released. It is, of course, true that many of the clauses of Magna Carta refer to people in general, rather than just men, and that women are included in such clauses, as well as in the eight which refer to them specifically. However, the significance of women in the Magna Carta story is not just their limited inclusion in the charter itself, but also in their experiences of the unsettled times in which they lived, in their influence on the charter and in their use of its clauses to exact recompense for injustices they have experienced.

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The political crisis which saw the issuing of Magna Carta, and the civil war which followed, was not just significant to the barons involved, but to their wives and families, tenants and retainers. The conflict tore families apart as they took sides in the struggle and saw more than one baron change sides mid-crisis. Wives and daughters were caught in the middle, often torn by divided loyalties; between their birth family and the family into which they had married; between their fathers and their husbands. For instance, Matilda Marshal was the eldest daughter of William Marshal, a man known for his staunch loyalty to the crown, but she was married to Hugh Bigod, son of Roger, second Earl of Norfolk, one of the leaders of baronial opposition; Roger and Hugh were both named among the twenty- five barons appointed to ensure that John adhered to the terms of Magna
Carta, known as the Enforcers of Magna Carta.

Some of the clauses are specific to the people on the political stage in 1215.
Clause 59 of Magna Carta, for instance, refers to two particular women,
though they are identified by their relationship to the king of Scots, rather than their names. These were two of the sisters of Alexander II, who had been held hostage by King John since the 1209 Treaty of Norham. John had promised to find husbands for the two princesses, preferably within the royal family. However, the marriages had never materialized and, six years on, the young women, Margaret and Isabella, were now in their twenties, and still unmarried. The Magna Carta clause opens with; ‘We will treat with Alexander, king of Scots, concerning the return of his sisters and hostages…’
As with many of the issues addressed in Magna Carta, the problem of the
Scottish princesses was not resolved immediately. Margaret was eventually
married, in 1221, to King Henry III’s justiciar, Hubert de Burgh; a lowly marriage for the daughter of a king. Isabella, however, remained unmarried and in 1222 returned to Scotland. She was eventually wed to Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk, in 1225. Roger was the son of Matilda Marshal and therefore grandson of William Marshal, Henry III’s regent. At only 13 years of age, young Roger was still a minor and with an age disparity of around 17 years, the marriage was not a happy one. The couple never had children and Roger tried to have the marriage annulled at one stage but was refused by the church.

These are just a handful of examples of how the lives of women are woven into the Magna Carta story. The deeper you dig, the more fascinating stories you will find. Magna Carta started England on the road to democratic government and, more importantly, universal suffrage, culminating in votes for women in 1918. Magna Carta was the first step. Within a generation of the charter’s first issue, women such as King John’s own daughter, Eleanor de Montfort, were helping to fight for political reform and others, such as Isabel d’Aubigny, were using its clauses to their advantage. Women had been a part of the fight for and against King John in the lead up to the first issuing of Magna Carta. They had influenced its creation and continued to use its clauses to fight for their rights and those of their families. There was still a long way to go, especially for women. Magna Carta was not the start of the women’s rights movement, but
it serves as a benchmark for how far society has come in the last eight
centuries.

Photo information:

Ladies of Magna Carta; the Magna Carta (British Library); Magna Carta memorial, Runnymede (Jayne Smith); King John (British Library); Windsor Castle, possible location for the sad death of Matilda de Braose and her son William (my photo).

Author bio:

Sharon Bennett Connolly
Sharon Bennett Connolly has been fascinated by history her whole life. She
has studied history academically and just for fun – and even worked as a tour guide at historical sites. For Christmas 2014, her husband gave her a blog as a gift – http://www.historytheinterestingbits.com – and Sharon started researching and writing about the stories that have always fascinated, concentrating on medieval women. Her latest book, Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England, released in May 2020, is her third non-fiction book. She is also the author of Heroines of the Medieval World and Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest. Sharon regularly gives talks on women’s history; she is a feature writer for All About History magazine and her TV work includes Australian Television; Who Do You Think You Are.

Links:
Blog: https://historytheinterestingbits.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thehistorybits/
Twitter: @Thehistorybits
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonbennettconnolly/?hl=en
Amazon: http://viewauthor.at/SharonBennettConnolly

Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Ladies-of-Magna-Carta-
Hardback/p/17766

Book Review: “Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England” by Sharon Bennett Connolly

On By hmalagisiIn Book Reviews1 Comment

Pen & Sword Book Cover / Jacket artworkThe year of 1215 marked a turning point in English history with the sealing of a rather unique document; the Charter of Liberties, or as we know it today, the Magna Carta. It was a charter from the people to a king demanding the rights that they believed that they deserved. Those who sealed it were rebel barons who were tired of the way King John was running the country, yet instead of asking for his removal, they wanted reform. The clauses mostly concerned the problems of the men who made the charter, however, three clauses dealt with women specifically. In her latest book, “Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England”, Sharon Bennett Connolly explores the lives of the women who were directly impacted by this document.

I would like to thank Pen and Sword for sending me a copy of this book. I enjoyed the last book that I read by Sharon Bennett Connolly and so when I heard that this book was going to be released, I knew I wanted to read it. I did not know much about thirteenth-century English history and the Magna Carta, so I was excited to start this new adventure.

To understand why the Magna Carta was considered an essential document for the time that it was forged, Connolly dives into the life of King John. His life and legacy will touch every woman in this book so it is vital to understand how John ran England while he was king. Although Connolly tends to be slightly repetitive with information about John, it is imperative that we as readers understand the significance of this reign and why it led to the Magna Carta, which radically changed English history forever.

Now, when one thinks about women who lived during thirteenth-century England, we tend to think about women whose marriages and bloodlines would interlace the numerous noble families of the time. Though some of the tales follow this pattern, there were some women and families who went against the norm. Women like Matilda de Braose, whose horrific imprisonment and starvation that led to her death, paved the way for clause 39 of the Magna Carta. There were also extremely strong women, like Nicholaa de la Haye, who was England’s first female sheriff and gained power and prestige by her own merits. These women acted as peacemakers by marrying foreign princes, or they were married to rebels against John. And of course, some women knew John well, like his wife Isabella of Angouleme, who had a very negative reputation because of John.

What I enjoyed about this book is how Connolly shared stories from women of many different walks of life. They were all so different and so unique. Connolly’s meticulous research and her true passion for this time paired with her easy to understand writing style make this book an engaging and insightful read. I found this a delightful read. If you want a fantastic book that introduces you to the world of the Magna Carta and the women who directly affected by this charter, I highly recommend you read, “Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England” by Sharon Bennett Connolly.