Given at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London for Gresham College on November 5, 2024
Abstract: Rediscovering remarkable historical figures such as the Birka Warrior Woman, Hildegard of Bingen, and King Jadwiga offers a fresh perspective to understand an era often dismissed as ‘nasty, brutish, and short’. Rather than being exceptions, this lecture will reveal the considerable influence and power held by medieval women and shed light on the gradual erosion of female agency over subsequent centuries. Through their rediscovery, it will interrogate traditional historical narratives and construct more nuanced, inclusive accounts that reflect the richness, complexity, and diversity of the past.
Why Writing Women Back into History Matters
Lecture by Janina Ramirez
Given at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London for Gresham College on November 5, 2024
Abstract: Rediscovering remarkable historical figures such as the Birka Warrior Woman, Hildegard of Bingen, and King Jadwiga offers a fresh perspective to understand an era often dismissed as ‘nasty, brutish, and short’. Rather than being exceptions, this lecture will reveal the considerable influence and power held by medieval women and shed light on the gradual erosion of female agency over subsequent centuries. Through their rediscovery, it will interrogate traditional historical narratives and construct more nuanced, inclusive accounts that reflect the richness, complexity, and diversity of the past.
Janina Ramirez is a Research Fellow at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, and Visiting Professor in Medieval Studies at the University of Lincoln. Her most recent book is Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It.
You can read the transcript of this talk from the Gresham College website.
Top Image: Modern bust of Jadwiga – photo by Adrian Tync / Wikimedia Commons
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