Medieval Women: In Their Own Words
Strong Women, Boat Burials and Intuitive Tubing
I know. You want to know what intuitive tubing is, right? Give me a moment of your time and I’ll get to that, but first let’s hear from some medieval women.
The day was supposed to start with the meeting of my friend Jenni aka the Green woman followed by a calm, dignified assent onto the planned train, gracefully making our way to London, meeting the Hundas folks under the clock at Waterloo and tubing it to the British Library.
Instead, a lack of staff for signals, doors not working and bridges being built, led to the usual chaotic scrabble for the right train, hoping that no one got left behind, and rushing to get to the British Library for our allocated ticket time.
We did make it though. A determined group of Saxon re-enactors and a Green Woman, is not something you should underestimate.
The exhibition itself was small but it was packed with information. So much to take in and I took around fifty photos in order to process the info at a later date. Here are some of the highlights.
A Risky Prediction
My absolute highlight from the exhibition, was this manuscript showing HenryVI’s horoscope from the 1400s.
Pictured is a fairly benign horoscope, however, it originated from a less favourable horoscope which was commissioned by Eleanor Cobham, who employed two male astrologers and a folk healer named Margery Jourdemayne, nicknamed ‘The Witch Eye’, to help her.
The horoscope predicted the King’s early death and so Eleanor and her three co-conspirators were accused of witchcraft or treasonable necromancy in 1441
Of the four, Eleanor was the only one not executed and instead imprisoned for life. Her status as the Duchess of Gloucester was no doubt what saved her.
There is an urban legend that it is still a treasonable offence to predict the king’s horoscope.
Medieval Moonology
This absolutely beautiful depiction of the moon phases, the solar and lunar eclipses and when they were likely to occur between 1411 and 1462, could easily be a page in journal these days.
I’m looking at you.Whilst medieval women were not allowed to take part in science during this period they could sponsor it through patronage, therefore becoming involved on the peripheral. The almanac above was commissioned by the Princess of Wales, Joan of Kent. It was created by John Somer a 14th century astronomer and the predictions are accurate in relation to England.
The Devil’s Arse
This delightful woodcut shows a woman at her mirror, beautifying herself for the day. Behind her is the devil showing his backside and if you look in the mirror there is a reflection of this in it.
This illustration portrays the eternal struggle women faced (and still do) with beauty standards. On the one hand they were sold perfumes and make up and on the other they were told, spend too long in front of the mirror and vanity will turn your face into the Devil’s arse.
A Phallus With a Crown
Isabella of France was the mother of Edward III and governed France when the young Edward was first king. It was a running joke that Edward was controlled by his mother and her lover and as a result there are several extant examples of satirical items of jewellery or badges that date from around 1327.
The two shown here (excuse the fuzzy shot, I didn’t realise it was that fuzzy until we were on the train back), shows Isabella, in the first, steering a boat with a phallus and holding a crowned phallus, and in the second, her threatening Edward with a stick. Mother knows best, folks! Either way, she clearly has a firm control of the penis, a symbolic indication that she ‘owned’ that time.
History In Stiches
I have a basket of sewing waiting patiently for me to complete, my hummingbird brain will at some point alight on it, but to have the patience to create something like this is something that is beyond my humble stitching skills. However this level of skill was possessed by a nun named ‘Lady Joan Beverly’ and was probably created as an act of religious devotion. I cannot lie, I covet such an item.
The overriding feeling from this exhibition, was that unfortunately the struggles of medieval women were and are, not a lot different from those of the 21st century woman. Yes, in this country at the very least, we can choose our jobs, education, have more mobility within society and our voices are more likely to be heard but there is still unequal pay, the beauty standards and stereotypes that have been in play for hundreds of years and the overriding expectation that our role is that of a carer within our societies.
Women’s rights, in fact the rights of all, is a continual struggle and something we must always be fighting to uphold even in the small everyday things we do like getting dressed.
Quick Pit Stop For Raedwulf
We couldn’t reasonably visit London and not stop in to see Readwulf, the bounty from his boat and the Anglo-Saxon galleries at The British Museum. So many oos and aahs, at the treasures in the case and wondering whether ‘our impression could get away with having something that high status.’ There’s always inspiration to be had here and I for one am inspired to push on and try and complete my Scorton Woman impression. More on that another time.
So what was the intuitive tubing? Well, my brain was so fried from the stressed start, heavy cold, sensory over-stimulation of London, rushing when my brain needs time to process, that once we were on the tube, I couldn’t be absolutely sure where we were going. Thankfully our wonderful Cunning Woman, Jen is an expert London traverser and knew exactly what she was doing. We followed like the dwarves and hobbits who followed Thorin Oakenshield, ‘make sure the little one’s are safe’.
Yet, when it came to our stop (Euston by the way), just before it someone asked when our stop was. I instinctively replied it’s the next one. It was as well, and so it was that I coined the phrase instinctive tubing - I wouldn’t Google that if I were you.
And so there you have it, Medieval Women, in my own words.