“Are you a woman? Yes. It is not looking good for you.” ‘Medieval Women in their Own Words’ - Review
Recently I took a trip to London and visited the incredibly popular exhibition at the British Library, ‘Medieval Women In their Own Words’. The exhibition follows the lives of a range of women in medieval Europe from 1100 to 1500 and tells their stories through their own words by displaying manuscripts, documents, and artefacts. Experiences of medieval women are showcased, including parts of their lives that range from the art, music, and literature they created, to beauty regimes, healthcare, personal relationships, and their roles in politics and religion.
On the British Library’s website, the main features of the exhibition include The Book of Queens by Christine de Pizan, Europe’s first woman author, the earliest known example of Joan of Arc’s signature, and a lion skull that is believed to have been a pet of Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England.
I marvelled at seeing Christine de Pizan’s The Book of Queens due to its historical significance, and because of the frontispiece which depicts Christine presenting her book to Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen of France, and her ladies in waiting. Vibrant and precisely placed colours initially caught my eye, and I was in disbelief when I noticed what I was looking at. Not only is the book historically significant, but it is also a beautiful piece of artwork.
Seeing Joan of Arc’s signature in person was a main highlight of the exhibition, particularly as it is displayed below a quote from Joan which added to its poignancy: “you say that you are my judge. Take care what you do, for in truth I am sent from God.”[1] As explained on the information board, Joan was illiterate leading to her spelling her name incorrectly as “Jheanne”. Her youth, as she was approximately 19 when she was burned at the stake, and the scribble-like fashion her misspelled name was written in, made the signature even more moving.
“You say that you are my judge. Take care what you do, for in truth I am sent by God.”
Other than the key highlights as mentioned on the website, there were other parts of the exhibition which became memorable moments for me, such as a portrait of Margaret Beaufort, ‘Matriarch of the Tudors’. In the portrait, Margaret is towards the later years of her life which is typically how she is remembered. But as stated on the information board accompanying the portrait, she was only a mere thirteen years of age when she secured the Tudor dynasty by giving birth to the future King Henry VII. Rather than thinking of a thirteen-year-old girl as the mother of a dynasty, we typically envision the aged woman seen in the portrait. This fact being pointed out offers a new perspective on the young girl who became the matriarch of an enduring dynasty, particularly to those unfamiliar with medieval politics.
In a more light-hearted aspect of the exhibition was a quiz which determined if you would have been suspected of witchcraft. The punchline to this blog, “are you a woman?”, was the first question. I answered “yes”, and the response to that began with “it is not looking good for you…”. My results to the quiz overall determined that I would have been slightly suspected of witchcraft, but if I am suspected again then there might be a sentence waiting for me. Entertaining and informational, the quiz provided some comic relief from some of the hard-hitting information and artefacts showcased in the exhibition.
Other key moments that fascinated me were the examples of medieval sheet music that you can listen to, being able to touch a sculped bust which inherently felt illegal due to the importance of not touching them in every single other museum, and the first Valentines letter written in the English language which was extremely touching.
Whether you are new to medieval history, or are an experienced historian, this exhibition is sure to wow you if not by the information presented, then by seeing some of the most important artefacts in women’s history from the medieval world.
[1] Translated by Daniel Hobbins (2005).