Category: Women’s History
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Legendary People: Elizabeth Báthory – Mass Murderer, Vampire, Innocent?
As today is Halloween, I thought it only fitting to write about the woman who is in the Guinness World Records as the most prolific female murderer. She comes under the category of legendary people, not only because her alleged deeds are certainly legendary, and have inspired other stories (including possibly Dracula), but because it…
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Historical Figures: Ada Lovelace, The First Computer Programmer
I have been meaning to write about Ada Lovelace for a very long time, and as today is Ada Lovelace day I figured what better excuse to start my new series on important historical figures of the past with her. The day falls on the second Tuesday of every October, and was founded in 2009…
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Fashion as Liberation: Edwardian Women’s Hatpins
“No man, however courageous he may be, likes to face a resolute woman with a hatpin in her hand.” When you think of fashion, you probably think of a variety of things. Superfluous trends, silly styles, strange catwalk concoctions. However, whilst fashion has been ridiculed for centuries, over many periods of history fashion has been…
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Royal People: Anna Komnene – Historian, Physician, Byzantine Princess
When people think of medieval princesses, they often think of an almost fairy-tale like person. A beautiful young woman who was married off at a young age to a foreign prince, traded as a political pawn, with little agency of her own. Of course, this was often far from the truth, and one such example…
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Royal People: Jadwiga of Poland
Jadwiga of Poland was a very remarkable woman, and one who is sadly neglected by those in Western Europe. Living in the fourteenth century, she was the first female monarch of Poland – beating England by nearly 200 years – and despite leading a short life, she left a legacy that continues to today. Jadwiga…
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Royal Mistresses: Alice Perrers, The Lady of the Sun
It’s time for a new blog series! This is one that I’ve been wanting to do since creating the blog, and have finally got around to starting. It is well known that many kings across Europe had mistresses; when you’re king, you could largely do what you want. Many of these women (and sometimes men)…
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Royal People: Joanna of Castile, Mad or Maligned?
At the time of Joanna of Castile’s death in 1555 she was 75 years old and had been Queen of Castile for over 50 years. However, for over 45 years she had been effectively imprisoned for her alleged insanity. So who was Joanna, and what led to her fate? Joanna with her parents, Isabella and…
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The Pendle Witches: ‘The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster’
The study of ideas of magic and witchcraft in the medieval and early modern period has always been of some general interest to me, with popular cases such as at Salem being in the general historical knowledge of most people. Since my Masters dissertation topic focused on witchcraft in the English royalty (Queen Joan of…
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Royal People: Jacqueline of Hainault, pawn or political player?
I recently received a request for some Dutch history, and I am always happy to oblige. In all honesty, I know fairly little about Dutch history on its own, with most of what I do know being how the country was used by the French, English, and Spanish for their own gains. One person who…
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Feeble or Fierce? Colonial Women of North America
You may or may not be aware of the recent article in The Guardian reviewing the new historical television drama, Jamestown. This article has garnered a lot of criticism in the historical world, and for good reason. If you don’t want to read the article, then the main summary points are this: Now, after I…
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