Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It
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- Create Date：2023-03-02 11:22:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Janina Ramírez
- ISBN：B0B9YT3XPG
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Summary
Extraordinary women have held positions of power throughout history。 But， aside from the select few， why do we not hear about them？
The middle ages are seen as a bloodthirsty time of Vikings， Saints and Kings: a patriarchal society that oppressed and excluded women。 But by digging a little deeper into the truth， drawing on evidence from all disciplines， we can see that the 'dark' ages were anything but。 BBC historian Janina Ramirez has uncovered countless influential women's names struck out of historical records， with the word FEMINA annotated beside them。 Male gatekeepers of the past ordered books to be burnt， artworks to be destroyed， and new versions of myths， legends and historical documents to be produced， which has manipulated our view of history。
By weaving a vivid and evocative picture of the lives of the women who influenced their society， we discover not just why these remarkable individuals were removed from our collective memories， but also how many other misconceptions underpin our historical narratives， altering the course of history， upholding the oppressive masculine structures of their present， and affecting our contemporary view of the past。
The middle ages are seen as a bloodthirsty time of Vikings， Saints and Kings: a patriarchal society that oppressed and excluded women。 But by digging a little deeper into the truth， drawing on evidence from all disciplines， we can see that the 'dark' ages were anything but。 BBC historian Janina Ramirez has uncovered countless influential women's names struck out of historical records， with the word FEMINA annotated beside them。 Male gatekeepers of the past ordered books to be burnt， artworks to be destroyed， and new versions of myths， legends and historical documents to be produced， which has manipulated our view of history。
By weaving a vivid and evocative picture of the lives of the women who influenced their society， we discover not just why these remarkable individuals were removed from our collective memories， but also how many other misconceptions underpin our historical narratives， altering the course of history， upholding the oppressive masculine structures of their present， and affecting our contemporary view of the past。
Reviews
Elsary
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I will wait till one of my historian friends （you know who you are） reads this before picking it up myself but it does sound good。
Amanda
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Amazing dive into medieval and middle age Europe to investigate the role of women and， more critically， the overlooking of， the erasure of and the blatant rewriting of their contribution to society， politics， diplomacy and science in that era。 It provides a solid explanation of how misogyny from later time periods or contemporaries undermined our understanding of the role of women in that entire era。 The writing provides context to each of the societies and women examined。
GBL
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Janina Ramirez has written an important book focusing on the role of women in the Middle Ages and showing how the history of women has been hidden behind the conventions of historical narrative。Ramirez focuses on the lives of several women at various points in the Medieval period and in doing so explores the impact of female action on the period。 In doing so， she shows how the significance of female contributions to historical periods has been ignored and dismissed in the context of historical r Janina Ramirez has written an important book focusing on the role of women in the Middle Ages and showing how the history of women has been hidden behind the conventions of historical narrative。Ramirez focuses on the lives of several women at various points in the Medieval period and in doing so explores the impact of female action on the period。 In doing so， she shows how the significance of female contributions to historical periods has been ignored and dismissed in the context of historical research and enquiry。In her Preface， Rairez explains the purpose of her new approach;´… through these remarkable women I hope to show how we can effectively scrutinise historical evidence in more inclusive ways and engage with the past through fresh eyes。´ （page XV） 。。。more
Hagstone Hearth
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Fascinating and an easy listen for inspiring walks and wondering about the women who came before。 A jumping off point for deeper dives in to the mysteries that grab you most。
Christine
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This book is about the parts mainstream historical writings miss。 It takes a number of female figures and expands their story and contextualises them in their mediaeval world。 It’s about women as the featured character。 Some of the chapters I got the feeling， really had the author digging deep as there didn’t seem much to go on so the context filled the space。 One thing it did highlight for me though was that in all history writings your getting someone’s version or interest which is likely to b This book is about the parts mainstream historical writings miss。 It takes a number of female figures and expands their story and contextualises them in their mediaeval world。 It’s about women as the featured character。 Some of the chapters I got the feeling， really had the author digging deep as there didn’t seem much to go on so the context filled the space。 One thing it did highlight for me though was that in all history writings your getting someone’s version or interest which is likely to be a way from any objective view。 This will give me food for thought reading other historical books and invite the question ‘so what does this author want me to see here and why ‘？ 。。。more
Pamela
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Fascinating look at the Middle Ages through the stories of women who were significant in their time but whose reputations were later obscured， rewritten or lost。 These women fought battles， made political decisions， created works of art， even ruled as King （Jadwiga of Poland） and examining their lives sheds light on sometimes neglected aspects of life in the Medieval Period。 Janina Ramírez is well known for bringing her interdisciplinary approach and boundless enthusiasm to her TV programmes and Fascinating look at the Middle Ages through the stories of women who were significant in their time but whose reputations were later obscured， rewritten or lost。 These women fought battles， made political decisions， created works of art， even ruled as King （Jadwiga of Poland） and examining their lives sheds light on sometimes neglected aspects of life in the Medieval Period。 Janina Ramírez is well known for bringing her interdisciplinary approach and boundless enthusiasm to her TV programmes and this book bears the same hallmarks。 Ramírez draws her evidence from art and architecture as well as written texts to add context to her narrative， and joyfully gives life to the subjects of her chapters with quirky details。 I found every chapter interesting and thought provoking， and liked the way Ramírez used her topics to debunk myths about the Middle Ages and demonstrate how there are more similarities with our modern world than we may like to think。 The varied and impressive female characters in this book offer a less prominent but worthwhile perspective on the period， and make for a memorable book。 。。。more
Karen Carlson
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I discovered this while checking out details about another book， a novel about Margery Kemp and Julian of Norwich; decided this might be better read first。https://twitter。com/PilgrimTeresa/sta。。。 I discovered this while checking out details about another book， a novel about Margery Kemp and Julian of Norwich; decided this might be better read first。https://twitter。com/PilgrimTeresa/sta。。。 。。。more
Roisin Giles
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A rich book full of detail。 A lot of time and effort has been spent working on this book and you can tell the passion behind the work。 Ramirez writes about inspirational women who were forgotten in History， but not anymore。 The women Ramirez spotlight cover a range of topics including religion， science， war， politics and artists from all over medieval Europe。 I have never heard of most of the women in this book， but they came to life through the writing in this book and hopefully I will remember A rich book full of detail。 A lot of time and effort has been spent working on this book and you can tell the passion behind the work。 Ramirez writes about inspirational women who were forgotten in History， but not anymore。 The women Ramirez spotlight cover a range of topics including religion， science， war， politics and artists from all over medieval Europe。 I have never heard of most of the women in this book， but they came to life through the writing in this book and hopefully I will remember more details about them now。 Anyone interested in History and wanting to uncover forgotten stories should read this book as it is fascinating。 Even the title is perfect for the book， as Ramirez explains in her introduction。 ‘Femina’ is based on a label that used to be given to books that were known to be written by a woman and were classed as less important and less likely to be preserved and not destroyed。 It’s so interesting to read about examples of women of the past who have possibly shaped our current world， without even the recognition and memory of their names。 。。。more
Lisa H Reads
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Simply put， this is is an incredibly illuminating piece of work， and is a fascinating accompaniment for anyone interested in medieval studies。 Ramirez arrives to shine a spotlight on forgotten or silent female voices in an otherwise patriarchal and parochial era。 Brilliant book。
Beth Jenkin
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I've been getting more into history books recently and this was a fascinating one！It really made me think of medieval history totally differently and was a good reminder that so many of the things we assume about the past are shaped by the people telling it to us and the time they're telling it in。Hildegard of Bingen was a badass nun， Jadwiga was a woman king and Aethelflaed got shit done。 Very glad to know more about them！ I've been getting more into history books recently and this was a fascinating one！It really made me think of medieval history totally differently and was a good reminder that so many of the things we assume about the past are shaped by the people telling it to us and the time they're telling it in。Hildegard of Bingen was a badass nun， Jadwiga was a woman king and Aethelflaed got shit done。 Very glad to know more about them！ 。。。more
Kristin
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I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Random House for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review。An interesting look into women in the medieval period。 I liked that LGBTQ+ and women of colour were mentioned， but felt there could have been more of a focus on them。
Kim
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I took a while to decide whether I wanted to read this book。 I’m glad I did decide to in the end。 From vikings to medieval saints to queens/kings and to the ordinary woman， this book let their voices be heard。 The author set the scene at the time for us and just told the story of the woman involved in that chapter。 We are learning all the time from archeological digs that history may not be as we have been taught…。women went ‘a Viking’ too and were buried with， what is/was，deemed male grave good I took a while to decide whether I wanted to read this book。 I’m glad I did decide to in the end。 From vikings to medieval saints to queens/kings and to the ordinary woman， this book let their voices be heard。 The author set the scene at the time for us and just told the story of the woman involved in that chapter。 We are learning all the time from archeological digs that history may not be as we have been taught…。women went ‘a Viking’ too and were buried with， what is/was，deemed male grave goods。 Janina allowed us to hear their voices and to understand where they stood in what we view as a very male led time。 I was intrigued by the chapter on the Cathars。 I had heard of them and the persecution of them by others who didn’t understand their belief structure。 This is so relevant to the modern world…have we changed that much？This book could have been a hard dry read but it wasn’t。 It was very interesting and I wanted to read on all the time， which is not always true of non fiction books。 The author has made this part of history very accessible。 Brilliantly done！ 。。。more
Louise Smethurst
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Good book generally。 Not huge details but it's given me a springboard to look other things up。 The end felt a bit rushed and I was a bit disappointed at some of the last chapter。 I do like Janina Ramirez on telly so I could hear her voice in the writing。 Good book generally。 Not huge details but it's given me a springboard to look other things up。 The end felt a bit rushed and I was a bit disappointed at some of the last chapter。 I do like Janina Ramirez on telly so I could hear her voice in the writing。 。。。more
Betty Kelly
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What a fantastic book。 I loved learning about all these epic women。 Highly recommended ☺️
Meghan Betts
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I can see why this book has a good star rating as it is no doubt well researched and well written。 But， i think you need to have a keen interest in history and enjoy reading this type of book in the first place to really appreciate it。 For me， i was hoping to learn more about specific women in history but felt that it focused more on items etc， and i just couldn't get into it。 I managed the first chapter but realised i was just skimming the pages and taking nothing in， and flicking through the r I can see why this book has a good star rating as it is no doubt well researched and well written。 But， i think you need to have a keen interest in history and enjoy reading this type of book in the first place to really appreciate it。 For me， i was hoping to learn more about specific women in history but felt that it focused more on items etc， and i just couldn't get into it。 I managed the first chapter but realised i was just skimming the pages and taking nothing in， and flicking through the rest of the book i concluded that it wasn't going to change so putting this down as a sadly dnf。 But， if you do love history and this style of nonfiction， i have no doubt it would be an interesting read， which is why I've give 3 stars。 。。。more
Denisa
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To be honest， I thought that this book was going to lightly touch on the stories of some women that appear on very old records。 Instead， I found myself reading about powerful， opinionated， and even progressive women who left a mark in history。 The author provides great context on not only how these women came to be influential， but also how they were written out of history after their death。 A book you must read if you want to take a trip to the middle ages and witness scenes you could never ima To be honest， I thought that this book was going to lightly touch on the stories of some women that appear on very old records。 Instead， I found myself reading about powerful， opinionated， and even progressive women who left a mark in history。 The author provides great context on not only how these women came to be influential， but also how they were written out of history after their death。 A book you must read if you want to take a trip to the middle ages and witness scenes you could never imagine。 。。。more
Lucas
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A book that disrupts the canon and should be read by every history fan atleast onceI absolutely loved this book。 More than i thought i did。 I came into this book with the expectation that it would offer me a new perspective I was used to a narrative dominanted by men in history and one where the medieval ages is static。 While i did get this， i got way more than that。 Femina is a book that researches a series of women - such as the lady of the mercians: Aethelflaed， Hildegard van Bingen and Jadw A book that disrupts the canon and should be read by every history fan atleast onceI absolutely loved this book。 More than i thought i did。 I came into this book with the expectation that it would offer me a new perspective I was used to a narrative dominanted by men in history and one where the medieval ages is static。 While i did get this， i got way more than that。 Femina is a book that researches a series of women - such as the lady of the mercians: Aethelflaed， Hildegard van Bingen and Jadwiga。There are many things i enjoyed about this book， i however will mention the following aspects which i found to be its strong points:->A perspective where women and man are part of the same world: With this i mean that in this book， there is not only a pure focus on women， it shows the history where women and man stand next to each other， and it shows a list of situations how women gained influence， and how men influenced this。 The use of this kind of narrative shows a more whole picture of this situation， rather than purely the history of these historical women。 Within this narrative it therefore becomes clear how women became to be underrepresented in the historical canon。 ->Structural connection between present and pastWhat i found really helpful was the way Ramírez started each chapter with a story of recent times， to show the research people are doing today， in relation to a certain story。 This not only helps structurally， but gives us a way to connect with the stories。-> Focus on objectsIn Femina some stories are told through the objects owned by the historical women in question。 It shows a rather interesting story for some women as in some objects there are so many hidden meanings which add to the interpretation of a certain figure and can tell us how a person might have been like。 Even though we are not always able to know certain figures because of lack of historical records， it is possible to have a better and more precise understanding of certain figures by understanding the objects they own。 。。。more
Johanna
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I really enjoyed this。 Taught me a lot about a part of history I don't know much about， covered a wide geographical area， and all from a point of view that hasn't been much covered in other history books I've read。 Very open about the biased view， but let's be honest all history books are biased and this is a different bias from usual。 I really enjoyed this。 Taught me a lot about a part of history I don't know much about， covered a wide geographical area， and all from a point of view that hasn't been much covered in other history books I've read。 Very open about the biased view， but let's be honest all history books are biased and this is a different bias from usual。 。。。more
HTP Books
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Medieval History， Middle Ages in Great Britain， Medieval Art， Women History
Rachel
，
Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages， Through the Women Written Out of It by Janina Ramirez is a great nonfiction that takes a look at some of the many women who lived， worked， and survived “under the radar”。 This is a fascinating collection of stories giving a voice to some of the many women that were at one time deemed “ not important enough” to be documented。 Through research， archeology， artifacts， examples， literary quotes， literature and manuscript sources， maps， and a multitude of ima Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages， Through the Women Written Out of It by Janina Ramirez is a great nonfiction that takes a look at some of the many women who lived， worked， and survived “under the radar”。 This is a fascinating collection of stories giving a voice to some of the many women that were at one time deemed “ not important enough” to be documented。 Through research， archeology， artifacts， examples， literary quotes， literature and manuscript sources， maps， and a multitude of images， the author presents a vast and eclectic collection of women during the middle ages and what their lives might have been like。 In doing this， we learn so much more about not just these “hidden” souls themselves， but also society， culture， history， and also ourselves in the process。 I appreciate the author’s passion， time， experience， and research into this wonderful book and presentation。 Excellent。 5/5 starsThank you EW and Hanover Square Press/HarperCollins for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion。I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon， Instagram， and B&N accounts upon publication on 2/28/23。 。。。more
Sara Aye Moung
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Informative， enjoyable， challenging， accessible- I loved it 。
molly
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i love humans n their silly little material culture ，，，，， i should do a degree about that
Rohase Piercy
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What an absolutely fascinating book！ I'm not surprised it took years to research and write。 Janina Ramirez delves into the lives of several medieval women dating from the early to the late Middle Ages， and in the process challenges many of our preconceptions about the lives， rights and achievements of females during these often misrepresented times。Aythelflaed， Lady of the Mercians and daughter of Alfred the Great; Jadwiga， female 'King' of Poland; three very different mystics - Julian of Norwic What an absolutely fascinating book！ I'm not surprised it took years to research and write。 Janina Ramirez delves into the lives of several medieval women dating from the early to the late Middle Ages， and in the process challenges many of our preconceptions about the lives， rights and achievements of females during these often misrepresented times。Aythelflaed， Lady of the Mercians and daughter of Alfred the Great; Jadwiga， female 'King' of Poland; three very different mystics - Julian of Norwich， Hildegaard of Bingen and Margery Kempe - and two unnamed women buried with great ceremony， the Loftus Princess and the Birka Warrior Woman， are all brought to life before our eyes， described， analysed and where possible quoted， in fascinating detail。 As someone who's not a particular fan of the Mediaeval period， this book opened my eyes to much that my previous reading has glossed over - not least that the choice to become a nun and live a life of celibacy unencumbered by marriage and childbirth was not， in those days， to choose a life of subservience and poverty。 Abbesses and their nuns， usually high born and well educated， could and did wear fine clothes， enjoy comfortable lives， and use their influence to challenge， influence and in some cases directly contradict the teaching of the clergy， from the local parish priests to the Pope himself！ This choice and the freedom it brought with it was of course lost with the Reformation。 Similarly， the 'myth' of the Viking warrior women was proved， in 2017， to be no myth at all thanks to the work of an intrepid team of female osteoarchaeologists in Stockholm - a team who received online threats and abuse following the publication of their findings， proving how much misogyny still exists amongst male researchers into our past history。Finally， the discovery of women of Asian and African descent buried amongst the London victims of the Black Death， and the story of the 14th century individual known variously as John or Eleanor Rykener tells us that diversity of race and gender in England is nothing new。 Wonderful stuff， and narrated in a vivid and accessible style。 Well worth a read！ 。。。more
The_Full_Brontë
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Review haiku:The past is unearthed，Women drawn from the shadowsand reexamined。
Skye
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Absolutely brilliant！ Loved so much of this， especially the "discovery！" section at the beginning of each chapter。 Honestly I learned so much and want a ton more books like this one！ My only wish is that the black and LGBTQ women weren't left to the last chapter， since they felt a bit more like an afterthought。 But seriously， so good， such an accomplishment and needed addition to the field！ Absolutely brilliant！ Loved so much of this， especially the "discovery！" section at the beginning of each chapter。 Honestly I learned so much and want a ton more books like this one！ My only wish is that the black and LGBTQ women weren't left to the last chapter， since they felt a bit more like an afterthought。 But seriously， so good， such an accomplishment and needed addition to the field！ 。。。more
Renee
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While I enjoyed the information in the book， the structure and tone didn't catch me and I felt I had to continually reorient myself。 Perhaps better as an audiobook。 While I enjoyed the information in the book， the structure and tone didn't catch me and I felt I had to continually reorient myself。 Perhaps better as an audiobook。 。。。more
Helen
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“Femina” is a stark reminder of just how much of the history of the human race is missing， incomplete， or just plain wrong – all because women weren’t considered all that important。 It makes for fascinating reading， but left me with a sadness for everything we’ve lost。Ramirez tells the stories of those who were lucky enough， and important enough， to escape this selective re-telling。 This is “herstory” through and through。 Most of the stories were new to me and opened my eyes to the place of wome “Femina” is a stark reminder of just how much of the history of the human race is missing， incomplete， or just plain wrong – all because women weren’t considered all that important。 It makes for fascinating reading， but left me with a sadness for everything we’ve lost。Ramirez tells the stories of those who were lucky enough， and important enough， to escape this selective re-telling。 This is “herstory” through and through。 Most of the stories were new to me and opened my eyes to the place of women in the past。 The author has the character singing off the page and many of the women’s behaviours are repeated in many of the stories here and shows why it was time for Dr Ramirez to reflect again on women and history。“Scrutinize how you have been taught， ask questions about what stories you’re not hearing，” for “it is our responsibility to think about how we want it （history） recorded and remembered。”A readable well written book and recommended if you’re looking to explore history from a different perspective。 。。。more
Rebecca
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An excellent book。 Taking a feminist approach and reviewing information about some key historical female figures， the author exposes the erasure of women's contributions throughout time while also raising the profile of equality and inclusion in society。 Accessible， readable and fascinating， well worth spending some time with。 An excellent book。 Taking a feminist approach and reviewing information about some key historical female figures， the author exposes the erasure of women's contributions throughout time while also raising the profile of equality and inclusion in society。 Accessible， readable and fascinating， well worth spending some time with。 。。。more
Carol Griffiths
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I quite liked this study of women in the Middle Ages， but more as a general history of the times。 The author seemed to be labouring to make her point， but I did learn about some interesting women。 The section on Vikings was particularly good， and I liked the way she used images of various artifacts to back up her comments。
Naomi Marshall-Murray
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