The standard female image of the Middle Ages is a gentle beauty, plucking the strings of a lute and accepting the courtship of noble knights. The reality was much harsher: in the cruel world of men, women often had to take up arms in order to defend what was dear to them.
Warriors of the "dark ages"
Already at the dawn of our era, in the so-called "dark ages", women had to fight for their place in life. The leaders in these battles, of course, were representatives of the royal families. British chroniclers tell of Queen Gwendolen, who defeated her own husband. The ruler of Britain named Lokrin once married the daughter of the legendary warrior Corin of Cornwall, Gwendolen. Several years passed, which the crowned couple lived in harmony, but one day everything comes to an end. The sovereign liked the young German slave Estrilda, and he gave her his favor, and then conceived his daughter Sabra with her. As long as Father Gwendolen was alive, the relationship remained a secret, but as soon as he died, Lokrin left his wife and seated his beloved on the throne. Instead of retiring from the historical scene, quietly sobbing with humiliation, Gwendolen decided to take revenge. She went to her homeland, Cornwall, where she gathered a solid army and marched with it to Locrin. The angry woman personally led the army and inflicted a crushing defeat on the traitor: the soldiers of Lokrin were defeated, and he himself died on the battlefield. The royal rival also faced a sad fate: the former slave, along with her daughter Sabra, was thrown into the river, which has since been called Sabrina, or Severny. This story suggests that it can be deadly to offend women.which has since been called Sabrina, or Severny. This story suggests that it can be deadly to offend women.which has since been called Sabrina, or Severny. This story suggests that it can be deadly to offend women.
However, not only the rulers had a penchant for military pursuits in those ancient times. According to the laws of Denmark, any free woman, not burdened with a family, could join a hird (military squad) and become a skjaldmo ("a maiden with a shield"). Of course, in order to become her own among the harsh male warriors, a woman had to demonstrate excellent physical fitness and mastery of weapons. Scandinavian chronicles mention that in some battles up to several hundred warlike maidens fought on the side of the Danes. And the Icelandic sagas tell about girls who were called by male names and went on raids with the Vikings until they got tired of it. And then they acquired families, gave birth to children and led a respectable, completely feminine lifestyle.
In the struggle for the Holy Sepulcher
Time passed, and all Europe moved to the Middle East to recapture Christian shrines from the infidels. And together with thousands of knights the women went on campaigns. Some of them simply tended military camps, prepared and looked after the sick and wounded. But there were also those who went to the East to fight for the glory of God. In the chronicles of knightly orders, almost no mention of them has survived. Perhaps because female participation in male affairs was considered shameful for the stronger sex. But Arab historians with great pleasure and even respect described the female warriors they encountered in battles.
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Beha ad-din, the personal chronicler of the Saracen leader Saladin, wrote of women crusaders that they showed "courage and endurance not inherent in the weaker sex … and until they take off their armor, it is not easy to recognize women in them." And one day the historian watched as a noble lady (whom he called the queen) arrived at the knight's camp with a detachment of five hundred soldiers and a whole retinue of pages and servants. The lady herself performed the functions of a military leader, and she always rushed into battle ahead of her soldiers. Beha-ad-din did not give the name of the noble warrior, and it remained unknown. Perhaps it was about Alienore of Aquitaine, known for her bravery and decisiveness, who could well acquire her own army. The chronicler also wrote about how, in the battle of Acre, Saladin's soldiers noticed a lady dressed in a green cloak. She fired arrows at Muslims with unprecedented dexterity and speed. Before they could hack to death the warrior, the woman managed to send a couple of dozen people to the next world. Saladin himself was impressed by the courage of the Christian and ordered to bury her with military honors.
Defending the native walls
Despite the personal courage of women shown in the Holy Land, the knightly orders considered European ladies only as an auxiliary force. It was not accepted to recognize their real merits in hostilities. However, history knows a case when the knightly order was established especially for women as a recognition of their truly masculine merits.
Tortosa, freed from the Saracens, was located on the sea coast so successfully that the Muslim troops planned to recapture it as soon as possible. Perhaps their plan would have succeeded, for the Spanish garrison of the fortress went to siege another fortification - Lleida. Only women remained inside the walls - they took over the defense. The story came out completely unique, because the ladies won a victory over the trained army. When the men returned to the city, they could only thank their wives and daughters for the fact that the city remained in the hands of the Spaniards. The ruler of Tortosa, Count Raimund, appreciated the "reserve garrison" of the fortress and instituted on this occasion a special order of the Ax, the main weapon of the women of Tortosa in battle. The ladies included in the order received the right to participate in military campaigns on an equal basis with men, to transfer the knighthood through the female line,and in addition were exempt from taxes for life. It is known that the order of the ax existed until the end of the 15th century, until the death of the last woman from the knightly families of Tortosa.
There are other examples when, in the absence of male relatives, ladies skillfully defended their cities and castles from an enemy siege. In the XIV century, Lady Agness Randolph, wife of the Earl of Dunbar, lived in Scotland. Her husband's family supported Robert the Bruce with all their hearts and wanted independence from the English kingdom. Unfortunately, the Earl was away when British troops besieged Dunbar Castle. For about six months, the British besieged the impregnable stronghold, and all this time Black Agness (as her enemies called her) calmly led the defense. Every day she appeared on the walls of the fortress, not paying the slightest attention to shelling and assault attempts. And in order to show disdain for the besiegers, after each attack, she ordered to "restore order" - to cleanly sweep the embrasures and teeth of Dunbar. In the end, the British withdrew home,breaking her teeth on the hardness of a Scottish lady.
At the end of the knightly era
The era of the Middle Ages was coming to an end, the morals in society were becoming stricter, but the ladies, fighting for themselves and their loved ones with weapons in their hands, now and then appeared on the pages of historical chronicles, inspiring horror and admiration in contemporaries and descendants.
This is how Jeanne de Dampierre became famous, who took an active part in the struggle of her father, the Comte de Montfort, for the Breton inheritance. Besieged by the French in the town of Ennebon, she managed to organize the population to defend against the enemy. Having established a defense, Madame Dampierre slipped out of the city gates at the head of a detachment of 300 horsemen and brought help, after which she managed to lift the siege and recapture the settlement. The Chronicler says that during the siege, she "showed miracles of courage and skill that could do credit to the most experienced general."
Another heroine of the late Middle Ages, the famous Lioness of Romagna Caterina Sforza, is known for no less courage. When an army of the Borgia, vying for influence with the Sforza family, laid siege to the castle of Forlì, which belonged to her, Catherine resorted to cunning. Having given the children as hostages, the woman went inside the fortress, ostensibly to agree on surrender. But as soon as the castle gates closed behind the indomitable lady, she announced that there would be no surrender, no matter what the besiegers promised. When Katerina's children were brought under the wall in order to persuade her to obey, she appeared between the battlements of the wall with her skirt up and said that she still had, thank God, how to make new offspring, and with the already born enemies, they could do whatever they wanted. The confrontation between the Lioness and the Bull (nicknamed Cesare Borgia) nevertheless ended in a crushing victory for the latter: capturing Forli, he raped Katerina,and then told the prisoners from her garrison that she fought for the fortress far more courageously than for her honor. However, the courage of the defeated Sforza, apparently, made her respect, because after only a year of imprisonment, Katerina was released and lived a life of peace and well-being.
No matter how few mentions of warlike ladies have survived on the pages of medieval chronicles, stories about their bravery and courage, sometimes superior to men, have survived to this day and are still able to teach a lot to those who consider women to be the weaker sex.
Ekaterina KRAVTSOVA
