Exhibition guide – Medieval Women: In Their Own Words
Medieval women’s voices evoke a world in which they lived active and varied lives. Their testimonies speak of diverse experiences, revealing female impact and influence across private, public and spiritual realms, and bringing alive experiences that still resonate today.
This exhibition focuses on Europe from roughly 1100 to 1500, a period in which there was strong cultural interconnection across the continent. While most medieval sources from the period were written by and about men, women’s surviving testimonies offer remarkable insight into their contributions to medieval social and economic life, culture and politics, their skilful management of households and convents, and the vibrancy of female religious culture.
This is the story of medieval women, told in their own words.
Download our Medieval Women exhibition map (PDF, 25kb).
Download our large print guide to the Medieval Women exhibition (PDF, 1.3mb).
Private Lives
Private Lives
Medieval women’s words illuminate their everyday lives and personal worlds. Surviving voices offer glimpses into women’s family and domestic life, revealing the joys of friendship and motherhood, the complex management of households and property and the pleasure of falling in love. Their testimonies also speak to the power of the female body, and the skill of female medical practitioners in a society in which healthcare provision was generally informal and domestic. (Image: Sloane MS 6, f. 177r).
Public Lives
Public Lives
Women’s testimonies reveal diverse contributions to medieval economy, culture and politics. Medieval women carried out important work as labourers, businesswomen and artisans. As authors, they produced popular and influential works including romantic poetry, philosophical and moral prose, stories, history-writing and instructional manuals. Royal and aristocratic women often took on political roles, using their positions to gain power in a male-dominated world. (Image: Royal MS 15 E VI, f. 2v).
Spiritual Lives
Spiritual Lives
Surviving accounts show that religion could be a significant source of power for medieval women. Some women dedicated their lives to God by joining a convent and becoming nuns, while others led a religious life in society. Although they were excluded from becoming priests, a number of women became renowned as influential religious leaders. Their words speak of the intensity of their devotion, their sophisticated spirituality, the skilful management of their convents, and the richness of female religious culture. (Image: Add MS 40076, f. 7r).