Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval WomenAn invaluable reassessment of what we think we know about the daily lives of women in medieval Europe. Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife charts the lives and times of four medieval women writers—Marie de France, a poet; Julian of Norwich, a mystic and anchoress; Christine de Pizan, a widow and court writer; and Margery Kempe, a no-good wife—who all bucked convention and forged their own paths. Largely forgotten by modern readers, these women have an astonishing amount to teach us about love, marriage, motherhood, friendship, and earning a living. Reading the words of these four writers, Hetta Howes engagingly reveals how everyday women lived, survived, and thrived in medieval times. Who did they marry and why? Did they ever have extramarital affairs? Could they earn money and become self-sufficient? Could they be leaders? What did they think about death—and what about life and their place in it? Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife paints a vibrant portrait of these women, their world, and the ways they speak to us today. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Knocked Up | 12 |
Tied Down | 32 |
Bit on the Side 52 | 52 |
Wanderlust | 71 |
Making Friends | 115 |
And Influencing People | 134 |
Having It All? | 158 |
Afterlife | 194 |
Acknowledgements | 203 |
| 223 | |
Other editions - View all
Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women Hetta Howes Limited preview - 2025 |
Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women Hetta Howes No preview available - 2024 |
Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women Hetta Howes No preview available - 2024 |
Common terms and phrases
accessed 24 March adultery Aelred Aelred of Rievaulx anchoress Ancrene Wisse baby birthing chamber Black Death body Book of Margery brewing century Chaucer child childbirth Christ Christine de Pizan Christine's Church City of Ladies cloth court courtly love daughter death describes despite Eliduc England English Étienne Fabri feel felt female friendship French friends gender Guilliadon Guinevere Hali Meidhad holy husband images imagine John journey Julian of Norwich king knights labour Lais Lanval living London Long Text lover male manuscripts Margaret Margery Kempe Margery's Marie de France marriage married medieval Europe medieval women Middle Ages misogyny mother never offer pain Paston pilgrimage pilgrims poem popular prayers pregnant priest punishment queen readers religious Revelations royal sexual story suffering suggest tells things trans Translation Trotula visions wanted widow wife Windeatt wives woman Women's Secrets words writing