I used to think history was boring, but that’s because the history I was introduced to was all about dead white guys and wars. There’s so much interesting stuff in history, you just have to know where to look for it. Take, for example, Femina by Janina Ramirez, a book about notable women in the medieval world.
Traveling through time and across various countries, Ramirez challenges the notion that medieval women were limited to being wives, mothers, or humble nuns. By profiling women who have been identified by their remains and/or historical records, she shows how women influenced politics, religion, business, war, art, and more. Each chapter opens with the story of a historical discovery, such as of a grave or a book, and then goes on to discuss the woman or women related to that discovery.
In discussing these women, Ramirez slowly reveals a medieval world that was more diverse and cosmopolitan than we’ve been led to believe. She talks about grave goods that traveled thousands of miles from where they were created, and women who went on lengthy pilgrimages, and off-shoot religious sects, among other things. And while most of the book necessarily focuses on white, middle to upper class, presumably cis het women (because they’re the ones most likely to have been written about or to have been buried with lots of identifying items), she does take time in the final chapter to discuss racial diversity in the medieval world, the lives of the lower class, and the only historical record we’ve found so far of a medieval trans woman/gender fluid person (hard to say exactly how this person would have identified if they’d lived today, but they were assigned male at birth, used a traditionally female name, and went about the world in both male and female garb/identity depending on the situation).
A cool thing about this book is how Ramirez talks about the different kinds of research and technology that goes into understanding the past. Medievalists, archeologists, and anthropologists have so many tools at their disposal. It’s kind of mind-boggling realizing how much we don’t know about our own ancestors from a thousand or less years ago, and how there are still so many opportunities to learn more — while simultaneously, there are so many things that we’ll never know unless we invent time travel.
My favorite kind of history is learning how people lived and thought in the past. I’m not interested in who fought who and who ruled who (although obviously it’s important to understand things like colonialism and how empires rise and fall). I’m interested in what day-to-day life was like, what people ate and wore and did for work and fun. Sometimes, we learn that people weren’t that different from they are today. For instance, when Margery Kempe had no luck with her business endeavors, she decided to become a Catholic mystic, which feels a lot like the medieval equivalent of becoming an influencer. Yesterday’s pilgrimage to the holy land is today’s sponsored tropical vacation.
Ramirez treats her subjects as the complicated human beings they were, as much as possible. Obviously we only know what was recorded about a person, and that may have been influenced by the opinion of whoever was doing the recording. But Ramirez doesn’t shy away from point out a person’s prejudices or untoward actions.
I appreciated that I didn’t already have to have a deep knowledge of medieval history to enjoy Femina. I also appreciated that the first chapter references some of the same stories and objects as in Wild; since I didn’t really get that much out of the act of reading that book while I was reading it, I felt like this gave it some retroactive value. Also, I just really enjoy being able to draw connections (direct or indirect!) between the different works I read.
However, the very best part of this book was the story that introduces the chapter on Hildegard von Bingen, about a plot to steal one of her books. If anyone knows about a non-fiction or fictionalized account of this, please let me know! The problem with listening to an audiobook is that the names of the two women involved in this plot immediately fled from my mind (I was also way wrong about how Margery Kempe’s name was spelled). There is a PDF supplement, but Libby doesn’t really support that which is really frustrating.
If you’re interested in history or feminism, I definitely recommend this book. I don’t think you’ll learn anything earth-shattering, but you’ll pick up a few cool facts and entertaining anecdotes and perhaps be inspired to go learn more about a specific figure, time period, city, or skillset.
CWs and TWs: Everything in this book is discussed in pretty academic terms, but there’s mention of: death, disease, dead bodies, classism, racism, sexism (obviously), sexuality, religious persecution, sex work, slavery, child birth, and infant mortality.
Source and Format: I borrowed the audiobook from Seattle Public Library.
Reading Challenge Prompts
Brick & Mortar: One-Word Title. So far this year, I have read, and still have on my TBR, an oddly high number of books with one-word titles. But this is the one I specifically chose for this prompt.
Reading Challenge Progress
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 4 of 25, no bingos.
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 6 of 25, no bingos.
Book Riot: 6 of 25.
Physical TBR: 1 of 12.
Brick & Mortar: 16 of 25, 1 bingo*.
*I’ve completed several of the non-reading prompts, hence the mismatch with the number of reviews!
World of Whimm: 7 of 24, no bingos.