December 2013

By guest author Elizabeth

Christine de Pizan giving a lecture. 

Christine de Pizan was possibly Europe’s first professional female writer. Although she had been born in Venice, she grew up in France as her father was appointed astrologer, alchemist and physician to the French king Charles V. At the court she studied classic texts and languages, in addition to the king’s archive. In 1380 she married Etienne du Castel, a royal secretary, and the couple had three children. When Castel died in 1390, Pizan was left with a mother, two children (one child died early) and a niece to support. She therefore began writing, composing ballads of her patrons’ romantic exploits in Middle French.

Between 1401 and 1402 Pizan was involved in a literary quarrel. She criticized Jean de Meun, an earlier author who had continued The Romance of the Rose. Pizan felt that he slandered women with this text, describing them as nothing more than seducers, and “exposing” women’s vices and arts of deception. For Pizan, the debate helped to establish her as an intellectual of the same level as the men around her.

In the 1405 book “The Book of the City of Ladies” Pizan continues to challenge Jean de Meun’s views. In the opening, the main character feels that something must be wrong with women, as all texts on morality attack the female sex. But the three Virtues (Lady Reason, Lady Rectitude and Lady Justice) come to her, and they help her build a city. The city is only inhabited by women, and the Virgin Mary serves as their queen. The inhabitants are famous women from throughout history, serving as examples to show that women were much better than they were being depicted by male authors.  In the later “The Treasure of the City of Ladies”, Pizan argues that women too should learn rhetoric, and offers advice to women in all parts of society, from great ladies to prostitutes.

Her last literary work was a poem about Joan of Arc, one of her contemporaries.  It was written in 1429, and celebrates the appearance of a woman as a military leader. The work is especially important, as few other documents then those connected to Joan of Arc’s her trial have survived. Below is the 41. Stanza, as translated by Ben D. Kennedy.

“She will defeat the English for good, and cast them down, for this is God's will  who hears the prayers of the good, whom they wanted to do great harm. For the blood of those dead and gone, again cries out against them. God will no longer tolerate their  evil so instead they are condemned.»

For the rest of the poem: http://www.maidofheaven.com/joanofarc_song_pisan_contents.asp

Christine has in later days come to be considered a feminist, possibly the first one in the West. Throughout her career she continued to show her contemporaries that women were just as capable at writing, and in “The Book of the City of Ladies” she argues that "If it were customary to send daughters to school like sons, and if they were then taught the natural sciences, they would learn as thoroughly and understand the subtleties of all the arts and sciences as well as sons." In 1949 Simone de Beauvoir wrote that it was “the first time we see a woman take up her pen in defence of her sex”. In her time she was very well regarded, and served as court writer for several dukes in addition to Charles VI of France.

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Eleanor's seal from c. 1152

In 1137 she inherited the duchy of Aquitaine (together with other areas under her it equaled about 1/3 of modern-day France) from her father, and married Prince Louis of France.  Six days later heascended the throne as Louis VII following his father’s death.

During the Second Crusade between 1145 and 1149, she insisted on leading the troops from Aquitaine. During the fatal march to Antioch, the troops from Aquitaine were separated from the larger part of the army which was attacked by the Turkish and slaughtered. The king had that day decided to ride in the back of the army together with the baggage trail, while Queen Eleanor had been riding in the Vanguard with her troops. The vanguard is the front of the army. During the day the king’s part of the army lagged behind and was separated from the vanguard, who decided to extend the day’s march, either following Eleanor’s or one of her officers’ command. The Turkish troops who for days had been bidding their time now attacked. The result was devastating. Though the king survived the army was greatly reduced.

During the crusade Eleanor and Louis became more and more estranged, and they reportedly sailed home to France on separate ships. In 1152 the combined effects of Eleanor wanting a divorce, the French nobles’ dislike of her and the lack of a male heir made Louis agree to a divorce. Louis gained custody of their two daughters, Marie and Alix. Eight weeks after the annulment Eleanor married Henry, duke of Normandy. Louis waited two years before marrying Constance of Castile.

In 1154 Henry became king of England. The couple had eight children, but the marriage was turbulent, and Eleanor spent the last sixteen years of Henry’s life imprisoned. One of their sons, Henry, had started a revolt, and Eleanor had supported him. In 1189, Eleanor was widowed and released by her custodians.

Eleanor died in 1204. During her life she was one of the most important women in Europe, being involved in politics, wars and a patron of various literary figures. 

(or Li-Ch’ing-Chao, Li Qingzhao, Yi’an Jushi or Li Yi’an)

Li Ching Chao is considered to be be one of China’s greatest poets. Both her parents were poets, and her poetry were well regarded already when she was a teenager. She also collected books and art, and became a calligrapher.

In 1101 Li Ching Chao married Zhao Mingcheng, an antiquarian. They wrote several love poem to one another.

Most of her poems are about her personal experiences, and  written in ci-form. There were originally six volumes of her works, but there’s only about 50 poems left. Poetry from her early years describes her carefree days, but after the invasion of northern China in 1127 and the death of her husband in 1129, her poems were influenced by her sorrow for the country and her late husband.

Two of her poems translated to english;

To the Tune

Breeze soft, sun frail, spring still early. In a new lined dress my heart was refreshed, But when I rose from sleep I felt a chill. I put plum blossoms in my hair. Now they are withered. Where is my homeland? I forgot it only when drunk. The sandal wood incense burned out while I slept. Now the perfume has gone, But the wine has not gone.

Sorrow of Departure

Red lotus incense fades on  The jeweled curtain. Autumn  Comes again. Gently I open  My silk dress and float alone  On the orchid boat. Who can  Take a letter beyond the clouds?  Only the wild geese come back  And write their ideograms  On the sky under the full  Moon that floods the West Chamber.  Flowers, after their kind, flutter  And scatter. Water after  Its nature, when spilt, at last  Gathers again in one place.  Creatures of the same species  Long for each other. But we  Are far apart and I have  Grown learned in sorrow.  Nothing can make it dissolve  And go away. One moment,  It is on my eyebrows.  The next, it weighs on my heart. 

Sources

http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/338585/Li-Qingzhao

http://snl.no/Li_Qingzhao

http://www.poemhunter.com/li-ching-chao/biography/

Mural of Tamar from the church of Dormition in Vardzia (c. 1184-1186)

Tamar the Great ruled over Georgia together with her father between 1178 and 1184, and ruled alone between 1184 and 1213. She was the first female ruler of Georgia. The Georgian Orthodox church later declared her a saint, though she was called a saint even in her own lifetime.

Tamar’s father, George III of Georgia, ascended to the throne after his father’s death in 1156. This happened during a period which included a lot of disagreements surrounding the monarchy. For instance, George’s elder brother had forced their father to abdicate in 1154, but died shortly after himself. In 1177 the Georgian nobles rose against George III, declaring his elder brother’s son, Demna, the king. This revolt was crushed, and in 1178 Georg III declared Tamar his heir and co-ruler, hoping to avoid any disputes after his death.

Though George III was not completely successful in avoiding disagreements surrounding his successor, Tamar was able to neutralize her opponents. In 1185 she married a Rus’ prince, Yuri (the Rus were a people, possibly descending from Swedish Vikings). The marriage was pushed onto her by the nobles, and in 1187 she divorced him, having now gained enough power to do so. Yuri was then expelled from the country, and Tamar managed to stop his two coup-attempts between 1187 and 1191. In 1191 she married David Soslan, an Alan prince (Alania was a neighbouring country to the north).  Though David was a co-ruler, Tamar continued to be the main ruler.

During Tamar’s reign Georgia expanded I’s borders, and brought in new amounts of treasure, described in the saying “the peasants were like nobles, the nobles like princes, and the princes like kings». Tamar’s reign is considered the height of the Georgian Golden Age, not only because of the territorial expansion, but because the culture bloomed, with new cathedrals being built and the important Georgian poem “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin”, which was dedicated to Tamar.

After her death, Tamar was succeeded by her son George IV, and later her daughter Rusudan. The location of her burial is unknown, but one theory is the family burial grounds at the Gelati monastery (a UNESCO world heritage site). Another theory is that her son George IV brought her remains to Jerusalem, so she would be buried in the holy land. After her death she remained an important figure, and she was several places fused with local deities. 

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Boudicca (also known as Boudica, Boadicea, Boadacaea) was a celtic warrior queen.

Boudicca was married to Prasutagus., the head of an English tribe called Iceni. When Britain was invaded by the Romans in 43 CE, Prasutagus was one of two Celtic kings who were allowed to keep some of their power. Some of the consequences of the Roman occupation were opression, heavy taxes,  and Roman military presence. In 60 CE Prasutagus died, and left half his kingdom to the Roman Emperor Nero. This was to settle the debt he had gotten after accepting money that had been granted him by the Romans, but that later redefined as a loan.

When the Romans came, the did not settle for half his kingdom, but took all of it. In addition to this, they beat Boudicca, raped the children of Boudicca and Prasutagus, sold part of their royal family as slaves, all to humiliate the former rulers. After this Boudicca met with the leaders of the Iceni tribe and other tribes to plan a revolt against the Romans, while they were busy planning an attack on Wales.

Boudica, Warrior Queen of the Iceni by Gordon Napier, May 2006

Boudicca led about 100 000 people to attack the place where the Romans in Camulodunum (“their main center of rule”, now known as Colchester). The place was at the time poorly defended, and the army burned down everything, except the Roman temple. After this Boudicca and her army went to Londinium (London), massacred the inhabitants who had not yet fled, and burned down the city. Following this, they turned to a city called Verulamium, where a lot of people who had cooperated with the Romans lived. Here as well, they killed the inhabitants and destroyed the city.

The army of Boudicca was defeated by the Romans in the next battle, due to weakened soldiers. The Roman Suetonius had seen to the burning of Roman stores, leaving no food for Boudiccas army.

A result of the rebellion was that the Romans strengthened their military presence in Britain and also lessened the oppressiveness of their rule. It is uncertain what happened to Boudicca after this, but the revolt against the Romans led to less oppression by the Romans.

The story of  Boudicca is known through the writers Tacitus and Dio.

Source

Roman copy of a Greek bust from the 5th century BCE. Reads: Sappho of Eressos

Sappho was a famous poet in ancient Greece. In fact, it’s claimed Plato said «Some say the Muses are nine: how careless! Look, there's Sappho too, from Lesbos, the tenth.» Her works endured well into the roman period, but due to changes in the times and her writings being in Aeolic Greek, a harder variant of ancient Greek than the normal one, her works were gradually lost. Apart from being a poet, Sappho is also by many considered to be one of the earliest known lesbians.

Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos, in the north-eastern Aegean sea, between modern-day Greece and Turkey. Her poems and reputation have led to the term lesbian, and the less known Sapphic (same meaning), though her poems speak of female and male love of both genders. It's unknown whether these poems are autobiographical, but other parts of her life appear in some of her texts.

The poetry we have from Sappho comes from Egyptian papyri fragments discovered in ancient rubbish heaps, and from a potsherd. Besides this, what we have of her works come from other authors who have quoted her.

The 3rd-century philosopher Maximum of Tyre said this about her: «What else could one call the love of the Lesbian woman than the Socratic art of love? For they seem to me to have practised love after their own fashion, she the love of women, he of boys. For they said they loved many, and were captivated by all things beautiful. What Alcibiades and Charmides and Phaedrus were to him, Gyrinna and Atthis and Anactoria were to her ...»

 Link to one of her poems: http://allpoetry.com/poem/8449293-Drapple-thor-wbr-ned-Aphrodite--by-Sappho

  Hypatia was a philosopher, and is know as the las great mathematician from Alexandria. She especially worked with geometry. She was a teacher, and people were really interested in hearing her speak. She is also known for her virtue and beauty.

A story from Hypatia’s life

“She was so beautiful and shapely that one of her students fell in love with her and was unable to control himself and openly showed her a sign of his infatuation. Uninformed reports had Hypatia curing him of his affliction with the help of music. The truth is that the story about music is corrupt. Actually, she gathered rags that had been stained during her period and showed them to him as a sign of her unclean descent and said, "This is what you love, young man, and it isn't beautiful!" He was so affected by shame and amazement at the ugly sight that he experienced a change of heart and went away a better man.” (http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/gm/a/100909Hypatia.htm)

Source

The Oracle of Delphi

(The priestess of Delphi, 1891, John Collier)

The Oracle, also known as Pythia was the leader of the Temple of Apollo on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. The temple was established in the 8th century BC, though it may have had earlier roots. The Oracle was chosen for life from the ranks of priestesses at the temple, and varied both in terms of previous education, social status and age. 

The name Pythia comes from Python, the legendary snake Apollo killed. Delphi was originally called Pytho, from the verb "pythein", to rot. 

The Oracle was very important over a long period of time, giving prophesies to the Athenians and Spartans, Philip II of Macedonia and Nero. Many pf the important decisions in ancient Greece were influenced by Pythia. In addition, several sources state that Pythia taught Pythagoras. 

The prophecies were given while in a trance, though the nature of this trance is uncertain. Some have speculated that it might have been ethylene  rising from the ground that led to this trance, but there is no broad agreement. As seen in the picture, the Oracle has been described as chewing  laurel branches and drinking/looking into spring water.

The people seeking advice had to travel to Delphi, bring an offering and pay the temple. Usually, a goat was sacrificed, and the entrails were then examined to see if the signs were favorable.

Quotes:  "Love of money and nothing else will ruin Sparta"

"Your presence here outrages the god you seek. Go back, matricide! The number 73 marks the hour of your downfall!" 

"Sure though thy feet, proud Sparta, have a care, A lame king's reign may see thee trip - Beware! Troubles unlooked for long shall vex thy shore, And rolling Time his tide of carnage pour"

Zenobia is known for conquering Egypt, and is often referred to as "Warrior Queen". She ruled between 267/268 and 272.

Zenobia was of Arab decent, and claimed to be an ancestor of Queen Cleopatra the fifth (it might actually have been “the other Cleopatra”, Cleopatra Thea). She knew how to speak Arabic, Greek, Aramaic and Latin, and is said to have been familier with ancien Egyptian. She was first married to the king of Palymra, and rode with and his army as they fought to expand Palymra.

Somewhere around 260-266 she and the king, Septimius Odaenathus, got a son, Lucius Julius Aurelius Septimius Vaballathus Athenodorus (or Vaballathus). A year after this, the king and his son (from another marriage) was killed, and Zenobia and Vaballathus was left to rule. She then took the name Augusta, and gave the name Augustus to her son.

Zenobia and her general (Zabdeas), conquered Egypt in 269-270, ruled by Romans at the time. The prefect of Egypt was beheaded when he objected to her as the ruler. She continued to conquer more territory (amongst it Syria, Palestine and Lebanon), and built an Empire.

She was defeated by Aurelius some time around 273, and he had her be part of the triumph parade in Rome in 274. He also handed out bread during the celebration (Zenobia had at one time cut off the grain supply to the Roman empire, causing a shortage of bread).

After this it is uncertain what happened to Zenobia. Some say she comitted suicide, others that she was beheaded, died of illness or died due to a hunger strike. Another theory is that she married a Roman and had children with him. One of them was named Lucius Septimia Patavina Babbilla Tyria Nepotilla Odaeathiania.

"I am a queen; and as long as I live I will reign." is said to be a quote from Zenobia.

Source

One of the earliest known women in history, the high priestess Enheduanna lived between 2285 and 2250 BCE. She was also possibly the first known poet and author of either gender, leaving behind temple hymns and a personal devotion to the goddess Inanna.

Enheduanna is second in line on this disk.

Enheduanna translates to “high priestess of An”, or possibly “high priestess, wife of Nannar”. A third possibility is that it translates to high priestess of Inanna.  

She was the daughter of Sargon the Great, who formed the Akkadian Empire, which was one of the earliest empires in the history of the world. Most of the empire lay in modern-day Iraq.

Sargon appointed her high priestess of Nanna in the temple of Ur, in the far south of the empire. Here she helped him bind the empire together by linking Sumerian and Akkadian gods together. Among others, she managed to link together Inanna with Ishtar, two before separate goddesses. There are theories that they have also been the origin of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.

Enheduanna left behind 42 hymns addressed to various temples. The hymns (known as the Sumerian Temple Hymns) were copied down hundreds of years later, and have been found in Nippur and Ur. In addition she left behind a personal devotion to Inanna, where she also describes her temporary expulsion from Ur. 

In 998, it was proposed that Sigrid should marry Olav Trygvasson, and she would have to convert to Christianity for this. It is said that she refused and told Olav, to his face, that “I will not part from the faith which mt forefathers have kept before me.” This provoked Olav, and he struck her. Sigrid then told him, calmly, “This may some day be thy death.

Sigrid the Haughty and Olaf Tryggvason

She later helped creating an alliance between Sweden and Denmark against Norway, a coalition of Olavs enemies to bring him down.

It is also said that she burnt Harald Grenske (father of Olav II Haraldsson), she refused to be baptised, and she was said to be “hedensk som en hund.”

In the short story “The Deluge at Norderney,” by Karen Blixen, it’s claimed that Sigrid at one point invited all her suitors to her home and burned them, to discourage future suitors.

A poem written about the event written by Henry Wadswoth Longfellow can be found here.

No one is certain if Sigrid was a real person, a fictional person, or an “amalgamation of the lives and deeds of several women.”

Sources

http://arsmagica.wikia.com/wiki/Sigrid_the_Haughty, http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigrid_Storr%C3%A5de, http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/notables.html#anchor419851