Not much is known about Jeanne Laisné or Jeanne Fourquet (she was also nicknamed Jeanne Hachette which means Jean the Hachet), what we do know is that she took up arms against her enemies to help save the town of Beauvais. Jeanne was born a few years after the Hundred Year's war ended, but I think she should be included with female heroes from this era because she broke with the convention that women could not be soldiers or have much influence in political/ military affairs. In the summer of 1472, Jeanne helped prevent the capture of Beauvais by the Burgundians when she attacked a knight, who had planted the Burgundian flag on the walls of Beauvais, with a hatchet. After killing/ throwing the knight into the moat, she cut down the enemy's flag and raised the morale of Beauvais militia, leading them to victory.
For more information about Jeanne visit these links!
During the Hundred Year's war, a few significant female heroes took on roles that many women before them had not dared to take on. Examples of such women that I will be looking at are Joan of Arc, Christine de Pisan, and the less known Jeanne Hachette. For now I want to take a look at Christine and Jeanne since this week I am presenting in class on Joan of Arc (I will make a post for her a little later).
Christine de Pisan
Christine was born in 1365, not in France, but in the Italian city of Venice. Her father had knowledge in many fields including astrology and medicine. As a young girl, Christine moved to France with her family when her father became the royal physician to Charles V of France. An intelligent and motivated young women, Christine took advantage of all the knowledge she had access to within the French court. Christine married Etienne du Castel, a royal secretary,when she was 23. In 1390, Christine's husband suddenly died, leaving 24 year old Christine alone to support her two children. Complications in collecting her late husband's salary/ estate, led to Christine's writing career.
Christine's writing got attention from the nobles of the French court. They were some of her first patrons, apparently fascinated by a widowed woman who wrote love ballads and poems. Christine had to support her family and writing was surprisingly lucrative for her. She was a novelty in her time, women were wives and mothers, most were far to uneducated to even dream of having a career like Christine. In 1429, Christine wrote The Poem of Joan of Arc, a tribute to a woman willing to sacrifice herself for her country and to take on the role of a man, defying the rules of society. This was Christine's last poem, written when she was about 65 years old. Throughout her life Christine encouraged women to break out of the confines of a society created by men because of this she is thought of as France's first feminist.
The Song of Joan of Arc By Christine de Pisan Stanza 11
A miracle it was and who would ever believe if not perfect and were less well known and not crystal-clear in every respect, It is a fact worth remembering, that God should have laid (and this is the truth!) His great blessing and grace upon France through a young maid.
For more sources about Christine de Pisan, try these links!
Eleanor of Aquitaine was certainly one of the most interesting and powerful women of her time. She was the wife of two kings and the mother of King Richard the Lionheart and King John of England. Born in 1122 or 1124, Eleanor grew up in her father's court of Aquitaine, the birth place of the troubadour tradition, which became important in her later life. In her early teens, Eleanor became the Duchess of Aquitaine, ruling over her late father's lands in her own right. An eligible young lady and heiress of basically what could be called a small kingdom, Eleanor was soon married to the future King of the Franks, Louis VII, granting her husband a larger kingdom. Eleanor and Louis had two daughters during their marriage and Eleanor even insisted on going with her husband on the Second Crusade. During this time their relationship began to fall apart, and Eleanor actually sought an annulment of her marriage to Louis based on the grounds that they had a common ancestor (of the fourth degree). This was a surprising thing for a woman of her time to do. It was common for kings and other men of the nobility to seek such separations, never a woman. Eleanor's request was denied, but later Louis agreed to an annulment after the birth of their second daughter and fifteen years of marriage.
Almost immediately after separating with Louis, Eleanor became engaged to Henry II of England, whom she had met before breaking things off with Louis. They were married and once again Eleanor was a queen and her inherited lands became an important part of Henry's kingdom. Eleanor and Henry did not have the best marriage, but Eleanor had eight children with him, five sons and three daughters. Eleanor and Henry became estranged and Eleanor moved back to her home, the Palace of Poitiers in Aquitaine. From 1168 to 1173, Eleanor is said to have ruled over her "Court of Love" along with her daughter. Here, legend has it, she encouraged and inspired the troubadours and essentially invented courtly love and the ideals of chivalry.
From 1173 to 1189, Eleanor was imprisoned in England by Henry II because she had supported her sons in their civil war against their father. After Henry II's death, Eleanor was set free by her son, the new King Richard I. Eleanor ruled England as a queen regent in the name of her son Richard, who was fighting in the Third Crusade. Something interesting about her reign as queen is that no one seemed to oppose a her right to the throne, whereas, in the past women like Henry II's mother, Matilda, were seen as huge threats to the kingdom because rulers were supposed to be men and she was the true heir and a woman. After Richard's death, Eleanor's youngest son became the king. Eleanor died in 1204 while at her home at Poitiers, where she had retreated to in her last days. She was buried in Fontevraud Abbey beside Henry II.
Legends: Eleanor is associated with the legends of Robin Hood. In some stories she was a patron of Robin Hood, who supposedly aided her efforts to raise ransom money for King Richard during the Third Crusade.
Another rumor is that Eleanor had Henry II's mistress, Rosamund, poisoned.
Here are some sources about Eleanor of Aquitaine (and a few videos that I found interesting!):
This week we will be discussing Eleanor of Aquitaine as well as another important woman of the Middle Ages, Heloise d'Argenteuil (Eloise)
Eloise was a French scholar and nun born sometime between 1090 and 1100 AD. She is most famous for her love affair with her teacher the theologian Abelard. Their legendary affair began when Abelard sought a place in the home of Fulbert, Eloise's uncle. The couple falls in love, but Eloise's uncle does not approve so they begin to meet in secret. Eloise eventually became pregnant, left Paris, and traveled to live with Abelard's family during her pregnancy. After giving birth to her son, Astrolabe, Eloise and Abelard got married in secret. Fulbert, seeking to damage Abelard's reputation, began to spread the rumor of their affair and marriage. Eloise denied her marriage to Abelard and was sent by Abelard to a convent for protection from her uncle. Abelard is eventually castrated by Fulbert and his men for sending Eloise to become a nun which led to his decision to become monk.
Eloise eventually became abbess of her religious community and she and Abelard wrote letters to each other over many years. Eloise and Abelard are together again in death. Their remains are buried side-by-side in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. The story of Eloise and Abelard continues to inspire the many lovers who bring love letters to the grave in tribute to the couple. Eloise is heroic for being an independent young woman who was aware of what she wanted and who she wanted to love, even if others outside of the relationship didn't think it was appropriate she still followed her heart.
Here are some interesting sources about Eloise and Abelard:
Bertrada of Laon is most important for being the mother of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor. I was disappointed that there wasn't much about her to be found, so I hope that in class we will be able to learn more about her early life.
Bertrada fell in love with Pepin the Short and was his mistress for some years. She gave birth to her son by Pepin, Charlemagne around 743. Following Charlemagne's birth, Pepin sent his first wife away and married Bertrada. The couple had three more children, Carloman, Pepin (died in infancy), and Gisela. After Pepin's death, Charlemagne and Carloman split their father's kingdom which caused some conflict between the brothers. Bertrada seems to have backed Charlemagne over Carloman, and in 771 Carloman mysteriously died and Charlemagne took control of his brother's kingdom. Bertrada lived at Charlemagne's court until her death in 783.
I am interested to learn more about Bertrada's early life and maybe more about the kind of influence she had over her son and king, Charlemagne.
For more about Bertrada of Laon check these links!
This was a little something extra that I found very interesting. It is the lineage of the Merovingian dynasty. It shows that Bertrada and Charlemagne were descendants of Fredegund.
There doesn't seem to be anything heroic about these next two ladies, but their story is so unbelievably fascinating and crazy. Fredegund's (Freddie) rise to power really begins when she becomes a servant to King Chilperic's first wife. Freddie didn't really like her position, so she soon became Chilperic's mistress and efficiently convinced him to send his wife to a convent. After his divorce Chileperic remarried a Visigoth princess named Galswintha. This second marriage was not part of Freddie's plans so of course the next step was to have Galswintha strangled. Galswintha's death led to the marriage of Chilperic and Freddie, but it also had an unintentional consequence. Galswintha's sister, Brunhilda (Hilda), wasn't going to let the upstart new queen get away with the murder of her beloved sister.
Queen Brunhilda's marriage to King Sigebert I
Hilda was married to King Sigebert of Austrasia, Chilperic's brother. After the death of her sister Galswintha, Hilda and Freddie initiated a bloody feud. A seven year war ravaged the two countries and eventually a short peace was reached, but Chilperic broke the peace and was defeated by Sigebert. Chilperic escaped, but his life was still threatened so naturally Freddie arranged for Sigebert's assassination. The feud continued and Chilperic was eventually murdered (Fredegund is rumored to have been involved in his death, but I don't think she would have had much to gain from the death of a man she had been obsessed with marrying). After Chilperic's death, Fredegund took sanctuary in Notre Dame cathedral and became Queen Regent of her late husband's country.
Hilda tried to become/ was the regent of Austrasia a couple times throughout the rest of her life. Most of these attempts led to the death of the succeeding king. That is why when Brunhilda was finally captured by Freddie's son, Clotaire, she was accused of causing the death of ten kings of the Franks. Hilda didn't have many fans because of all her meddling in the governing of the country, so she was found guilty and executed by being drawn and quartered (ripped apart by being tied to four horses). Freddie died peacefully in her sleep a few years before her arch nemesis was murdered brutally.
The Murder of Brunhilda
The Legends: Fredegund is most interesting to me because she is thought to be the inspiration for the wicked step-mother in Cinderella. This comes from the story of Freddie closing her daughter's head in an very large treasure chest. It is obvious that Freddie was a brutal and violent women, but it is surprising that she would do something like this to her own child!
Brunhilda is considered the inspiration for Brunnhild and Kriemhild in The Nibelungenlied, an epic poem about a murdered dragon-slayer and his wife's revenge.
At the end of the day, Fredegund and Brunhilda are two ladies that you would not want to get involved with!
For more info on the Merovingian Queens go to these links!
In contrast to Guinevere, St. Genevieve was a very pious and pure female French hero. Genevieve was born in the town of Nanterre, a small town outside of Paris. This is where she meets St. Germanus of Auxerre. St. Germanus had great influence in her life, meeting her when she was a young girl, Genevieve told him of her want to live for the Lord. Following the death of her parents, Genevieve moved to Paris and soon became a nun, dedicating her life to God and the people of Paris. Genevieve is said to have witnessed visions, many of which came true which led to the trust the Parisians had for her. St. Genevieve was a hero of Paris on at least two occasions. Genevieve gathered as many people of Paris into the church for a "prayer marathon", during Attila the Huns attacks on the city. The city was spared when the Huns turned around and went off to pillage another city. A second instance in which Genevieve saved her beloved city and its people occurred when the barbarian king Childeric sieged the city, setting up a blockade to starve the people. Genevieve risked her life to go out and bring food back to the Parisians. She was also able to influence the invaders to be merciful to their captives. St. Genevieve is still remembered today by the people of Paris for being an important hero in the past of the city.
More about St. Genevieve of Paris can be found here!
Our next French hero is Queen Guinevere, a very important mythical (or maybe historical) figure in many cultures throughout Europe. She appears in most Arthurian legends, most notably in the French poet Chrétien de Troyes's Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart. Guinevere is notorious for her many lovers. Over the years of stories about King Arthur and his court, Guinevere has been kidnapped by a few of these alleged lovers. As a historical figure she was probably prized for her wealth and the land that her husband would receive as part of her dowery. This could explain why she was abducted often by men like King Melwas, who then tried to marry her. Guinevere has gotten much backlash and judgement over the years because of her adulterous ways. Before we pass judgement though, we should consider what marriage was like for noblewomen during the time that Guinevere may have lived. Guinevere was probably not married to King Arthur for love, she was probably betrothed to him because she came from a wealthy and loyal family. For all we know, being the queen consort of Arthur could have been really lame. Perhaps he was often out defending the kingdom or maybe he wasn't very affectionate. Guinevere's affair with Lancelot shows that she was an unconventional queen, willing to take a big risk to find love and companionship. She is a hero for deciding that she wasn't going to settle for a life that was ordained for her by an arranged marriage, but instead going after and finding happiness with the love(s) of her life.
The first French female hero that my class looked at was St. Mary Magdalene (Marie-Madeleine). Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus's most beloved disciples. Mary Magdalene is a very important woman in the gospels because she was with Christ at some of the most important moments of His life (His crucifixion, burial, and Resurrection), but according to some of the legends surrounding Mary, she also had a troubled past. If you have read any of the four gospels in the New testament, you have probably noticed the abundance of women named Mary or the few instances of unnamed women that Jesus encounters. Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary of Bethany are just two examples. So when we consider one of the first myths or legends about Mary Magdalene, we can to begin to see where some confusion began. An unnamed prostitute, a women who washes Christ's feet with her tears, anoints them and dries them with her hair, has been identified as Mary Magdalene. This idea was encouraged in the sixth century by Pope Gregory I and it seems to have stuck. Although I personally do not think that Mary was a prostitute, I can understand how Mary's repentance and devotion to give up her alleged sinful ways could be so inspiring and hopeful to people.
So why is Mary a French Hero? Another important legend about Mary Magdalene is that she traveled to France to spread Jesus's teachings. She landed in the south of France and is said to have lived out her days in a cave. This cave has become a sacred pilgrimage site for many Christians and the basilica at Saint-Maximin holds her relics in a sarcophagus and her skull in a bronze reliquary. Mary Magdalene may have been the first person, more importantly the first woman, to bring Christianity to this part of the world.
Learn more about Mary Magdalene by clicking on these links!
This is my blog where I will be posting my journal entries and my thoughts on the many French female heroes that my honors class focuses on throughout the Fall 2013 semester.
