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Janina Ramirez
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Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It Kindle Edition

by Janina Ramirez (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 487 ratings
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THE #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 CUNDIL HISTORY PRIZE
A "Next Big Idea Book Club" Must Read?

A groundbreaking reappraisal of medieval femininity, revealing why women have been written out of history and why it matters

The Middle Ages are seen as a bloodthirsty time of Vikings, saints and kings; a patriarchal society that oppressed and excluded women. But when we dig a little deeper into the truth, we can see that the “Dark” Ages were anything but.

Oxford and BBC historian Janina Ramirez has uncovered countless influential women’s names struck out of historical records, with the word FEMINA annotated beside them. As gatekeepers of the past ordered books to be burned, artworks to be destroyed, and new versions of myths, legends and historical documents to be produced, our view of history has been manipulated.

Only now, through a careful examination of the artifacts, writings and possessions they left behind, are the influential and multifaceted lives of women emerging. Femina goes beyond the official records to uncover the true impact of women, such as:
  • Jadwiga, the only female king in Europe
  • Margery Kempe, who exploited her image and story to ensure her notoriety
  • Loftus Princess, whose existence gives us clues about the beginnings of Christianity in England



In Femina, Ramirez invites us to see the medieval world with fresh eyes and discover why these remarkable women were removed from our collective memories.
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  1. Print length
    448 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Hanover Square Press
  5. Publication date
    February 28, 2023
  6. File size
    25515 KB
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From the Publisher

Femina invites us to see the medieval world with fresh eyes.
“Femina is essential reading for anyone interested in the Middle Ages.” -- Dan Jones
“[Ramirez] salvages women's stories from the dark corners” -- Hallie Rubenhold, bestselling author

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Spellbinding, passionate, gripping, and magnificently fresh in tone, boldly wide in range, elegantly written, deeply researched, Femina is a groundbreaking history of the Middle Ages."

-- "Simon Sebag Montefiore, bestselling author of Jerusalem: The Biography"

"This is a passionate, energetic, hugely enjoyable, and brilliantly observed book...I read it in one sitting."

-- "Kate Mosse, New York Times bestselling author" --This text refers to the audioCD edition.

About the Author

Dr Janina Ramirez is an Oxford lecturer, BBC broadcaster, researcher and author. She has presented and written over 30 hours of BBC history documentaries and series on TV and radio, and written five books for children and adults. --This text refers to the audioCD edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09YNX3M41
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hanover Square Press (February 28, 2023)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 28, 2023
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 25515 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 487 ratings

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Janina Ramirez

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
487 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

timmmm
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2024
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great corrective on the role of women in the middle ages. well written with great details
a bit more on class and lower class women would have helped but excellent overall of an important topic
One person found this helpful
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gaiagirl
5.0 out of 5 stars Book review
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2024
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Fascinating history, really good book.
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Cynthia Sally Haggard
5.0 out of 5 stars influential power players struck from history
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024
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In the Middle Ages, influential power players were struck from history with the word FEMINA (woman) put beside them. Naturally the “weaker” sex was not worthy of (male) attention.

But now it is 2021, and Oxford historian Janina Ramirez is determined to set the record straight.

And so we learn about Bertha of Kent (565-601), a Christian Princess from Tours, who married Æthelberht of Kent in 580. Æthelberht himself was pagan, and so the marriage took place on condition that Bertha be allowed to practice her religion. And so the 15-year-old girl brought her chaplain Liudard with her to England in 580. At that time, the Romans had been gone from England for about 130 years, and so there was a Roman church available outside the city walls of Canterbury. Bertha and Liudard re-consecrated the site and dedicated it to St Martin of Tours, the patron saint of their home. It is now a UNESCO world heritage site, being the oldest church in the English-speaking world which has had continuous services since 580 CE.

When Pope Gregory the Great sent Saint Augustine to England in 596, with the mission of restoring Christianity to England, he was pleasantly surprised by the welcome give them by Queen Bertha. And so Christianity gained a firm foothold in England.

Then there is Cynethryth of Mercia (died after 798) who was the only Anglo-Saxon Queen to have had coins minted in her own name, suggesting she was co-ruler of Mercia with her husband King Offa (reigned 757-796) who built Offa’s Dyke, a border of sorts between England and Wales.

Next we meet Æthelflæd (870-918), the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great. At that time, England was being besieged by Viking hordes, and so Alfred, King of the West Saxons sealed a strategic alliance with the enormous kingdom of Mercia (which ran all the way from the Humber down to the north bank of the Thames, including the City of London) by marrying his eldest daughter to Æthelred of Mercia in the mid 880s, when she would have been in her teens.

By around 900 CE, Æthelred’s health had declined so much that his wife ascended to the throne of Mercia. She was responsible for the victory against the Danes at Derby in 917, which was the first part of the Danelaw to fall to the English. In 918, Leicester surrendered without a fight and shortly afterwards, the Viking leaders of York offered to surrender to her. Unfortunately, she died on 12 June 918 and was unable to take up their offer. But what a remarkable woman Æthelflæd must have been to convince the Vikings of the largest city in Danelaw to surrender to her! Of course I had never heard of her before.

And so we go on down the ages, meeting Hildegard of Bingen (the author of Scivias), Queen Jadwiga of Poland (the only Polish Queen who ruled as a King), Margery Kempe, Juliane of Norwich and Bridget of Sweden.

If you love reading about strong female characters who you’ve never heard of, this is the book for you! Five stars.
4 people found this helpful
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Libby e berman
5.0 out of 5 stars Knowledgeable, unpretentious,
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2023
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I was unfamiliar with Dr. Ramirez, until now. IF this is typical of her work, I am very much impressed. I need to see what other books of hers are available. I hope she expands her Womem's Studies , to include both Jewish and Islamic women of the period. Very happy with this purchase, I am enjoying reading this.
11 people found this helpful
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Mai
3.0 out of 5 stars Well-written but needs editing
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2023
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I really like this book (I got the Kindle version). It's well-written and covers an interesting period focusing on women, which often don't get coverage when the Middle Ages are concerned. However, it really needs editing and some fact checking of the Viking chapter. Many of the names of people mentioned are written wrong while other words are perfect (I'm Icelandic) and it's jarring; for example, there is no Guthrum in Laxdaela, but there is a Gudrun. I find it likely this has to do with the translations of the stories used, but generally we anglicise names without using letters not in the English alphabet; one example I noticed in the book is Thorbjorn which has i in the text instead of j. Loki and Thor are not brothers in Norse mythology either.
37 people found this helpful
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Norma Sanchez
5.0 out of 5 stars Femina
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2023
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I must say this is an amazing book! It has brought into light a whole new view of Women in Medieval History!
I look forward to a part two!
Thank You Janina Ramirez for such a captivating read
✌🏼😊
8 people found this helpful
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Vanessa Hill
3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I was hoping for
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2024
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Not the greatest story teller. Lots of old facts and rehashing of basic history, many very dry pages to sort through until finally we get to a female historical figure, but there are really no surprises. Of course queens were powerful, privileged folk have always had power. Based on the cover quotes I really thought I would be dazzled but nope, not at all. But, if I were a student needing a reference for a paper, this book could be of help.
One person found this helpful
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Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The world needs more books like this
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2023
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Fascinating read
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating and educational read! Great intro to medieval women.
Reviewed in Germany on April 30, 2024
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I really enjoyed reading about women I knew little or nothing about, plus one I know a lot about but learned more because of the thoroughness of Ramirez' book. One major theme is that we are too quick to make judgement calls about historical figures and must always be open to learning things that might significantly change our understanding of past eras. We tend to make presuppositions about other cultures based on recent history in our own, instead of being open to encountering entirely different views of gendered roles.
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Gaelle
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating + contains interesting photos and illustrations
Reviewed in France on April 18, 2023
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The media could not be loaded.
 Fascinating book we should all read at school, at least partly, in order to teach the unjustly deleted history of women (half our population, at any given point in time).
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Kunde
3.0 out of 5 stars Relevant topic, strange style
Reviewed in Germany on January 18, 2024
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I really wanted to like the book, but I had a hard time reading it. While the content is undoubtedly relevant and important, my reading experience was somewhat marred by the book's structural and stylistic choices. The narrative occasionally loses its thread, describing extensive historical context before circling back to the main subject. I often found this irritating. Additionally, while the subject matter is engaging, the impact is lessened at times by the author’s writing, which can be clunky and not always serve the fascinating narratives within. Despite these criticisms, the book's importance in highlighting the significant role of women in medieval history cannot be understated.
2 people found this helpful
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Gary S.
5.0 out of 5 stars A well researched book in which the writers enthusiasm shines through
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 11, 2023
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Janina's writing style makes what could be a dry and academic book into an enjoyable read. Her enthusiasm for her subject shines through her works as she explores an alternative view of mediaeval history through the eyes of the often neglected women of the period.
She has obviously carried out extensive research to make her argument (the source notes and bibliography come to nearly 100 pages) and refreshingly she admits that the work is an argument rather than a definite history, and this enables her to introduce themes relevant to contemporary society that can be contentious such as gender identity and misogyny.
A considered work in which Janina's enthusiasm shines throughout.
3 people found this helpful
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jazzy2
4.0 out of 5 stars Medieval women
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 5, 2023
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I was looking forward to reading and learning about the women whose stories had always been overlooked in history. Most of the women I had already heard of from other sources. I enjoyed the book but did think that, if all the background material, opinions and conjectures had been left out, the material was a little thin. There is only a limited amount of information about these women, it just seems to me that it's how it's dressed up which makes all the difference. The book is well researched and well written. I admire Janina Ramirez for her enthusiasm and personality when presenting her TV shows which are always eminently watchable, but feel the book just falls short of being worth 5 stars.
12 people found this helpful
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