Gay Ginger
Make Smash Bros. Gay Again
Interesting read about women in warfare in medieval Europe.
The author argues that women were much more common in warfare in medieval Europe than is acknowledged and she backs it up with historical accounts from the period.
She also argues that this increased participation was likely because military warfare was, at the time, closely tied with the private/domestic sphere - family, in other words. Because warfare was conducted by vassals and lords who swore fidelity to more powerful lords, warfare was conducted by groups of families working together rather than armies under a single command and identity, and therefore it was more common for a woman to participate in warfare with her family, especially if she were widowed and took up her dead husband's duties leading battles and defending castles. She argues that the professionalization of the military - the end of the feudal system and using trained armies without allegiance to particular lords or vassals - shut out many socially sanctioned opportunities for women to participate.
It's definitely an interesting article, so anyone interested should check it out. It's about 14 pages, so it's not too long. But if you don't want to read it, you can just read my summary - I made it cause I know many of you won't want to read 14 pages lol.
The author argues that women were much more common in warfare in medieval Europe than is acknowledged and she backs it up with historical accounts from the period.
She also argues that this increased participation was likely because military warfare was, at the time, closely tied with the private/domestic sphere - family, in other words. Because warfare was conducted by vassals and lords who swore fidelity to more powerful lords, warfare was conducted by groups of families working together rather than armies under a single command and identity, and therefore it was more common for a woman to participate in warfare with her family, especially if she were widowed and took up her dead husband's duties leading battles and defending castles. She argues that the professionalization of the military - the end of the feudal system and using trained armies without allegiance to particular lords or vassals - shut out many socially sanctioned opportunities for women to participate.
It's definitely an interesting article, so anyone interested should check it out. It's about 14 pages, so it's not too long. But if you don't want to read it, you can just read my summary - I made it cause I know many of you won't want to read 14 pages lol.
