Why Writing Women Back into History Matters - Janina Ramirez

Gresham College Lectures

Watch the Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/IJT3B9WZntc
Rediscovering remarkable historical figures such as the Birka Warrior Woman, Hildegard of Bingen, and King Jadwiga offers a fresh perspective to understand an era often dismissed as 'nasty, brutish, and short'. Rather than being exceptions, this lecture will reveal the considerable influence and power held by medieval women and shed light on the gradual erosion of female agency over subsequent centuries. Through their rediscovery, it will interrogate traditional historical narratives and construct more nuanced, inclusive accounts that reflect the richness, complexity, and diversity of the past.
This lecture was recorded by Janina Ramirez on 5th November 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.
Professor Janina Ramirez is a lecturer, researcher, author and broadcaster. She is Research Fellow in History of Art at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, and Visiting Professor in Medieval Studies at the University of Lincoln. Her most recent book, 'Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages Through the Women Written out of it', was an instant Sunday Times number 1 best-seller, Waterstones Book of the Month and Book of the Year.
Janina is a patron of many organisations, including NSEAD, the Stained Glass Society and Oxford Festival of the Arts, and an ambassador for the Centre for Peace Keeping and Democracy. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society for the Arts.
The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/women-history
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