13. Exposing power: Women's agency in medieval literature and art
In 2012, Therese Martin proposed a new perspective on the study of medieval art-making processes. She aimed to diminish the masculinist viewpoint's dominance and make women's participation more visible. Her proposal involved recognizing women as active participants, or "makers," in the collective art production process. The researcher aimed to highlight previously neglected or marginalized aspects of art making, such as workshop management, intellectual, financial, and emotional support, or lack thereof, where crucial processes shaping the artwork occurred. This section aims to uncover the less obvious areas in which women's agency, and therefore power, was manifested in the creation of literary, architectural and plastic works. In addition, we are seeking papers exploring the impact of female artists and donors on women's empowerment in political, economic, and social spheres. These can vary from situations in which women assumed traditional male roles of authority to instances in which they negotiated and established alternative methods of excersing power.
The referent discusses the role, related to the field of literature, played by women associated with the dynasty ruling in Byzantium during the Komnenian Renaissance. This period was characterized by a significant development of various fields of Byzantine culture. One of the characteristics of the aforementioned Renaissance, related to literature, was the special activity of women from the imperial family. Using texts and source references from the era, the speaker shows the influence they had on the literary development. Therefore, he mentions the activity of women as patrons of writers (e.g., Irene Doukaina). In addition, he notes that numerous works created during this period were dedicated to them. For example, Constantine Manasses dedicated his work "Synopsis historike" to the sebastokratorissa Irene. The author also talks about Anna Komnene and her "Alexiad". In this work, which was unique in the entire history of Byzantine literature, she described the reign of Alexios I.
2025-09-18 09:00-09:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 2.06
Alijt Bake (1415–1455), a mystic and reformer within the Devotio Moderna movement, asserted her agency through writing, leadership, and resistance to ecclesiastical authority. As prioress of the Galilea convent, she sought to reform monastic spirituality, emphasizing an intensely personal and interiorized devotion. Central to her intellectual legacy is the compilation of manuscript KB 643-44, a collection of theological and mystical texts, including works by Eckhart, Tauler, and Bake herself. Bake’s involvement in selecting and adapting these texts reflects her role as both author and curator, shaping religious discourse within her community. This paper shall discuss how Bake refers to her own agency (especially in her autobiography) that demonstrates how women in medieval religious communities manifested power through literary and intellectual production..
2025-09-18 12:30-13:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 2.06
Since the beginning of Byzantinists' interest in emotions, attention has been paid to the role of gender in Byzantine concepts of emotion (see Stavroula Constantinou, Gendered Emotions in Byzantine Narrative, 2024). Debates on these questions point to negative attitudes towards the emotionality of women, who, due to their gender, were often portrayed as being out of control of their actions. In the literature, these issues have acquired a stereotypical character, in which the predominantly negative nature of women's emotions is almost unanimously emphasised.
In the paper, I want to address these issues. By analysing selected historiographical works in , I want to show the twofold character of women's emotionality: on the one hand, uncontrollable and negative reactions, and on the other hand, feelings which, although expressed in an overly expressive manner that did not fit into accepted norms, nevertheless represented the positive side of the heroines' character and behaviour.
2025-09-18 09:30-10:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 2.06
The paper will be devoted to the historiosophy of Sven Aggesen, a Danish chronicler writing in the last twenty years of the 12th c. As it turns out, an element particularly important for the chronicler's conceptualization of the past, and at the same time for presenting his views on the political changes taking place in contemporary Denmark, are women. And although he writes a ‘male history’ (the history of kings), the role of the keystones of the entire story, and thus of Denmark's past with its present, is played by women - mainly queens, but in one case also anonymous Danes. During my presentation, I will outline the specificity of Sven's lecture and the female characters themselves on the pages of his work, presenting the role they play in his presentation of the history of their homeland. I will also consider the reasons for such a special role of women in his story, comparing them with contemporary chroniclers from Scandinavia, England and Central Europe.
2025-09-18 11:30-12:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 2.06
Written by Christoph II Scheurl, the Grosses Scheurlbuch is an early 16th c.- history of his Franconian and Silesian-linked family. The author concentrated on the fate of his father, the family’s property affairs, and their foundations. This effort was intended to portray the Scheurl family as prosperous and devout. Simultaneously, this source highlights the often-overlooked role of women as patrons, who typically remain in the shadows of their husbands and fathers. The aim of this paper is to analyze the pious foundations established by female members of the Scheurl family to enhance their prestige in the urban communities of the 15th century—Nuremberg and Wrocław. It will examine both resource-intensive projects and small gestures of significant impact. Additionally, it provides an opportunity to reassess previously held views regarding the agency and role of women in the challenging process of building the power of medieval merchant families in the aforementioned regions.
2025-09-18 10:00-10:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 2.06
This paper presents the results of five years of research into the social history of women's writing in the Occitan-speaking area in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Three main aspects of the research will be used to describe the research conclusions: the work of the so-called trobairitz in the light of the social status of women; the role of this work in the sociopoetic system of trobar; and the influence of their poetics on male troubadours.
The conclusions point to the metonymic nature of the relationship between the socio-economic position of women, resulting from tradition and legal conditions, and their literary work. In particular, it should be emphasised that, contrary to popular belief, the poetics of these texts had a significant influence on the male authors. The presence of women in the literary and social world was therefore not a marginal phenomenon, but a fact that influenced the shape of both medieval poetry and medieval society in southern France.
2025-09-18 12:00-12:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 2.06
