Female Crusaders

[Dashinvaine (GN)]

Women seem to have taken up arms in many of the crusades. Anna Comnena, the chronicler and daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius, refers to disdainfully to seeing Frankish women among the ranks of the First Crusade, dressed in armour and using swords and lances like men. One such was Sigelgatia, wife of the Norman baron Robert Guiscard, who herself led men into battle. During the Second Crusasde, meanwhile, a troop of female warriors apparently rode under the banner of the German Emperor Conrad, led by one known as the 'Golden Footed Dame' on account of her gilded spurs. Saracen chroniclers of the era of the Third Crusade also referred to capturing western women in armour.

[Anonymous]

Women seem to have taken up arms in many of the crusades. Anna Comnena, the chronicler and daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius, refers to disdainfully to seeing Frankish women among the ranks of the First Crusade, dressed in armour and using swords and lances like men. One such was Sigelgatia, wife of the Norman baron Robert Guiscard, who herself led men into battle. During the Second Crusasde, meanwhile, a troop of female warriors apparently rode under the banner of the German Emperor Conrad, led by one known as the 'Golden Footed Dame' on account of her gilded spurs. Saracen chroniclers of the era of the Third Crusade also referred to capturing western women in armour.

Female Knights huh, possible I suppose but they was most likely frown upon by there male counter parts. Women of that age was greatly underestimated the typical line seeme to be women, was weak and needed protection.

Still there was female pirates etc, so why not Knights.

[Dashinvaine (GN)]

A far cry from the cliche medieval damsel in distress! So are any Saracen women known to have taken part in fighting during the crusades?

[Anonymous]

I don't think that idea of women taking up arms in the front ranks using armour, swords and other such weopons is all togther fact:
Instead, I agree with Templario most aristocratic women of the time would have stayed at home and administered the family estates with their eldest child.
However, the majority of lay women would have been part of the baggage train. Organising, cooking, looking after their children etc.
The only time they may have needed to take up arms, would have been as a last resort in order to fight to protect themselves!!!

[Anonymous]

heh heh heh - women back then probably did what women do now if necessary and that is cook, do the laundry, rear the kids, and totally kick some a** if need be!

[Anonymous]

And how about Eleanor of Aquitaine who accompanied her first husband, Louis VII to the Holy Land, not to fight of course, but to have some adventure in her life. Well, she certainly got it and in fact got a lot more than she bargained for! But then, she was an unusual woman, to say the least.

She survived to tell the tale and live to the ripe old age 82.

They don't make them like that any more!

[Anonymous]

Women seem to have taken up arms in many of the crusades.

This strikes me as being an overstatement. As Templario and others have indicted there were a very few women who fought, just as there were a few female soldiers during the civil war, revolutionary war, and others back through history, a few female military leaders, such as Mary de Guise, and political leaders such as Queen Elizabeth. But the numbers are miniscule in comparison to the number of men.

[Dashinvaine (GN)]

And how about Eleanor of Aquitaine who accompanied her first husband, Louis VII to the Holy Land, not to fight of course, but to have some adventure in her life. Well, she certainly got it and in fact got a lot more than she bargained for! But then, she was an unusual woman, to say the least.

She survived to tell the tale and live to the ripe old age 82.

They don't make them like that any more!

Various kings took their wives on Crusades. These included Richard I (who married on Cyprus), St Louis (whose wife helped in the securing of his release from Egyptian custody), and Edward I (whose wife Queen Eleanor of Castille saved his life, I recall by sucking poison from a wound at Acre, and also bore him a daughter there, Joan of Acre- not to be confused with Joan of Arc).

The elderly Eleanor of Aquitaine also accompanied the 3rd Crusade as far as Cyprus to make sure Richard married Berrengaria of Navaree, among other reasons. Formidable woman indeed.

[Templario]

rbsorensen and dashinvaine,

In fact you are both correct. Quite a number of women followed their husbands to the Crusades, but very few got involved into fighting...

[Dashinvaine (GN)]

Not all heroics involve fighting. There is an account of one such woman here who was slain while assisting the building of the earthwork defences of the Crusader camp at the siege of Acre during the 3rd Crusade. Among those toiling on the construction, she was slain by a muslim with a javelin. Her last wishes were to let her body remain where it fell and become part of the earthwork. Sad that such zeal ultimately served no purpose...

http://www.bl.uk/services/learning/curr ... urce9.html

[PotterNo1]

It is not uncommon to find evidence of women warriors in the past but they are very few and far between.
You can go all the way back to ancient China and ther Three kingdoms where there is evidence (and fabrication) or many beautiful and deadly female warriors for example Diao Chan who fought under the tyrant Dong Zhou and Zhen Ji who fought under the legendary Cao Cao and even married his son Cao Pi, these women were most definitely aristocrats and were the daughters of Emperors which is a contrast to the ley women who fought in later battles.
This period is made famous by the Novel "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" written in the 1400s but much of it is based on fact with regards to the characters, the stories are not necesarily true but most of the battles were real for example the Yellow turban rebellion and the Battle of Hu Lao gate where the Han forces fought Dong Zhou and his champion Lu Bu.
Of course there is Boudiccea (or however else you want to pronounce it) who was a fierce warrior in the years of the Roman occupation of Britain and is said to have taken many a town Colchester included.
Fierce she may be but a great tactician she was not. He final act was to drive the Roman army into a bottle neck of a valley which was a dead end on the Roman side. her theory was that they could simply mop up the soldiers easily, the families of the soldiers even parked their wagons etc behind Boudiccea's army to watch the occasion. She didn't count on superior Roman strategy and discipline. They quickly adopted a "Wedge" formation where the army arranged themselves as so: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ with huge shields at the front and swords stabbing between the gaps. They just walked forward packed in tightly and steamrollered straight over Boudiccea's army
who could quite easily have retreated...were it not for their own wagons blocking the way! Well thats what happens when a woman is in charge!
Slightly later there is the example of Queen Ethelfleda, daughter of Edward the Elder of England who was a warrior until her death in battle in 892.
Beyond this I have no idea about women in battle and I'm not sure whether the trend of Female warriors continued into the crusades.

[Anonymous]

Well thats what happens when a woman is in charge!

Excuse me?


Also don't forget about the fierce female Amazon warriors, who ruled their land as well as their men and also the ancient notorious Celtic female warriors (Bridget/Brigid for example)........

[Anonymous]

What evidence is there that Amazonian warriors existed?

[PotterNo1]

Just to say to revealer...Sorry about the "women in charge" comment
I'm sure I can pick out several cases of male battle tactics being just as poor!
Hague in World war 1...Churchill (Galipoli)...u name it.
Also we can't forget Joan of Arc too when considering female leaders, very impressive victory at Orleans in 1429!

[Bauceant]

Just to say to revealer...Sorry about the "women in charge" comment
I'm sure I can pick out several cases of male battle tactics being just as poor!
Hague in World war 1...Churchill (Galipoli)...u name it.
Also we can't forget Joan of Arc too when considering female leaders, very impressive victory at Orleans in 1429!

You asked what happens when they put "women in charge of the defense of their lands and properties?"

How about this:

Order of the Hatchet

There is a case of a clearly military order of knighthood for women. It is the order of the Hatchet (orden de la Hacha) in Catalonia. It was founded in 1149 by Raymond Berenger, count of Barcelona, to honor the women who fought for the defense of the town of Tortosa against a Moor attack. The dames admitted to the order received many privileges, including exemption from all taxes, and took precedence over men in public assemblies. I presume the order died out with the original members.

http://www.heraldica.org/topics/orders/wom-kn.htm