Women

Literature · Legal History · Social History

More than Female Empowerment: Exercise with a 16th-century Chinese legal document

A fifteen-year-old girl is charged with licentiousness, submits a petition from jail in which she claims she is innocent, and is exonerated. While this may seem like a tale of female empowerment, a critical look at the (re)production of her petition shows that things are not that simple.

Ying Zhang • 06-02-2026

Cultural History · Social History

Boy or Girl? Gender Reveal in Renaissance Italy

Gender reveal parties have become increasingly popular, while at the same time being criticized for reinforcing stereotypes. Renaissance Italy had its own party tricks to reveal whether an unborn child was a boy or a girl. A clear preference for boys, however, made these tricks far from festive.

Marlisa den Hartog • 24-11-2023

Cultural History

De doop van Jacoba van Beieren

Jacoba van Beieren is een icoon van de Nederlandse middeleeuwse geschiedenis. Toch kennen we haar exacte geboortedag niet. Recent is aan het licht gekomen op welke dag ze werd gedoopt en wie haar peetouders waren. Vanuit een middeleeuws perspectief was dat vele malen belangrijker.

Margreet Brandsma • 16-07-2021

Cultural History

In the eye of the beholder. Female perspectives on the importance of beauty

The famous male author Baldassare Castiglione wrote that "much is lacking to a woman who lacks beauty". But what did women themselves think about this topic?

Marlisa den Hartog • 11-12-2020

Cultural History

Pious women and warrior queens. Female role models in the late medieval period

Medieval women were considered unfit for public tasks such as governance and warfare. Nonetheless, many princesses wielded power, as a result of their dynastic position and personal ambition. Female role models of the late medieval period seem to reflect the ambiguity of their position.

Margreet Brandsma • 18-09-2020

Socio-Economic History

Did Medieval Women Have ‘Agency?’ Or was it ‘All About the Patriarchy’? Examples from Medieval Spain

Scholars have long argued about the extent of female agency in the middle ages. New research from Catalonia suggests a society ready to respect female authority on many levels. But how do these findings relate to women’s experience outside Western Europe?

Jeff Fynn-Paul • 05-10-2018

Blogs

More than Female Empowerment: Exercise with a 16th-century Chinese legal document

Boy or Girl? Gender Reveal in Renaissance Italy

De doop van Jacoba van Beieren

In the eye of the beholder. Female perspectives on the importance of beauty

Pious women and warrior queens. Female role models in the late medieval period

Did Medieval Women Have ‘Agency?’ Or was it ‘All About the Patriarchy’? Examples from Medieval Spain