Women of Medieval Church Issue 30 | 1991 Purchase this issue

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The first autobiography in the English language was written by a Christian woman, Margery Kempe, who lived in the early 1400s.

In the early Middle Ages, it was not uncommon for an abbess (the female head of a religious community) to rule “double” communities of both men and women. One who did so was Hilda of Whitby (614–680), whose abbey became famous for its learning and libraries. Five future bishops were trained in her community, and kings and rulers sought her advice.

Many women joined the Crusades. They began to be required to gain their husbands’ consent before leaving.

Christian women often corresponded with—and gave advice to—the most prominent leaders of their day. Heloise (better known for her relationship with famous philosopher Peter Abelard) maintained a significant exchange with Peter the Venerable, the influential abbot of Cluny. The two discussed theology and spirituality at length. Anselm, later Archbishop of Canterbury (1093–1109), corresponded with Queen Matilda on matters of religion.

Of all the recognized saints between 500 and 1200, about 15 percent were women.

Some Anglo-Saxon queens appointed bishops. Queen Emma of Normandy, one of the most powerful people in England in the early eleventh century, clearly did so. So did Edith, wife of Edward the Confessor, the English king who built Westminster Abbey.

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Boniface, the great missionary known as “the apostle to the Germans,” specifically requested that women be sent to aid him in converting the pagan Saxons. One of the approximately thirty women who went was Lioba, who became so widely respected that she was invited by Charlemagne’s queen to visit the royal court.

Hrotsvit, a German Christian woman who lived in the tenth century, wrote verse, history, and, ...