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Kim Rendfeld

Tag Archives: medieval women

An Abbey as a Divorce Settlement?

29 Thursday Sep 2016

Posted by Kim Rendfeld in Medieval History

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Franks, Historical Fiction, medieval, medieval women, Middle Ages, The Cross and the Dragon

In The Cross and the Dragon, my heroine, Alda, is frustrated that she hasn’t been able to conceive a child. The stakes for her are higher than an emotion, as you will see in this excerpt.

TCATD_FINAL_SMALL“I have something to give you,” Bertrada said. Halting her steps, she reached into an embroidered pouch on her girdle and withdrew a small gold disk on a chain. “It is a medal of Saint Andrew. I did not conceive for the first three years I was married, but after I prayed to him, Charles quickened inside me.”

“I … I … thank you,” Alda stammered.

Alda gazed at the medal in her hand. It showed an image of a haloed, bearded man with an odd-looking cross in the background. She picked out the Latin words for “saint” and “pray” in the inscription along the edges. She kissed the medal.

“You have been a good wife to Hruodland,” the queen mother said, “and I pray that his seed takes hold in your womb. But if God does not answer our prayers, perhaps He is calling you to a vocation. Taking the veil would be honorable and richly rewarded.”

Alda’s cheeks burned and her spine stiffened. Should I not bear a son, she wants to free Hruodland for another marriage by offering me an abbey. Alda chose her words carefully. “I thank you for the medal and your prayers. I will heed God’s will, whatever it may be.”

Closing her fingers around the medal, she tried to push aside the doubts creeping into her mind. Is Hruodland trying to set me aside?

Although Alda is fictional, her circumstances are not. Marriage was not a sacrament, but ending the relationship the wrong way could result in a feud. If the wife willingly took the veil, both families could walk away with something. The woman would have land and people to rule and could maintain an influence in politics. This brings up another question: was a medieval woman better off as a countess or an abbess? Visit Annie’s Whitehead Casting Light upon the Shadows for my perspective.

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Not Damsels in Distress Awaiting Rescue

25 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by Kim Rendfeld in Medieval History, Uncategorized

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medieval, medieval women, Middle Ages, Status of Women, Women's History

The role and status of women is one of the most surprising elements of early medieval times. Arranged marriages, child brides, and wife-beating as a right made this era less than ideal, but women were not merely victims. They contributed to their society and even tried to influence events around them.

See Regina Jeffers’s blog for why I argue that calling all medieval women chattel grossly oversimplifies their reality.

19th century illustration of court ladies

From Braun and Schneider’s 19th century History of Costume (public domain image)

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About Me

I write fiction set in early medieval times, an intersection of faith, family, and power. My latest release is Queen of the Darkest Hour, in which Fastrada must stop a conspiracy before it shatters the realm. For more about me and my fiction, visit kimrendfeld.com or contact me at kim [at] kimrendfeld [dot] com.

Queen of the Darkest Hour

Queen of the Darkest Hour

Short Story: Betrothed to the Red Dragon

Betrothed to the Red Dragon

The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar

The Ashes of Heaven's Pillar

The Cross and Dragon

The Cross and the Dragon

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