Real Middle Ages

This blog aims to be an accessible resource for Medieval sources which go against modern white-washed portrayal of the period in many modern stories and histories. Asks and suggestions welcome.

[real-middle-ages]

Please note that this blog intends to provide quick and accessible summaries of historical and literary figures, and thus inevitably over-simplifies what is complicated and contested historical information. It is not intended to be a substitute for in-depth research. Also keep in mind that while I research all the figures I post about to the best of my ability, I am not an expert in the field. 

Tag List

#Medieval Figures - main post tag

#Literary Figures - fictional characters from Medieval literature and texts

#Religious Figures - figures from religious canon, such as saints

#Medieval Gender - posts which discuss modern and Medieval gender discourse, and Medieval figures with non-normative gender expressions and/or roles

#Medieval Race - posts which discuss modern and Medieval racial discourse, and Medieval people of color

#Medieval Sexuality - posts which discuss modern and Medieval sexuality discourse, and Medieval figures which do not fit into heteronormative roles

#Medieval Religion - posts which discuss modern and Medieval Religious discourse, and Medieval figures in Religious minorities

[real-middle-ages]

St. Mary of Egypt

Main Source: Vita - Saint Sophronius

Year/Time Range: supposedly lived 344-421 AD, main source dates mid 7th century.

Basic Summary: St. Mary of Egypt was a Christian saint and is the patron saint of penitents. She is described as having dark skin and short white hair, and she tells her story to the monk Zosimas when he encounters her wandering naked in the desert. After using his mantle to cover herself, she recounts the life she led as a sexually promiscuous prostitute. After being blocked from entering a church by an unseen force, she gives up her previous life to become a solitary hermit. Taking only three loaves of bread with her, she lived alone in the desert for 47 years, being nearly wild by the time she met Zosimas. After pushing from the monk, she reveals that she still feels sexual desires, but has rejected them in her isolation.   

She asks Zosimas to meet her again in a year with the eucharist. He agrees, also giving her three lentils when they meet. He finds her body in the desert when he returns after another year, and buries her with the assistance of a miraculously helpful lion. 

Further Context/Commentary: Mary presents several interesting comments on medieval conceptions of sex and gender, and how these intersect with race. Despite some artistic depictions portraying her as pale and feminine, in the text she is explicitly dark skinned and ambiguously masculine. Before meeting her properly, Zosimas initially refers to Mary using male pronouns, and her unusual life in the desert does not fit neatly into male or female roles. In addition, the story reveals interesting dynamics about individual’s relationships to their own and others bodies. 

Sources/Links:

Mary of Egypt - Wikipedia

Bodies and Boundaries in the Old English Life of St. Mary of Egypt | SpringerLink

#TransJoy as a Model of Restitution in the Old English Life of St Mary of Egypt | Women's Literary Culture and the Medieval Canon (surrey.ac.uk)

[real-middle-ages]

St. Maurice

Year/Time Range: supposedly lived 250-287 AD, earliest surviving depictions from the 12th century.

Basic Summary: St. Maurice was a Christian soldier, saint, and martyr. According to legend, he was born in Egypt and became a commander in the Roman army. Leading an all Christian legion, he was executed and martyred when he and his men refused to attack other Christians. He was made patron saint of many organizations and locations throughout the Middle Ages. Among these are the Holy Roman Emperors, the merchant order the Brotherhood of the Blackheads, and multiple towns in Germany, Italy, and Spain. He is also the namesake of the Swiss town St. Moritz. 

Further Context/Commentary: Depictions of St. Maurice as a black African are common (though not ubiquitous) throughout the Medieval period. This fact is inconvenient for ideologies wishing to construct an idea of an all white Medieval Europe, and indeed depictions of St. Maurice in Coburg, Germany were removed under the Nazi regime (they were then restored after the war). It is clear why. Not only does Maurice’s depiction contradict the idea of an all white Medieval Europe, it also presents a black figure who was respected and venerated by Medieval Europeans. 

Sources/Links:

Saint Maurice - Wikipedia 

Maend_Black_Soldier_ICO_1_2014-libre.pdf (d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net)

[real-middle-ages]

Saint Eugenia

Year/Time Range: supposedly lived 180-258 AD, earliest depictions around fourth century

Basic Summary: Saint Eugenia (or Eugenia of Rome) was a Christain saint and martyr born in Alexandria. According to legend, she fled her father dressed as a man and was baptized in a monastery, becoming first a monk and then an abbot. Under the name Eugenius, they lived as a man for three years. A woman named Melantia, after being healed of a fever by the abbot, developed a deep infatuation for them. When rejected, she accused Eugenius of sexually assaulting her. In the ensuing trial, Eugenia gave up her male presentation in order to prove her innocence. She went on to convert her father and many others to Christianity, before being martyred in Rome.   

Further Context/Commentary: While Saint Eugenia’s life and legend predate modern terms like trans or nonbinary, their story nonetheless exists outside of binary gender conceptions. Their motivation for taking and maintaining a male name and role seems to go beyond simple practicality or survival, and they were able to pass seamlessly for three years, only giving up the identity when forced by circumstance. The fluid nature of Eugenia/Eugenius’ gender in legends also speaks to differences between ideas of gender identity and biological sex, which despite differing language and terms, existed in the Middle Ages and before. 

Sources/Links: 

Eugenia of Rome - Wikipedia

Visibly Trans? | TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly | Duke University Press (dukeupress.edu)

[real-middle-ages]

Belacane/Belakane

Main Source: Parzival - Wolfram Von Eschenbach

Year/Time Range: Early 13th Century 

Basic Summary: Queen Belacane is a fictional character within the Arthurian Romance Parzival. She is the queen of the fictional African kingdom of Zassamank. During the beginning of the tale, Parzival’s father Gahmuret travels to the kingdom and falls in love with the Queen. She is portrayed as being extraordinarily modest and virtuous, and the two soon fall in love, get married, and conceive a child together (Feirefiz). However, Gahmuret leaves before his son is born, citing Belacane’s pagan status as the reason they cannot remain together. After her husband leaves, Belacane is Baptized. 

Further Context/Commentary: Belacane’s portrayal runs into intersecting issues of race and gender in Medieval stories. While many of these issues go unquestioned, others are subverted in interesting ways. It is notable that, despite Medieval tendencies of over-sexualizing darker skinned women, Belacane is explicitly shown to be the most modest of Gahmuret’s love interests. Like her son Feirefiz, her skin tone also remains consistent throughout the story, avoiding the tendency within Medieval stories for character’s skin color to be directly tied to their morality. 

The relationship between Belacane and Gahmuret is another interesting element. Despite some misconceptions that interracial relationships were completely taboo or uncommon during the Medieval Period, the main issue separating Belacane and Gahmuret is the difference in Religion, not skin color. Calling the relationship interracial is also a bit of an anachronism. Within the story, Gahmuret and Belacane are never described as being ‘white’, or ‘black’, and while the difference in their skin tone is lingered on, it does not place them in distinct races as it would today. 

Sources/Links: 

Parzival - Wikipedia

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Parzival Vol. I, by Wolfram Von Eschenbach.

[real-middle-ages]

Feirefiz

Main Source: Parzival - Wolfram Von Eschenbach

Year/Time Range: Early 13th Century 

Basic Summary: Feirefiz is a fictional character within the Arthurian romance Parzival. The title character’s half-brother, he is what we would now consider mixed race. The child of the knight Gahmuret and the Moorish queen Belacane, he is described as having mottled black and white skin like that of a magpie. Wealthy and chivalrous, he is portrayed as being on equal footing with his brother in battle ability, if not more skilled. Still, he must convert to Christianity before he can see the Grail and the end of him and his brother’s quest.  

Further Context/Commentary: While it is possible that Feirefiz’s magpie coloration is due in part to ignorance of mixed race people on the part of the author, it is more likely attributable to Medieval conception of race and skin color. Even referring to Feirefiz as ‘mixed race’ is an anachronism, as the modern racial categories which exist today were non-existent, and race as a concept did not exist as we now know it. This does not mean that skin-based discrimination did not exist, of course, and oftentimes skin color was seen to be indicative of moral or spiritual character. 

Within fiction, skin color was often used thematically and non-literally. In Parzival, characters are so pale that they literally emit light, and in other Medieval works, a character’s skin may become lighter after converting to Christianity. With this in mind, it is likely that Feirefiz’s appearance is meant to make his mixed origins obvious, rather than be an accurate depiction of what someone like him would actually look like. 

All this to say, Feirefiz’s characterization carries a lot of the baggage one would imagine a mixed race character written by a white man in the 1200s would have. However, it is notable that he occupies a significant and dignified role within the story, and that his skin color remains unchanged after his conversion.  

Sources/Links: 

Feirefiz - Wikipedia

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Parzival Vol. I, by Wolfram Von Eschenbach.

Legends Summarized: Arthur's Knights - YouTube