#guglielma

[city-of-ladies]

"There is one group for whom female roles were absolutely central: the Guglielmites. These were followers of a holy woman, Guglielma, who died in northern Italy in about 1281. She was believed to be (and possibly in reality actually was) the daughter of the king of Bohemia, thus a relative to several other very famous holy women (Elizabeth of Hungary, Agnes of Bohemia, and Margaret of Hungary). Following her death, it appears that those close to her—particularly a woman called Maifreda da Pirovano and a man called Andreas Saramita—came to believe that Guglielma had been the incarnation of the Holy Spirit, sent to the world in order to establish a new Church led by a female pope, and that following her death Guglielma would have a Second Coming, which would lead to the conversion of all non-Christians.

Here, alone of all the medieval heresies, an idea about specifically female spirituality stands center stage. The cult of Guglielma was in some respects much like other cults directed toward a local saint; Guglielma’s body was buried in the local monastery, for example. But Maifreda appears to have played a particularly central, and possibly quasi-sacerdotal, role in its devotions: distributing consecrated hosts, bestowing blessings, and having various people (including local lords and ladies) genuflect before her and kiss her hand.

Lady Sibilla Malconzato, very much involved in the sect, eventually reported to inquisitors that:

at Easter last past, Sister Maifreda da Pirovano made herself in the manner of a priest, and Sister Fiordebellina and Sister Agnesina and Andreas Saramita and Franceschino Malconzato had vestments, and Albertone da Novate and Felicino Carentano and Ottorino da Garbagnate had white mantles, and they prepared a table in the manner of an altar, and they had a chalice and other necessary things for saying mass; and the said Sister Maifreda said mass and held the Host and raised it up, and did all things around that mass in the manner done by other priests; and the said Andreas spoke the Gospel and the said Albertone spoke the Epistles.

This is perhaps the most direct account of a woman acting as a priest to be found anywhere in the medieval sources; it is interesting to note that even while Maifreda prepared the Eucharist, it was her male assistants who preached. The sect was, however, very small and secretive, and did not attract much wider participation (though it may have held some continuing attraction to the Visconti dukes of Milan, as part of their antipapal strategy)."

Arnold John H., "Heresy and Gender in the Middle Ages", in: Bennett Judith, Karras Ruth (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Women and Gender in Medieval Europe

[virgin-martyr]

Barbara Newman, From Virile Woman to WomanChrist: Studies in Medieval Religion and Literature

[fuckindiva]

Guglielma, the medieval woman who practiced and preached an alternative, feminized version of Christianity.

“Guglielma's life ultimately took a very different turn from her [noble] female relatives. While in Milan, Guglielma lived humbly and in relative obscurity. She clothed herself in a simple brown tunic, a habit of dress her followers later adopted. She counseled others in how to live correctly. (...) She also gained a circle of intimate followers that have come to be known as the Guglielmites, whose view of this modest woman forever changed her legacy for posterity, and whose ideas provided almost unheard of opportunities for female power within a religious set. After about 20 years of living quietly and advising others, Guglielma died 1281. (...) Yet, her close followers believed she was far more than a simple, holy woman, rather they thought she was the female incarnation of the Holy Spirit. Guglielma therefore was God. (...) Believers thought that as the Holy Spirit, Guglielma's purpose in returning to Earth was to establish a renewed church. Since Guglielma was the Holy Spirit incarnate in female form, so the Guglielmites thought the pope of the new age should be a woman. Not only would a woman pope sit at the helm of this new church, but under her would be a newly elected college of Cardinals and the noble liturgy and gospels that would replace the present ones. The radical beliefs of the Guglielmites came to the attention of the authorities in 1284, when a devotee proclaimed her beliefs to the wrong person. (...) They ended up (...) exhuming and burning Guglielma's body. Her alter and all images of her in Milan and Chiaravalle were destroyed. 

One of the most interesting aspects of the Guglielmites was that since they believed a female was the Holy Spirit, they also ambition women in positions of power. Women in the middle ages, as today, were prohibited from preaching or becoming priests, and thereby having the ability to perform the sacraments or other official duties. The Guglielmites show a sharp and startling break with this tradition. First, one of the main leaders of the heresy was female, a woman named Maifreda da Pirovano. Believers assumed that she would be the future pope. Second, all the women had a large role in the promulgation of the cult. (...) Maifreda was the female parallel to St. Peter, to whom God, in the incarnation of Guglielma, entrusted the renewed Christian church of Guglielmite belief. For members of the Guglielmites, Maifreda was not just the future pope, she was the physical extension of the Holy Spirit that is Guglielma's, that is Christ's will, and the rock upon which the reformed church who they built. By 1300, Maifreda's position included pastoral, doctrinal, sacerdotal and apostolic responsibilities. (...) Followers testified that at gatherings, she would talk about the gospels and female saints like Katherine and Margaret. (...) 

While Mafreida obviously had a remarkable amount of authority for a woman within the group solvers, other female Guglielmites had important roles. (...) Sibilla's testimony also provides us with an interesting episode that demonstrates it was not just wealthy women who had authority amongst the sectarians. Many of the Guglielmites were laymen and laywomen of high social standing. The group however also included serving women and clerics. All sectarians wore the same humble round tunic in imitation of Guglielma, thus placing them on the same social footing. (...) Clearly, women took a lead in promoting and protecting the group's existence. Taria herself evaded answering the inquisitors questions to his satisfaction. She refused to state whether she believed Guglielma was the Holy Spirit. When pressed she defiantly claimed, "I do not want to die nor affirm it, but I well wish that Guglielma was the Holy Spirit." While the evidence is circumstantial, we know that the Guglielmites were remarkably democratic both in terms of gender and socioeconomic status. Their religious doctrine which identified a woman as the redeemer called for a woman to be the one in charge of the future revolutionary church. (...) Whether in a religious community or at home, whether wealthy or poor, it is clear that women held powerful positions in conceiving and disseminating Guglielmite belief, and in promoting and monitoring that belief among others in the group.” - Janine Larmon Peterson