#medieval figures

[baudouinette]

Remember this one?

I’m going over it again, making adjustments and improvements. I’m softening the veil and other creases and making some of the colors more attractive. Will make the text properly as well.

Once it’s done i might even print it and stick it on a votive candle <3 (which was the original intention w this piece 🩵)

Want me to make other changes to it? Let me know any suggestions!!! (Will make a version without the zellige background too to make him stand out more)

[thefugitivesaint]

Henri-Jean Guillaume Martin (1860-1943), 'Clémence Isaure Appears to the Troubadours', ''Exposition universelle, 1900'' Source

[katybirdy95]

MARGARET OF YORK, DUCHESS OF BURGUNDY -  (3 May 1446 -  23 November 1503) Children of York

Margaret was born on the 3 May 1446 in Fotheringhay Castle. She was the youngest daughter and seventh child of the Duke of York and his Wife, Cecily Neville.

At the age of eight her father made plans to marry her off to Charles the bold, her future husband, but due to threats of war the marriage betrothal was destroyed. She would marry him fourteen years later on the 3 July 1468 between 5 am to 6 am in the house of a wealthy merchant.

A good-looking woman, but (rarely for the hyperbole of her age) never described as beautiful, Margaret had fine features, and was, at almost 6 feet, very tall, a feature accentuated by her slimness, and her straight and upright bearing. Her eyes were grey, and her mouth was small; her smile allowed her to demonstrate her wry humour, her wit, and her graciousness.

In appearance, she was utterly unlike the dark and burly Duke Charles the Bold, who was shorter than her: when they met for the first time, she was forced to bend in order to receive his kiss. But her intelligence was keen, and her will strong; she made a worthy bride for the Duke in nature.

Some of Margaret’s interest included - reading (her favourite past time), riding, hunting and falconry.

She became a surrogate mother to her young step-daughter, Mary of Burgundy, who she shared a close bond with, Mary also shared a great interest in the same hobbies as Margaret.

She was very close with her younger brother, George of Clarence, whom she would write to on a daily basis. They had ‘plotted’ together a marriage proposal for him and Margaret’s step-daughter when George’s wife, Isabel, died in childbirth, but the plan was rejected by her eldest brother, Edward IV.

When George was on trial for high treason, Margaret and her mother, Cecily Neville, pleaded for the young duke’s life, but because women were not allowed to be present during a trial, their appeals for mercy were rejected.

It was said by her mother-in-law, Isabella of Portugal, whom Margaret had an excellent relationship with, that she was -

“ well pleased with the sight of this lovely lady, and pleased with her manners and virtues ”.

A capable ruler, she proved a masterful Duchess; she was a Yorkist in sympathies, but she was before that the Duchess of Burgundy. She bore no male heir to succeed to the Duchy, but she preserved it from ruin; to her actions can be ascribed the survival of the Burgundian state, and the prevention of French dominance in Europe.

It was in the wake of her husband's death that Margaret proved truly invaluable to Burgundy. She had always been regarded as a skilful and intelligent politician; now, she went beyond even that. To her stepdaughter, Mary, now Duchess of Burgundy, she gave immeasurable guidance and help: using her own experiences in the court of Edward IV, where she had largely avoided being used as a pawn and contributed to the arrangement of her own marriage, she wisely guided the Duchess in deciding her marriage; against the wave of marriage offers that flooded to the two Duchesses in Ghent, she stood firm, and advised Mary to marry Maximilian of Habsburg, the 18-year-old son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, to whom Charles the Bold had betrothed Mary, and who was ambitious and active enough, in Margaret's opinion, to defend Mary's legacy.

Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian of Habsburg named their first daughter after Margaret and the duchess also stood in as Godmother to their son, Philip the Handsome.

Margaret was however dealt a devastating blow in 1482: her much loved stepdaughter, Mary, fell from her horse whilst hunting, and broke her back. The injuries were fatal, and Mary died on 27 March.

This was not the end of the problems for Margaret and Maximilian. In 1488, Maximilian was taken prisoner in Bruges by the citizens, and was freed only upon making far-reaching concessions. The next year, he was summoned back to Austria by his father, the Emperor; Burgundy was left to be governed by Margaret together with the Burgundian Estates, both of whom also undertook the guardianship of the young Duke Philip, although Maximilian continued to take a distant interest in the country, and a greater interest in his children.

By this time, Margaret had already suffered more personal tragedies. Her brother, the Duke of Clarence, had been executed by Edward IV in 1478; Edward himself had died of illness in 1483 and finally, her younger brother Richard, who took the throne as Richard III was in 1485 killed at the Battle of Bosworth by the leader of the House of Lancaster, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, a cousin and nephew of Henry VI, who went on to become Henry VII, and to marry the daughter of Edward IV, Elizabeth of York. With the death of Richard, the House of York ceased to rule in England. Margaret consequently was a staunch supporter of anyone willing to challenge Tudor, and backed both Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, even going so far as to acknowledge Warbeck as her nephew, the younger son of Edward IV, the Duke of York. Warbeck was probably an imposter, and would be locked up in the Tower of London and subsequently executed by Henry VII. Henry in fact found Margaret undoubtedly problematic, but there was little he could do, since she was protected by her stepson-in-law Maximilian. 

Margaret died on 23 November 1503, at the age of 57, shortly after the return of her step-grandson, Philip the Handsome, to Burgundy. Her death in that year allowed her to be spared the grief of Philip's untimely death of typhoid fever in 1506. 

[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