1 00:00:27,674 --> 00:00:31,269 once upon a time, there lived a damsel. 2 00:00:31,311 --> 00:00:33,905 She was the fairest in the land. 3 00:00:33,947 --> 00:00:37,439 Her beauty was celebrated far and wide. 4 00:00:38,752 --> 00:00:42,347 And she was as modest as she was chaste. 5 00:00:42,389 --> 00:00:45,415 But she was held captive in a high tower. 6 00:00:45,459 --> 00:00:48,951 And there she awaited rescue by a handsome knight. 7 00:01:19,426 --> 00:01:22,691 HelPless, threatened, forever in need of rescue. 8 00:01:22,729 --> 00:01:27,325 The medieval damsel is our archetype of the Passive female. 9 00:01:29,970 --> 00:01:32,461 But did she ever really exist? 10 00:01:35,842 --> 00:01:39,539 Well, some damsels certainly got trapped in tall towers. 11 00:01:40,714 --> 00:01:44,309 In 1217, Nicola de la Haye must have looked out 12 00:01:44,351 --> 00:01:46,478 from the top of this castle, 13 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:48,385 and hoped for rescue. 14 00:01:50,257 --> 00:01:53,226 But it wasn't quite like the fairy tale. 15 00:01:54,661 --> 00:01:57,221 The castle was under siege by French troops, 16 00:01:57,264 --> 00:01:58,731 and Nicola was trapped. 17 00:01:58,765 --> 00:02:01,063 But she was no shrinking violet. 18 00:02:01,101 --> 00:02:03,467 She was Constable of Lincoln Castle 19 00:02:03,503 --> 00:02:05,994 and was putting up one hell of a fight. 20 00:02:07,274 --> 00:02:09,265 Nicola must have been in the thick of it. 21 00:02:09,309 --> 00:02:12,073 The French army was down in the square down there 22 00:02:12,112 --> 00:02:15,206 with their catapults and crossbows, just outside the Pub. 23 00:02:15,248 --> 00:02:18,479 And Nicola would have been dodging lumps of stone like this. 24 00:02:21,354 --> 00:02:24,846 Nicola was, admittedly, a bit mature for a damsel. 25 00:02:24,891 --> 00:02:26,518 She was Pushing 70. 26 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,290 But she could still do with a knight in shining armor. 27 00:02:29,329 --> 00:02:33,527 And she got one. It was another old-age Pensioner. 28 00:02:35,168 --> 00:02:38,194 The knight in shining armor was William Marshall, 29 00:02:38,238 --> 00:02:41,469 well into his 70s, but the epitome of chivalry. 30 00:02:41,508 --> 00:02:43,499 And Regent of England, 31 00:02:43,543 --> 00:02:45,773 a sort of stand-in for the young king. 32 00:02:46,646 --> 00:02:50,912 Together, these two 0APs defeated the foreign invaders, 33 00:02:50,951 --> 00:02:54,318 saved Lincoln and in the process saved England 34 00:02:54,354 --> 00:02:56,083 for Henry III. 35 00:02:57,691 --> 00:03:00,285 William, ever the Perfect chivalric knight, 36 00:03:00,327 --> 00:03:04,923 celebrated their joint victory by taking Nicola's castle away from her 37 00:03:04,965 --> 00:03:06,865 and giving it to the Earl of Salisbury. 38 00:03:06,900 --> 00:03:09,368 However, Nicola wasn't gonna stand for behavior like that 39 00:03:09,402 --> 00:03:11,393 from a geriatric like William. 40 00:03:11,438 --> 00:03:13,065 She stormed off down to London, 41 00:03:13,106 --> 00:03:15,301 had the castle restored to her control 42 00:03:15,342 --> 00:03:18,937 and kePt going as Constable until well into her 8Os. 43 00:03:22,115 --> 00:03:27,747 In the Middle Ages, women like Nicola were not expected to be helpless or shy. 44 00:03:29,289 --> 00:03:32,690 We have had a fake version of the Middle Ages erected for us. 45 00:03:32,726 --> 00:03:37,322 Quite literally. And we may easily mistake it for the real thing. 46 00:03:37,364 --> 00:03:41,164 This is Castell Coch in South Wales. 47 00:03:41,201 --> 00:03:43,635 And it really is a load of old coch. 48 00:03:44,771 --> 00:03:48,229 It may look like the archetypal medieval castle. 49 00:03:48,275 --> 00:03:49,867 But it isn't. 50 00:03:51,978 --> 00:03:57,575 Castell Coch was built by a wealthy Victorian nobleman in the 187Os 51 00:03:57,617 --> 00:04:02,054 and it's as fake as our stereotype of the damsel in distress. 52 00:04:02,889 --> 00:04:04,948 The Victorians saw the Middle Ages 53 00:04:04,991 --> 00:04:08,188 as a time of pre-industrial innocence and heroism. 54 00:04:08,228 --> 00:04:10,719 They created an image of medieval womanhood 55 00:04:10,764 --> 00:04:13,358 that reflected their own ideals. 56 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,198 An image that has lasted through to today. 57 00:04:19,239 --> 00:04:21,639 However, the reality was very different. 58 00:04:22,609 --> 00:04:26,568 Women's role in society changed throughout the Middle Ages. 59 00:04:26,613 --> 00:04:28,808 And as society became more sophisticated, 60 00:04:28,848 --> 00:04:31,282 so women became more empowered. 61 00:04:32,185 --> 00:04:34,380 (Battle sounds ) 62 00:04:35,422 --> 00:04:38,220 But the story begins back in Norman England, 63 00:04:38,258 --> 00:04:40,818 with men firmly in the driving seat. 64 00:04:42,095 --> 00:04:45,531 Yes, it was a man's life in Norman England. 65 00:04:45,565 --> 00:04:47,829 Women were supposed to do as they were told, 66 00:04:47,867 --> 00:04:50,165 and were dependent on their fathers and husbands. 67 00:04:50,203 --> 00:04:52,433 And Normans expected to take English brides... 68 00:04:52,472 --> 00:04:53,632 Aaah! 69 00:04:53,673 --> 00:04:56,039 ..as part of the proceeds of victory. 70 00:04:56,076 --> 00:05:01,810 But right from the start, there were damsels with their own ideas. 71 00:05:01,848 --> 00:05:04,180 You are about to witness the true life story 72 00:05:04,217 --> 00:05:05,707 of one such damsel. 73 00:05:05,752 --> 00:05:08,687 It contains graphic scenes of sex and violence 74 00:05:08,722 --> 00:05:12,317 so we shall tell the tale using authentic medieval puppets 75 00:05:12,359 --> 00:05:13,883 to avoid offense. 76 00:05:13,927 --> 00:05:16,691 The story takes place nearly a thousand years ago. 77 00:05:16,730 --> 00:05:19,358 A girl is fleeing through the woods near St. Albans. 78 00:05:19,399 --> 00:05:23,301 Her name, Christina of Markyate. 79 00:05:23,336 --> 00:05:26,430 She is fleeing the lewd embraces of this man, 80 00:05:26,473 --> 00:05:30,375 a nobleman by the name of Burthred. 81 00:05:30,410 --> 00:05:32,469 oddly enough it isn't Burthred who's keenest 82 00:05:32,512 --> 00:05:35,345 to get Christina to submit to his lewd embraces. 83 00:05:35,382 --> 00:05:37,179 It's her parents. 84 00:05:37,217 --> 00:05:40,414 Why are they so keen to see their daughter deflowered? 85 00:05:40,453 --> 00:05:44,048 Well, we have to go back to the beginning of the story. 86 00:05:45,392 --> 00:05:47,622 After the Norman conquest of 1O66, 87 00:05:47,661 --> 00:05:52,724 wealthy Anglo-Saxons found themselves outside the structures of power. 88 00:05:53,967 --> 00:05:56,231 For a couPle like Christina's Parents, 89 00:05:56,269 --> 00:06:00,035 the one way back in was the traditional one 90 00:06:00,073 --> 00:06:02,337 of trading in your daughter's flesh, 91 00:06:02,375 --> 00:06:05,572 i.e., marrying her off to a rich Norman. 92 00:06:05,612 --> 00:06:08,172 Intermarriage was encouraged by William the Conqueror 93 00:06:08,214 --> 00:06:11,149 as a way of embedding his men in their new country. 94 00:06:11,184 --> 00:06:15,883 Christina, however, had no intention of getting embedded with anybody. 95 00:06:17,490 --> 00:06:19,549 As a young girl, she'd made a pilgrimage 96 00:06:19,592 --> 00:06:24,086 to St. Albans Abbey and later she made a vow to become a nun. 97 00:06:26,533 --> 00:06:29,730 unfortunately, Christina has come to the attention 98 00:06:29,769 --> 00:06:32,761 of the wicked Ranulf Flambard, an influential Norman 99 00:06:32,806 --> 00:06:35,206 and Bishop of durham. 100 00:06:35,241 --> 00:06:37,471 Her parents can't wait to oblige the bishop 101 00:06:37,510 --> 00:06:39,740 with their daughter's... well, I would say hand, 102 00:06:39,779 --> 00:06:43,909 but that's not quite what the wicked Ranulf has in mind. 103 00:06:43,950 --> 00:06:47,078 The bishop wants Christina for his mistress. 104 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:48,712 Huh? 105 00:06:48,755 --> 00:06:52,384 For resPectability's sake, both bishoP and Parents 106 00:06:52,425 --> 00:06:53,983 want the girl married. 107 00:06:54,027 --> 00:06:57,485 So they Persuade BuRThred to do the honors 108 00:06:57,530 --> 00:07:00,465 on the understanding that the BishoP has first call 109 00:07:00,500 --> 00:07:02,695 on Christina's favors. 110 00:07:02,736 --> 00:07:06,365 Christina, however, is still hellbent on celibaCY. 111 00:07:07,373 --> 00:07:09,500 (APPlause ) 112 00:07:09,542 --> 00:07:13,034 The marriage isn't complete until she sleeps with Burthred. 113 00:07:13,079 --> 00:07:14,774 And she's having none of it. 114 00:07:14,814 --> 00:07:17,840 Her parents try everything - they flatter her... 115 00:07:19,152 --> 00:07:20,983 they bully her... 116 00:07:23,123 --> 00:07:26,615 and even slip love potions into her herbal tea. 117 00:07:28,261 --> 00:07:31,594 Finally, they push the hapless Burthred into her bedroom 118 00:07:31,631 --> 00:07:34,327 and tell him to take their daughter by force. 119 00:07:38,004 --> 00:07:41,462 Christina, meanwhile, is literally climbing up the walls, 120 00:07:41,508 --> 00:07:45,467 where she hangs from a nail until Burthred goes away. 121 00:07:46,613 --> 00:07:49,673 She finally makes her escape fleeing through the woods. 122 00:07:49,716 --> 00:07:51,206 (Cheering) 123 00:07:57,023 --> 00:08:00,515 You'll be Pleased to know the story has a haPPy ending. 124 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:04,223 Christina made it to safety and became a renowned holy woman 125 00:08:04,264 --> 00:08:06,664 here in the Abbey of St. Albans, 126 00:08:06,699 --> 00:08:10,135 where, aPParently, she made sliPPers for the PoPe. 127 00:08:12,238 --> 00:08:14,729 Oh, and underwear for the Abbot. 128 00:08:18,144 --> 00:08:20,442 In the Norman world, damsels like Christina 129 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:23,449 were faced not just with the threat of forced marriages, 130 00:08:23,483 --> 00:08:26,714 they were also continually liable to abduction, 131 00:08:26,753 --> 00:08:29,278 especially if they were wealthy. 132 00:08:29,322 --> 00:08:32,849 For some damsels, however, abduction could be preferable 133 00:08:32,892 --> 00:08:34,416 to a loveless marriage. 134 00:08:40,366 --> 00:08:43,995 Faced with marriage to the usual soRT of knightly suitor, 135 00:08:44,037 --> 00:08:46,733 who, let's face it, tended to be a cross between 136 00:08:46,773 --> 00:08:49,298 your average serial killer and the local raPist, 137 00:08:49,342 --> 00:08:54,279 the clued-uP damsel might arrange to get herself abducted 138 00:08:54,314 --> 00:08:56,839 by the Preferred lover of her choice. 139 00:08:56,883 --> 00:09:00,910 Or, to be on the safe side, sometimes a damsel found 140 00:09:00,954 --> 00:09:04,082 she simPly had to do the abducting herself. 141 00:09:06,326 --> 00:09:08,658 Turnberry on the West Coast of Scotland 142 00:09:08,695 --> 00:09:12,324 is best known today for its championship golf course. 143 00:09:12,365 --> 00:09:13,992 But in 1271, 144 00:09:14,033 --> 00:09:17,491 a spectacular castle stood here on the cliff edge, 145 00:09:17,537 --> 00:09:20,870 with a gate that opened onto the wild sea. 146 00:09:26,312 --> 00:09:30,749 The castle was the home of a wealthy damsel, who'd inherited it from her father. 147 00:09:30,783 --> 00:09:34,651 Her name was Marjorie, Countess of Carrick. 148 00:09:34,687 --> 00:09:37,520 One day, Marjorie was out hunting 149 00:09:37,557 --> 00:09:40,492 when she sPotted a handsome young man. 150 00:09:41,995 --> 00:09:44,020 It was lust at first sight. 151 00:09:44,063 --> 00:09:45,963 The chronicles relate how Marjorie, 152 00:09:45,999 --> 00:09:49,059 by force, with her own hand, brought the knight, 153 00:09:49,102 --> 00:09:52,503 although very loathe, to her Castle of Turnberry. 154 00:09:52,538 --> 00:09:55,701 Marjorie kePt him here for 15 days. 155 00:09:55,742 --> 00:09:57,642 And she must have been doing something right, 156 00:09:57,677 --> 00:10:00,612 because when they emerged, they were man and wife. 157 00:10:03,149 --> 00:10:05,481 The happy couple soon produced a boy, 158 00:10:05,518 --> 00:10:09,079 none other than Robert the Bruce, future King of Scotland. 159 00:10:11,691 --> 00:10:15,320 The point is that in the Middle Ages it was entirely credible 160 00:10:15,361 --> 00:10:18,728 for a powerful young woman to kidnap a man. 161 00:10:20,967 --> 00:10:25,028 Marjorie was by no means an isolated examPle. 162 00:10:25,071 --> 00:10:28,268 The victorian idea that women are somehow 163 00:10:28,308 --> 00:10:30,003 less sexual than men, 164 00:10:30,043 --> 00:10:34,480 would have struck your medieval Punter as, well, just Plain daft. 165 00:10:36,516 --> 00:10:39,917 If you want to know how PeoPle like to imagine themselves 166 00:10:39,953 --> 00:10:42,217 or how they wanted other PeoPle to see them, 167 00:10:42,255 --> 00:10:45,588 a good way is to look at the kind of enteRTainment they enjoy. 168 00:10:45,625 --> 00:10:49,686 And in the Middle Ages that meant listening to stories. 169 00:10:52,665 --> 00:10:55,759 Reading was a communal activity. 170 00:10:57,337 --> 00:11:00,500 The lady of the household would sit in her Private aPaRTments 171 00:11:00,540 --> 00:11:05,603 with her damsels and they'd take it in turns to read aloud to each other. 172 00:11:05,645 --> 00:11:08,978 And sometimes the stories could be surPrisingly sexy. 173 00:11:09,015 --> 00:11:12,849 They ceRTainly didn't exPect their heroines to be shy and retiring. 174 00:11:12,885 --> 00:11:18,414 Try this from the 14th-century fantasy, Sir Gawain And The Green Knight. 175 00:11:18,458 --> 00:11:22,622 Story so far - Gawain's on a quest, 176 00:11:22,662 --> 00:11:24,994 and he sleePs the night in a strange castle 177 00:11:25,031 --> 00:11:27,295 and he's woken uP very early in the morning, 178 00:11:27,333 --> 00:11:30,791 when the lady of the castle comes into his room, locks the door, 179 00:11:30,837 --> 00:11:36,571 tiPtoes across to his bed and sits down on it and she says, 180 00:11:36,609 --> 00:11:39,772 ''My lord and his men are a long way off, 181 00:11:39,812 --> 00:11:44,408 ''the other men are still in their beds, and my ladies also. 182 00:11:44,450 --> 00:11:48,910 ''The door is closed and fastened with a strong lock. 183 00:11:48,955 --> 00:11:53,654 ''You are welcome to my body, your Pleasure to take. 184 00:11:53,693 --> 00:11:59,029 ''I am driven by forces beyond my control to be your servant 185 00:11:59,065 --> 00:12:02,296 ''and so I shall.'' 186 00:12:02,335 --> 00:12:03,495 Phew. 187 00:12:03,536 --> 00:12:06,403 Mills and Boon eat your heaRT out, huh? 188 00:12:07,807 --> 00:12:10,776 Prudery in medieval England was not a virtue. 189 00:12:10,810 --> 00:12:14,507 For example, if a husband failed to perform in the marriage bed, 190 00:12:14,547 --> 00:12:17,914 his wife was perfectly at liberty to go public. 191 00:12:18,684 --> 00:12:21,050 One 12th-century manual 192 00:12:21,087 --> 00:12:24,682 advocates the Physical examination of the man's genitals, 193 00:12:24,724 --> 00:12:29,024 by wise matrons who Presumably knew how these things worked. 194 00:12:29,062 --> 00:12:31,622 Witnesses were then to be summoned to observe 195 00:12:31,664 --> 00:12:36,966 a full-blown road test of the underPerforming member. 196 00:12:37,003 --> 00:12:40,598 Poor old Walter DeFont was a citizen of Canterbury. 197 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:45,100 In 1292 his wife comPlained he was imPotent. 198 00:12:45,144 --> 00:12:48,807 So he was duly examined by 12 woRThy women 199 00:12:48,848 --> 00:12:52,181 of good rePutation and honest life, 200 00:12:52,218 --> 00:12:57,485 who testified that his virile member was, quotes, ''useless''. 201 00:12:59,258 --> 00:13:01,920 What a way to enter history. 202 00:13:01,961 --> 00:13:05,089 In a similar case involving a character by the name of John, 203 00:13:05,131 --> 00:13:06,962 one of the witnesses seems to have got 204 00:13:06,999 --> 00:13:08,830 rather carried away. 205 00:13:08,868 --> 00:13:12,929 According to the couRT rePoRT, one conscientious matron 206 00:13:12,972 --> 00:13:16,772 was so anxious to fulfill her civic duty that she... 207 00:13:16,809 --> 00:13:19,607 ''ExPosed her naked breasts 208 00:13:19,645 --> 00:13:22,876 ''and with her hands warmed at the said fire, 209 00:13:22,915 --> 00:13:25,941 ''she held the member of the said John 210 00:13:25,985 --> 00:13:30,149 ''and she embraced and frequently kissed the said John.'' 211 00:13:30,690 --> 00:13:32,658 Well, you can't get that on the NHS. 212 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:38,890 The medieval church had long struggled with the problem of sexuality. 213 00:13:38,931 --> 00:13:41,991 It's not that there was anything wrong with sex, of course. 214 00:13:42,034 --> 00:13:45,299 After all, God had said, ''Go forth and multiply. '' 215 00:13:45,338 --> 00:13:50,605 It's just the tendenCY for people to enjoy it that was the problem. 216 00:13:50,643 --> 00:13:53,237 It's not surprising that the monkish writers 217 00:13:53,279 --> 00:13:56,578 saw woman and her remorseless sexual appetite 218 00:13:56,616 --> 00:13:59,210 as the root of all evil. 219 00:13:59,252 --> 00:14:00,810 ''The wickedness of women 220 00:14:00,853 --> 00:14:05,381 ''is greater than all the other wickedness of the world. 221 00:14:05,424 --> 00:14:10,657 ''The Poison of asPs and dragons is less dangerous to men 222 00:14:10,696 --> 00:14:13,392 ''than the familiarity of women. 223 00:14:14,500 --> 00:14:18,061 ''The image of God is in man. 224 00:14:19,205 --> 00:14:21,765 ''Woman is not made in God's image.'' 225 00:14:23,809 --> 00:14:27,609 Women, of course, were still carrying the can for the sins of Eve, 226 00:14:27,647 --> 00:14:29,444 for which they'd been under attack 227 00:14:29,482 --> 00:14:31,950 long before the Middle Ages. 228 00:14:31,984 --> 00:14:35,818 ''Do you not know that you are Eve? 229 00:14:35,855 --> 00:14:38,756 ''You are the devil's gateway.'' 230 00:14:40,259 --> 00:14:43,023 At the same time, as the Church castigated women 231 00:14:43,062 --> 00:14:44,586 for being the daughters of Eve, 232 00:14:44,630 --> 00:14:47,758 it also promoted an ideal of chaste womanhood 233 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:50,428 that did not lure men to sin. 234 00:14:51,904 --> 00:14:55,305 Of course it wasn't an easy ideal to achieve, 235 00:14:55,341 --> 00:14:57,468 since it involved becoming a mother 236 00:14:57,510 --> 00:15:00,877 while at the same time, remaining a virgin. 237 00:15:00,913 --> 00:15:02,608 A bit of a tricky one. 238 00:15:06,619 --> 00:15:09,713 But then, the Church was hardly living in the real world 239 00:15:09,755 --> 00:15:11,916 when it came to women's roles. 240 00:15:11,958 --> 00:15:16,418 The reality was that women often took on exactly the same work as men, 241 00:15:16,462 --> 00:15:20,558 in addition to having children and running the home. 242 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:22,727 Take Margaret Paston, for examPle, 243 00:15:22,768 --> 00:15:25,703 who lived in and around Norwich in the 15th century. 244 00:15:25,738 --> 00:15:28,229 That's one of the family homes down there. 245 00:15:28,274 --> 00:15:31,368 Well, there must have been times when Margaret found 246 00:15:31,410 --> 00:15:35,369 her role as a country housewife rather more eventful 247 00:15:35,414 --> 00:15:37,405 than anyone could have imagined. 248 00:15:40,086 --> 00:15:41,883 The family's showpiece 249 00:15:41,921 --> 00:15:43,650 was Caister Castle in Norfolk. 250 00:15:43,689 --> 00:15:47,147 It was one of the earliest all-brick properties in England, 251 00:15:47,193 --> 00:15:49,991 with 4O bedrooms, two halls, a chapel, kitchen, 252 00:15:50,029 --> 00:15:52,520 larder, cellar, buttery, pantry, armory, 253 00:15:52,565 --> 00:15:55,033 brewery, bakery and stables. 254 00:15:55,067 --> 00:15:57,627 And Margaret ran the whole show. 255 00:16:00,106 --> 00:16:03,473 But over and above all this, Margaret was even expected 256 00:16:03,509 --> 00:16:07,809 to fill her husband's shoes as a warrior when the need arose. 257 00:16:09,382 --> 00:16:12,112 The Pastons were a family on the make 258 00:16:12,151 --> 00:16:15,484 who'd acquired a lot of land in Norfolk very quickly 259 00:16:15,521 --> 00:16:18,922 and acquired a lot of enemies into the bargain. 260 00:16:18,958 --> 00:16:21,256 Margaret's husband John was a sharp lawyer 261 00:16:21,294 --> 00:16:23,285 who spent most of his time in London, 262 00:16:23,329 --> 00:16:25,661 leaving his wife at home in Norfolk. 263 00:16:26,499 --> 00:16:28,694 Sad for them, but lucky for us 264 00:16:28,734 --> 00:16:31,794 because it meant the loving couPle kePt writing to each other. 265 00:16:31,837 --> 00:16:35,398 And by a small miracle, a lot of their letters have survived. 266 00:16:35,441 --> 00:16:38,103 And these tell us that while her husband was away 267 00:16:38,144 --> 00:16:40,044 defending the family interests in couRT, 268 00:16:40,079 --> 00:16:42,343 Margaret was back home in Norfolk, 269 00:16:42,381 --> 00:16:46,147 defending the estates in a rather more dramatic way. 270 00:16:46,185 --> 00:16:50,713 In 1448, a certain Lord Moleyns claimed that the house 271 00:16:50,756 --> 00:16:53,054 she was currently living in belonged to him. 272 00:16:53,092 --> 00:16:56,061 And he threatened to attack her with a small army. 273 00:16:57,263 --> 00:17:02,724 Margaret sent to her husband a request for ceRTain domestic suPPlies. 274 00:17:02,768 --> 00:17:06,169 ''Right worshiPful husband, I Pray you to get some crossbows 275 00:17:06,205 --> 00:17:09,538 ''and handles to wind them with and arrows 276 00:17:09,575 --> 00:17:12,408 ''and also two or three shoRT Poleaxes. 277 00:17:12,445 --> 00:17:14,640 ''I Pray that you also have brought for me 278 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:16,671 ''one Pound of almonds and one Pound of sugar 279 00:17:16,716 --> 00:17:19,184 ''and some broadcloth for a hood for me.'' 280 00:17:23,689 --> 00:17:27,147 Eventually, Lord Moleyns sent in a thousand armed men 281 00:17:27,193 --> 00:17:30,321 with battering rams and Pans of fire. 282 00:17:30,363 --> 00:17:32,991 They dug mines under the building 283 00:17:33,032 --> 00:17:37,128 and the wall of the chamber where Margaret was sitting collaPsed. 284 00:17:39,872 --> 00:17:43,467 She was carried off, Presumably comPlete with crossbows, 285 00:17:43,509 --> 00:17:45,704 Poleaxes, almonds and sugar. 286 00:17:48,748 --> 00:17:52,115 As the Middle Ages progresses, women's improving status, 287 00:17:52,151 --> 00:17:54,847 can be seen reflected in what they wore. 288 00:17:54,887 --> 00:17:57,981 But although medieval women begun to take on men's roles, 289 00:17:58,023 --> 00:17:59,957 the more equality they acquired, 290 00:17:59,992 --> 00:18:03,359 the more they dressed to emphasize their femininity. 291 00:18:04,930 --> 00:18:09,993 Medieval clothing expert Sarah Thursfield showed me some of the latest styles. 292 00:18:10,035 --> 00:18:14,404 with the help of the Burgh players at Gainsborough old Hall, Lincolnshire. 293 00:18:15,975 --> 00:18:18,443 Everybody has a mental Picture of the medieval lady 294 00:18:18,477 --> 00:18:20,638 with the traffic cone on her head. 295 00:18:20,679 --> 00:18:22,203 And as far as we can tell, 296 00:18:22,248 --> 00:18:26,150 English women never actually wore traffic cones on their heads. 297 00:18:26,185 --> 00:18:27,846 You get the shoRTer version, 298 00:18:27,887 --> 00:18:30,856 not the long, Pointed Burgundian fantasy. 299 00:18:30,890 --> 00:18:33,882 In the 14th century you've got more elaborate, 300 00:18:33,926 --> 00:18:37,521 more sPlendid costumes for both men and women. 301 00:18:37,563 --> 00:18:39,087 Possibly not more sPlendid, 302 00:18:39,131 --> 00:18:42,362 but a shift is from loose layers of nice fabric 303 00:18:42,401 --> 00:18:44,926 to things which really fit the body very closely. 304 00:18:45,938 --> 00:18:47,530 The gown is a generic term 305 00:18:47,573 --> 00:18:50,064 for what both men and women wear on the outside. 306 00:18:50,109 --> 00:18:53,237 - Yeah. - And this is about as grand as it gets 307 00:18:53,279 --> 00:18:54,871 because this is velvet. 308 00:18:54,914 --> 00:18:59,476 She's a lady, her husband's big with the couRT, they can afford velvet. 309 00:18:59,518 --> 00:19:00,917 Most of us can't. 310 00:19:00,953 --> 00:19:02,853 So what soRT of social standing would you be? 311 00:19:02,888 --> 00:19:06,153 I'm a resPectable...soRT of lower middle-class widow. 312 00:19:06,192 --> 00:19:07,318 Oh yeah. Yeah. 313 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:10,590 - So I'm not nearly as fitted as Dawn. - Yeah. 314 00:19:10,629 --> 00:19:12,790 Erm, I'm not trying to Pull everything in. 315 00:19:15,968 --> 00:19:19,597 Lady Burgh, she's dressed for dinner, she's dressed for ceremony, 316 00:19:19,638 --> 00:19:23,267 so it's a matter of imPressing everyone when she comes to the hall. 317 00:19:23,309 --> 00:19:26,574 Looking her PaRT, looking her status. 318 00:19:26,612 --> 00:19:29,740 14th century seems to be actually one of the best times for women. 319 00:19:29,782 --> 00:19:31,272 Oh yes, yes. 320 00:19:31,317 --> 00:19:33,285 Within 1OO years of the Conquest, 321 00:19:33,319 --> 00:19:37,255 noble ladies had moved from wearing simple gowns to elaborate embroidery 322 00:19:37,289 --> 00:19:39,519 and even more elaborate hairstyles, 323 00:19:39,558 --> 00:19:41,116 and as trade increased, 324 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:43,924 making a greater variety of colored cloths available, 325 00:19:43,963 --> 00:19:47,023 women begun making strong statements about who they were 326 00:19:47,066 --> 00:19:48,863 by what they wore. 327 00:19:48,901 --> 00:19:50,892 By the middle of the 14th century, 328 00:19:50,936 --> 00:19:52,836 women had become more empowered, 329 00:19:52,872 --> 00:19:56,535 thanks, ironically, to a social catastrophe. 330 00:20:00,412 --> 00:20:05,145 The Black death wiped out half the population of England by 135O. 331 00:20:07,152 --> 00:20:11,316 As a result, there was a chronic labor shortage. 332 00:20:11,357 --> 00:20:15,691 Women had to take on roles that had traditionally been reserved for men. 333 00:20:17,396 --> 00:20:19,660 A new kind of damsel began to emerge, 334 00:20:19,698 --> 00:20:21,529 the business damsel. 335 00:20:21,567 --> 00:20:25,025 We don't know much about these women since they didn't leave much record. 336 00:20:25,070 --> 00:20:27,402 Probably too busy doing business. 337 00:20:27,439 --> 00:20:32,672 However, in 1934, a 5OO-year-old manuscriPt was discovered 338 00:20:32,711 --> 00:20:37,341 and it turned out to be the autobiograPhy of exactly such a woman. 339 00:20:37,383 --> 00:20:39,408 Her name was Marjorie KemP 340 00:20:39,451 --> 00:20:43,649 and she was born here in King's Lynn in 1373. 341 00:20:43,689 --> 00:20:47,386 From the start, she enjoyed a pretty good lifestyle. 342 00:20:47,426 --> 00:20:51,021 Marjorie saw herself as a bit of a trendy dresser. 343 00:20:51,063 --> 00:20:54,328 She wore her hair braided into gold nets. 344 00:20:54,366 --> 00:20:57,358 And her clothes were slashed 345 00:20:57,403 --> 00:21:00,065 to reveal even richer cloth underneath. 346 00:21:00,105 --> 00:21:01,766 Ooh-la-la! 347 00:21:05,611 --> 00:21:09,672 Marjorie's husband must have thought she looked good enough without the frills, 348 00:21:09,715 --> 00:21:12,206 or else he thought the frills were too exPensive. 349 00:21:12,251 --> 00:21:14,947 Either way, he refused to Pay for them. 350 00:21:14,987 --> 00:21:17,888 So Marjorie, as a modern go-getting woman, 351 00:21:17,923 --> 00:21:20,448 decided to earn the money for herself, 352 00:21:20,492 --> 00:21:23,086 and she set uP in town as a brewer. 353 00:21:24,830 --> 00:21:27,628 The greatest in the town of Lynn. 354 00:21:32,838 --> 00:21:35,238 But then an odd thing haPPened. 355 00:21:36,075 --> 00:21:38,475 She staRTed to lose her head. 356 00:21:38,510 --> 00:21:41,604 Well, at least, her beer staRTed to lose its head. 357 00:21:41,647 --> 00:21:43,114 It would be fermenting away, 358 00:21:43,148 --> 00:21:45,013 building uP a nice head like this. 359 00:21:45,050 --> 00:21:47,280 And then the head would suddenly go flat 360 00:21:47,319 --> 00:21:49,184 and sink to the bottom. 361 00:21:49,221 --> 00:21:51,587 And quite honestly, not having enough head 362 00:21:51,624 --> 00:21:53,387 was about the most embarrassing thing 363 00:21:53,425 --> 00:21:55,893 that could haPPen to any brewer. 364 00:21:55,928 --> 00:22:00,627 After a while, her brewers decided they couldn't stand the Professional disgrace 365 00:22:00,666 --> 00:22:01,928 and they ran away. 366 00:22:01,967 --> 00:22:04,094 And the business collaPsed. 367 00:22:08,207 --> 00:22:10,266 Marjorie wasn't to be beaten. 368 00:22:10,309 --> 00:22:14,712 She bought horses and a mill and set herself up to grind corn. 369 00:22:14,747 --> 00:22:18,148 But then the horses started to go backwards. 370 00:22:18,183 --> 00:22:20,549 Eventually, the miller ran away. 371 00:22:20,586 --> 00:22:23,316 Ohhhh! 372 00:22:23,355 --> 00:22:26,324 And then it was noised about the town of Lynn, 373 00:22:26,358 --> 00:22:29,657 that neither man nor beast would work for her. 374 00:22:29,695 --> 00:22:33,062 It was time for a versatile woman like Marjorie 375 00:22:33,098 --> 00:22:35,032 to make another career change. 376 00:22:35,067 --> 00:22:36,967 And though it may seem an odd choice to us, 377 00:22:37,002 --> 00:22:38,401 she decided to become 378 00:22:38,437 --> 00:22:41,895 a full-time professional religious hysteric. 379 00:22:48,547 --> 00:22:49,946 Marjorie discovered 380 00:22:49,982 --> 00:22:52,883 that the thing she could do really well was weePing. 381 00:22:52,918 --> 00:22:57,082 And I don't just mean, er, the odd sniffle in the corner when she felt sad. 382 00:22:57,122 --> 00:23:00,285 She wePt in Public, extremely loudly 383 00:23:00,325 --> 00:23:02,725 and incessantly. 384 00:23:02,761 --> 00:23:05,093 She'd weeP through meal times, 385 00:23:05,130 --> 00:23:08,293 she'd weeP through sermons, she'd scream and yell 386 00:23:08,333 --> 00:23:10,324 or staRT rolling on the floor. 387 00:23:10,369 --> 00:23:13,896 A holy woman said it was a gift from the Holy SPirit. 388 00:23:13,939 --> 00:23:17,033 But most PeoPle thought it was just a damn nuisance. 389 00:23:17,076 --> 00:23:18,771 (Sobbing) 390 00:23:18,811 --> 00:23:21,541 When Marjorie went on pilgrimage, for example, 391 00:23:21,580 --> 00:23:25,914 her fellow pilgrims couldn't stand the way she wept and screamed through dinner. 392 00:23:25,951 --> 00:23:30,547 They ditched her before they got a quarter of the way to Jerusalem. 393 00:23:31,990 --> 00:23:34,788 So, maybe not the tyPical businesswoman of the day 394 00:23:34,827 --> 00:23:38,194 but at least before she died, she made it into the guild. 395 00:23:38,230 --> 00:23:42,564 And here, on the accounts for the Trinity Guild for 1438, 396 00:23:42,601 --> 00:23:46,264 we can see her record of her membershiP Payment. 397 00:23:46,305 --> 00:23:49,103 ''Marjorie KemP, 2O shillings.'' 398 00:23:53,879 --> 00:23:56,814 damsels, it seemed, were becoming very much a part 399 00:23:56,849 --> 00:24:00,285 of what had been strictly a man's world. 400 00:24:00,319 --> 00:24:02,617 In Richard II's court, for example, 401 00:24:02,654 --> 00:24:05,748 women enjoyed a high profile. 402 00:24:05,791 --> 00:24:09,124 It was a very sophisticated court. 403 00:24:09,161 --> 00:24:11,925 Refinement and sensitivity were the new buzzwords. 404 00:24:11,964 --> 00:24:18,028 RePlacing the old, lads' army PreoccuPation with maRTial aRTs and getting drunk. 405 00:24:19,538 --> 00:24:21,665 The emphasis was on the arts. 406 00:24:21,707 --> 00:24:24,904 on poetry, music, fashion and haute cuisine. 407 00:24:26,178 --> 00:24:27,975 It was enough to turn the stomach 408 00:24:28,013 --> 00:24:30,641 of the more conservative chroniclers. 409 00:24:30,682 --> 00:24:33,708 ''The King surrounds himself with knights of Venus 410 00:24:33,752 --> 00:24:37,244 ''more valued in the bedchamber than on the battle hills. '' 411 00:24:39,091 --> 00:24:41,992 Richard was the first king to create a woman 412 00:24:42,027 --> 00:24:44,052 a duchess in her own right. 413 00:24:44,096 --> 00:24:46,223 Women, it seemed, were going places. 414 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,935 But the pendulum which had been swinging in women's direction 415 00:24:50,969 --> 00:24:54,700 throughout the Middle Ages began to swing the other way. 416 00:24:54,740 --> 00:24:58,301 By 145O, there was no longer a shortage of labor. 417 00:24:58,343 --> 00:25:03,337 The PoPulation had begun to stabilize and the economic cycle went into reverse, 418 00:25:03,382 --> 00:25:05,850 with women being the first to be squeezed out. 419 00:25:05,884 --> 00:25:08,785 It was the staRT of the backlash. 420 00:25:10,155 --> 00:25:14,683 one of the clearest examples of this backlash against feminine power 421 00:25:14,726 --> 00:25:18,059 is the extraordinary story of Joan of Arc. 422 00:25:18,096 --> 00:25:21,964 In 1429, the French were losing the war against the English, 423 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,332 when the French army was put under the command 424 00:25:24,369 --> 00:25:28,601 of a 16-year-old peasant girl who claimed divine guidance. 425 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:34,306 Joan routed the English at orleans, but was captured the following year. 426 00:25:34,346 --> 00:25:36,541 She'd gone into battle dressed as a man 427 00:25:36,582 --> 00:25:39,050 and she kept these clothes on in prison, 428 00:25:39,084 --> 00:25:41,848 the pants and tunic firmly laced together, 429 00:25:41,887 --> 00:25:45,015 apparently as a defense against being raped by her guards. 430 00:25:45,057 --> 00:25:48,151 But she was told that for a woman to wear men's clothing 431 00:25:48,193 --> 00:25:49,751 was a crime against God 432 00:25:49,795 --> 00:25:52,593 and for that crime, she was burned to death. 433 00:25:53,498 --> 00:25:55,523 Something sinister was going on. 434 00:25:55,567 --> 00:25:57,831 Later, it would be claimed in England 435 00:25:57,870 --> 00:26:01,362 that Joan was burned as a witch, but that wasn't true. 436 00:26:01,406 --> 00:26:04,500 The medieval world didn't go in much for witchcraft. 437 00:26:04,543 --> 00:26:08,946 Centuries of Christian teaching had taught that such beliefs were mere suPerstition. 438 00:26:10,649 --> 00:26:12,810 What was being made clear, however, 439 00:26:12,851 --> 00:26:15,479 was that for a woman to take over a man's role 440 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:19,047 was henceforth to be regarded as unnatural. 441 00:26:20,158 --> 00:26:22,649 ''The wickedness of women is greater 442 00:26:22,694 --> 00:26:25,356 ''than all the other wickedness of the world.'' 443 00:26:26,365 --> 00:26:29,801 As men sought to constrain women's role in society, 444 00:26:29,835 --> 00:26:32,030 they began to demonize women 445 00:26:32,070 --> 00:26:34,834 and they enlisted the help of the Church to do it. 446 00:26:34,873 --> 00:26:38,604 ''God's sentence hangs over all your sex.'' 447 00:26:41,413 --> 00:26:44,507 In 1484, the Pope pronounced that witches 448 00:26:44,549 --> 00:26:48,076 were not figments of the imagination, but a present evil, 449 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:51,055 and his words sparked a European-wide... 450 00:26:51,089 --> 00:26:53,580 well, witch-hunt is the only word for it. 451 00:26:53,625 --> 00:26:58,528 It would lead to the judicial execution of thousands of thousands of women. 452 00:26:58,563 --> 00:26:59,825 (Fire crackling, screaming) 453 00:26:59,865 --> 00:27:02,265 In fact, during the period that followed, 454 00:27:02,301 --> 00:27:03,928 the so-called Renaissance, 455 00:27:03,969 --> 00:27:08,929 relationships between damsels and their men deteriorated dramatically. 456 00:27:10,542 --> 00:27:13,033 And it was no good the women of the Renaissance 457 00:27:13,078 --> 00:27:15,376 looking to St. George to save them. 458 00:27:15,414 --> 00:27:18,178 during this period the dragon that St. George kills 459 00:27:18,216 --> 00:27:22,516 sometimes mysteriously acquires female genitalia. 460 00:27:22,554 --> 00:27:24,954 What on earth was going on? 461 00:27:26,391 --> 00:27:30,157 one interpretation is that St. George represents chastity 462 00:27:30,195 --> 00:27:34,598 and the dragon symbolizes loose, uncontrolled female sexuality 463 00:27:34,633 --> 00:27:37,397 which can undermine male authority. 464 00:27:37,436 --> 00:27:40,098 Women must submit to control by men. 465 00:27:42,140 --> 00:27:45,701 The superstition and brutality directed against women 466 00:27:45,744 --> 00:27:47,405 was a product of the Renaissance, 467 00:27:47,446 --> 00:27:48,777 not of the Middle Ages. 468 00:27:48,814 --> 00:27:53,808 And it has stained the history of the last 5OO years right down to today. 469 00:27:55,420 --> 00:27:56,944 The last two centuries 470 00:27:56,989 --> 00:27:59,048 have Proved a far darker time for women 471 00:27:59,091 --> 00:28:00,991 than the Middle Ages ever were. 472 00:28:01,026 --> 00:28:04,257 In the victorian era, any woman who was interested in sex 473 00:28:04,296 --> 00:28:06,764 was deemed to be either sick or mad. 474 00:28:09,868 --> 00:28:13,304 It's an attitude that would have been incomprehensible 475 00:28:13,338 --> 00:28:15,499 to people of the Middle Ages. 476 00:28:17,175 --> 00:28:19,166 The victorians were determined 477 00:28:19,211 --> 00:28:21,736 to marginalize the role of women in society, 478 00:28:21,780 --> 00:28:25,477 to striP them of Power and to dePrive them even of their sexuality. 479 00:28:28,887 --> 00:28:34,325 That's why they invented the medieval damsel in distress. 480 00:28:43,602 --> 00:28:47,333 Next time on Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, the minstrel. 481 00:28:47,372 --> 00:28:49,704 That carefree wandering life 482 00:28:49,741 --> 00:28:52,437 may not have been so carefree after all. 483 00:28:52,477 --> 00:28:55,969 In fact, at times it could be downright dangerous.