Throughout history, many women have participated in combat disguised as men. Research from England and the Netherlands shows that there were hundreds of such cases in the army between the 1500s and 1800s, and there…
In this theme of Women and War, we explore the lives of women during war. In previous posts we have explored life on campaign, and life as prisoner of war. Let’s turn to the women…
In a previous post, we focused on life on campaign for women. Now, we’ll take a look at how that life changed over the centuries. In a Scandinavian context, military campaigns prior to the 17th…
One risk women who took part in military campaigns took, was being taken prisoner of war. This is the story of Lovisa von Burghausen, who was exposed to just that. Lovisa was born in 1698…
In this series of Women and War, it is time to tell the tale of the ordinary women who followed the armies on campaign. When we read about historical military campaigns, they exclusively focus on…
This is the true story of Emerentia Pauli, wife of the commandant at Gullberg Fortress, Sweden, in 1612. When the Danes suddenly attacked, it was she who led the defense of the fortress after her…
As a prominent Swedish noble woman and married to the regent and rebel leader Sten Sture the younger, Kristina Gyllenstierna was a powerful and determined woman, and the next to be explored in this serie…
In Medieval history, most women played subordinate roles, appearing mostly as mothers, wives or daughters, in the shadow of men. But of course there are exceptions. One such exception in the Nordics is Queen Margrete.…
War is associated with men. It is – generally speaking – men who make war. History books about war are therefore usually about men. Kings, generals, officers and sometimes ordinary soldiers. But very rarely about…
In the last post about Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, we learned that her daughter, Kristina, was taken from her by her enemies in the Privy Council, who ruled Sweden while Kristina was a minor. For…