Medieval Misogyny: Five Men Who Made Women’s Lives Miserable

12th CenturyMedieval WomenMedieval EnglandMedieval FranceMedieval MisogynyMedieval Villains
Written By Rachel Elwiss Joyce

Medieval domestic violence

When Chivalry Fails

When we think of the Middle Ages, we often picture knights in shining armour, troubadours singing ballads, and noble ladies adored from afar. The reality was far harsher. Behind the romanticised ideals of chivalry were powerful men who treated women not as partners, but as possessions.

Inheritance, marriage, and even religious vows offered little protection. Queens were imprisoned. Nuns were abducted. Brides were humiliated. Widows were extorted.

This week, I’m starting a blog series which will uncover the darker side of 12th-century power: the men whose actions towards women were so cruel that even their contemporaries condemned them.

Five Villains, Five Stories

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing the stories of five men whose names deserve to be remembered not for their glory, but for their misogyny:

  1. Matthew of Boulogne

  2. Fulk V of Anjou (father of Geoffrey)

  3. Philippe II of France

  4. Geoffrey de Mandeville

  5. Henry II of England

Then you’ll get an opportunity to vote for the worst misogynist of the 12th Century! 👹👹👹👹👹

A Final Reckoning

Each woman — Marie of Boulogne, Melisende of Jerusalem, Ingeborg of Denmark, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the many widows and nuns Geoffrey preyed on — had to find her own way to resist or survive. 😔

At the end of the series, I’ll ask you to cast your vote: who was the worst women disrespecting villain in the 12th century?

Click here for first up, Matthew of Boulogne.

Rachel Elwiss Joyce

Rachel Elwiss Joyce, Author of Historical Fiction.

Exploring power, loyalty, and love in turbulent medieval England.

Rachel came to novel writing later in life, but she has always been passionate about history, storytelling, and the forgotten voices of women. She writes meticulously researched, immersive historical fiction that brings overlooked heroines into the light.

She started inventing tales about medieval women living in castles when she was just six years old—and never stopped. But when she discovered the extraordinary story of Nicola de la Haye, the first female sheriff, who defended Lincoln Castle from a French invasion and became known as ‘the woman who saved England’, Rachel knew she had found a heroine worth telling the world about.

Lady of Lincoln is her debut novel, the first book in her Nicola de la Haye Series, with sequels to follow.

https://rachelelwissjoyce.com
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Matthew of Boulogne — The Count Who Kidnapped a Nun
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Geoffrey of Anjou: The Handsome Count Who Founded the Plantagenet Dynasty (Died 7th September 1151)