Start Date
12-6-2011 9:30 AM
End Date
12-6-2011 12:00 PM
Subject Areas
medieval, family, marriage, motherhood
Abstract
The village of Lavardin sits high above the Le Loir River. An impressive château and seemingly modest Romanesque church make up the major structures of the village. Both were constructed starting in the mid- eleventh century. The iconographic program of the church is anomalous with the programs of surrounding contemporary churches. Which leads to the question of why? What was there that was unique about the history of Lavardin that might have contributed to this unusual iconography? In this paper, I will consider how the lives of three generations of Lavardin ladies overlap with the building and decoration programs of this village church. This paper is part of an on-going project that focuses on telling the history of the twelfth century through the members of an aristocratic family and its relatives.
Reconstructing the lives of these “typical” aristocratic women, i.e. those women who were not royal or descended from comital families, is a challenge. Such women appear in sources, like those recording the transference of property, but the information retrieved is seldom satisfactory for restoring all dimensions of a noblewoman’s life. So what tools can the medievalist employ to construct a more complete life?
This paper will explore various narrative and research strategies that can be used to bring these women to life. In particular, it will examine how art can provide entrée into understanding the lives and relationships of medieval women. Another way to add flesh to the bare-bones of charter evidence is through critical historical imagination. Specifically, how can the places that these women inhabited and where they worshiped help to piece together their lives? By using these strategies to build upon the primary sources a more complete and compelling picture of the lives of aristocratic women will hopefully emerge.
Keywords
medieval, noblewoman, aristocratic, lady, virgin Mary, mother
Creative Commons License
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The Ladies of Lavardin, c.1040-1160: Assembling the Pieces of their Lives
The village of Lavardin sits high above the Le Loir River. An impressive château and seemingly modest Romanesque church make up the major structures of the village. Both were constructed starting in the mid- eleventh century. The iconographic program of the church is anomalous with the programs of surrounding contemporary churches. Which leads to the question of why? What was there that was unique about the history of Lavardin that might have contributed to this unusual iconography? In this paper, I will consider how the lives of three generations of Lavardin ladies overlap with the building and decoration programs of this village church. This paper is part of an on-going project that focuses on telling the history of the twelfth century through the members of an aristocratic family and its relatives.
Reconstructing the lives of these “typical” aristocratic women, i.e. those women who were not royal or descended from comital families, is a challenge. Such women appear in sources, like those recording the transference of property, but the information retrieved is seldom satisfactory for restoring all dimensions of a noblewoman’s life. So what tools can the medievalist employ to construct a more complete life?
This paper will explore various narrative and research strategies that can be used to bring these women to life. In particular, it will examine how art can provide entrée into understanding the lives and relationships of medieval women. Another way to add flesh to the bare-bones of charter evidence is through critical historical imagination. Specifically, how can the places that these women inhabited and where they worshiped help to piece together their lives? By using these strategies to build upon the primary sources a more complete and compelling picture of the lives of aristocratic women will hopefully emerge.