Feminine Threads: Trivia

I’ve been reading Feminine Threads, which traces the contribution of women in Christian history. There’s a review coming but I thought I’d share some fun facts that I’ve learnt as I’ve read about women in the Middle Ages.

1. The Christian queens of the Middle Ages had awesome names including Ethelberga, Rotrud, Hrotsvit, Gerberga, Enflaeda and Brunhilda!

2. Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was tithed to the church by her parents because she was their 10th child. Apparently they hadn’t heard of tithing the first fruits!

3. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) at the age of 12, wanted so badly to become a nun that when her mother denied her that (insisting that she make a profitable marriage instead) she cut off her long blonde hair to avoid attracting suitors. That didn’t deter her mother but when she was 15 she had smallpox which destroyed her beauty. At that point, her mother relented.