Medieval Women

Anna Nzinga - Queen

Angola (c. 1583-1663)

Articles

• Bortolot, Alexander Ives. “Women Leaders in African History: Ana Nzinga, Queen of Ndongo.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1 Oct. 2003, www.metmuseum.org/essays/ana-nzinga-queen-of-ndongo. 

• Engel, Keri Lynn. “Ana Nzinga Mbande, Fearless African Queen | Amazing Women in History.” Amazing Women in History | All the Women the History Books Left Out, 12 Jan. 2012, amazingwomeninhistory.com/anna-nzinga-mbande-fearless-africa-queen. 

• "Queen Ana De Sousa Nzinga Mbande of Ndongo (Angola)." Black History Heroes, www.blackhistoryheroes.com/2011/03/queen-ana-de-sousa-njinga-mbande-of.html. 

• Thériault, Anne, and Anne Thériault. “Queens of Infamy: Njinga.” Longreads, 18 Oct. 2022, longreads.com/2019/10/03/queens-of-infamy-njinga. 

Books

• Akpan, Paula. "Njinga a Mbande - The Gender-Blurring Ruler." When We Ruled : the Rise and Fall of Twelve African Queens and Warriors, Pegasus Books, 2025, pp. 37-68.

• Heywood, Linda M. Njinga of Angola : Africa's Warrior Queen. Harvard University Press, 2019.

• Klehm, Carla E., and Joel E. Tishken. "Central Africa." African History and Culture Before 1900, by Toyin Falola and Steven J. Salm, 2nd ed., Carolina Academic Press, 2019, pp. 257-82. Vol. 1 of Africa.

• Sweetman, David. "Nzinga of Angola." Women Leaders in African History, 7th ed., Heinemann, 1995, pp. 39-47.

Videos

• "Queen Njinga Mbandi." Africa's Great Civilizations, PBS Learning Media, mass.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/2654a53c-abc8-481d-8866-6627e7760c4a/queen-njinga-mbandi/?student=true&focus=true. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.

Eleanor of Aquitaine - Queen

France (c. 1122-1204)

Article

• "Eleanor of Aquitaine." French Women and Feminists in History: A Resource Guide, Library of Congress, guides.loc.gov/feminism-french-women-history/famous/eleanor-aquitaine. 

• "Eleanor of Aquitaine." Heritage History. www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=resources&s=char-dir&f=eleanor1. 

• Thériault, Anne, and Anne Thériault. “Queens of Infamy: Eleanor of Aquitaine.” Longreads, 18 Oct. 2022, longreads.com/2018/04/04/queens-of-infamy-eleanor-of-aquitaine. 

• Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals (Great Courses) - Lecture 26: Eleanor of Aquitaine Goes on Crusade

Hildegard of Bingen - Abbess & Polymath

Germany (c. 1098-1179)

Articles

• "Doctors, Playwrights and Feminists: Meet 6 Trailblazing Medieval Women." History Extra, BBC History Magazine, 6 Mar. 2020, www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/six-trailblazing-medieval-women/. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.

• Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals (Great Courses) - Lecture 29: Hildegard Revolutionizes Traditional Medicine

Books

• Hollman, Gemma. Women in the Middle Ages : Illuminating the World of Peasants, Nuns, and Queens. Abbeville Press, 2024. 

• Hopkins, Andrea. Most Wise and Valiant Ladies : Remarkable Lives, Women of the Middle Ages. Collins and Brown, 1997.

• Singer, Charles Joseph. From Magic to Science. Dover Publications, 1958.

La Malinche/Doña Marina - Interpreter & Advisor

Aztec Empire (c. 1500-1529)

Articles

• Anderson, Gracie. “Was La Malinche, Indigenous Interpreter for Conquistador Hernán Cortés, a Traitor, Survivor or Icon?” Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Sept. 2021, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/was-la-malinche-indigenous-interpreter-conquistador-hernan-cortes-traitor-survivor-or-icon-180978321. 

• "Life Story: Malintzin (La Malinche) (ca. 1500-1529)." Women and the American Story, The New York Historical, wams.nyhistory.org/early-encounters/spanish-colonies/malitzen/. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.

• Mohammed, Farah. “Who Was La Malinche?” JSTOR Daily, Mar. 2020. JSTOR, daily.jstor.org/who-was-la-malinche. 

Books

• Leon-Portilla, Miguel. The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. Beacon Press, 1992.

• Townsend, Camilla. Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs. Oxford University Press, 2021.

• Townsend, Camilla. Malintzin's Choices an Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico. Univ. of New Mexico Press, 2010.

Videos

• "Malitzen: Enslaved Interpreter for Hernan Cortés." YouTube, uploaded by The New York Historical, 3 Nov. 2020, youtu.be/C65Phu_EAEs. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.

  • YouTube is not available to students on school accounts. You can view this video in Video Slidedeck - HERE.

Matilda of Canossa - Warrior & Politician

Tuscany (c. 1046-1115)

Articles

• Barnes, Terri. “The Intrigue of the Female Warrior: Lagertha, Joan of Arc, and Matilda of Tuscany." Medieval Warfare, vol. 9, no. 1, 2019, pp. 42–47. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/48637190. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025. 

• Cassagnes-Brouquet, Sophie, and Michèle Greer. “In the Service of the Just War: Matilda of Tuscany (Eleventh-Twelfth Centuries).” Clio (English Edition), no. 39, 2014, pp. 35–52. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26238713. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.

• D’Amato, Raffaele. “Matilda of Canossa at Bianello.” Medieval Warfare, vol. 4, no. 2, 2014, pp. 58–58. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/48578342. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.

Books

• Spike, Michele K. Tuscan Countess: The Life and Extraordinary Times of Matilda of Canossa. Abrams, 1 Feb. 2012, archive.org/details/tuscancountessli00spik. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025. 

Podcasts

• Corradi, Mike, host. "Matilda of Tuscany, the Iron Countess of Canossa, Part 1." A History of Italy, episode 45, 24 Feb. 2019. https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/045-matilda-of-tuscany-the-iron-countess-of-canossa-part-1/id1318925583?i=1000430523147 

Nur Jahan - Empress

Mughal India (c. 1577-1645)

Articles

• BBC News. The Mughal Queen Who Became a Feminist Icon. 2 Sept. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-45319055.

Books

• Lal, Ruby. Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan. W. W. Norton & Company, 2018.

• Mukhoty, Ira. "Noor Jahan, An English Ambassador and the Politics of Colour." Daughters of the Sun: Empresses, Queens and Begums of the Mughal Empire, Aleph Book Company, 2018, pp. 131-54.

Podcasts

• “Nur Jahan: The Light of The World.” Empire, 15 Apr. 2024, podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/140-nur-jahan-the-light-of-the-world/id1639561921?i=1000652129383. 

• “Nur Jahan: The Most Powerful Mughal Woman.” Empire, 17 Apr. 2024, podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/141-nur-jahan-the-most-powerful-mughal-woman/id1639561921?i=1000652525513.

Theodora - Empress

Byzantian Empire (c. 527-548)

Articles

• "Justinian, Theodora, and the Haghia Sophia." Calliope, Nov.-Dec. 1990.

• “St. Theodora,  Byzantine Empress.” Order of Medieval Women, www.medievalwomen.org/st-theodora-byzantine-empress.html. 

• Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals (Great Courses) - Lecture 14: Theodora Rises from Dancer to Queen

Podcasts

• “Theodora: Empress of Byzantium (Part 1).” Apple Podcasts, 8 Aug. 2022, podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/theodora-empress-of-byzantium-part-1/id1537788786?i=1000575312025.