From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A woman with a sword, from a
Medieval manuscript.
- 6th or 7th century AD: A six-foot tall Anglo-Saxon woman is buried with a knife and a shield in Lincolnshire, England.
- 529: Halima, a Ghassanid princess, leads a battle against the Labmidians.
- 590: The Christian Synod of Druim Ceat issues an order that British women can no longer go into battle alongside the men.
- Seventh century: Poetess Al-Khansa composed elegies for her relatives who had been killed in battle.
- 600: Kahula, an Arabian army commander, combines her forces with Wafeira, another female commander, and repels the Greek army.
- 624: Hind al-Hunnud leads a battle against Muhammad.
- 656: Aisha, wife of Muhammad, is defeated at the Battle of the Camel.
- 697: Roman Catholic priests forbid Irish women and children from being present on contested battlefields.
- 711: Egilona is captured in battle by the Moors after her husband, king Roderic of the Visigoths, is killed. She eventually marries the Moorish Emir.
- 722: Queen Aethelburgh of the Saxons destroys Taunton.
- 783: Fastrada, a Saxon noble who eventually became the wife of Charlemagne, allegedly throws herself barebreasted into battle during the Saxon Wars, along with other Saxon women, causing terror among the invading Franks.
- Early 9th century: Cwenthryth fights Wulfred, Archbishop of Canterbury, for control of her abbey estates. [1]
- 960: Gudit, an Ethiopian queen, rebels against the Axumite Dynasty.
- 1015-1042: Reign of Akkadevi, Indian princess. She was a warrior and defeated a rebel chief in battle.
- 1075: Emma de Guader, Countess of Norfolk defends Norwich castle while it is under siege.
- 1081: Sikelgaita fought in the Battle of Dyrrhachium; Anna Comnena called her "a second Athena".
- 1136: Welsh princess Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd leads an army against the Normans. She is defeated and killed.
- 1140s: Eleanor of Aquitaine participated in the Second Crusade.
- 1172: Alrude Countess of Bertinoro ends a siege of Aucona by leading an army into battle and crushing imperial troops under Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor.[1]
- Late 12th century: Isabel of Conches rides armed like a knight during a conflict in northern France.
- Late 12th century: Eva MacMurrough conducts battles on behalf of her husband, the Earl of Pembroke.
- 1263: Eleanor of Provence raises troops in France for her husband.
- Late 13th century: Eleanor of Castile accompanies her husband on military campaigns in Wales.
- 1300: Manuscript I.33, authored by a secretary of the Bishop of Wurzburg depicts unarmored fighters. An illustration of a woman training in sword and buckler techniques is in the manuscript among others.
- 1338: Agnes Dunbar, also known as Black Agnes of Dunbar, defends Dunbar Castle against a siege, refusing to surrender. The siege is eventually withdrawn.
- 1346: Joanna of Flanders, Countess of Montfort, defended the rights of her son John V, Duke of Brittany in the Breton War of Succession. During the same war, the opposition was led for a time by Countess Jeanne de Penthievre.
- 1354: Ibn Battuta reports seeing female warriors in Southeast Asia.
- 1364-1405: Tamerlane uses female archers to defend baggage trains.
- Late 14th century: Eleanor of Arborea battles Aragon in order to defend Sardinia.
- 15th century: Maire o Ciaragain leads Irish clans in rebellion.[1]
- 15th century: Zaydi Yemeni leader Sharifa Fatima conquers San‘a’.
- 1429: Joan of Arc leads the French army.
- June 27, 1472: Jeanne Hachette rips down the flag of the invading Burgundians at Beauvais, inspiring the garrison to win the fight.
- 1499: Sikhism founded. One of its major tenets is equality for women, which extends to allowing them into participate in combat and warfare. See Category:Female Sikh warriors for more information.
