Why Did Medieval Women Sometimes Fight in Trials by Combat?
Tucked away in the Danish Royal Library in Copenhagen and the Bavarian State Library in Munich, some rare medieval manuscripts depict a surprising scene: a man and woman locked in a trial by combat. The illustrations show the man standing waist-deep in a hole, wielding a club, while the woman stands above him, swinging what appears to be a rock tied in a cloth. Both figures are drawn with intense expressions, their limbs bloodied and strained. While these images may
