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Aldruda Frangipane (born after 1120 – died after 1173) was a powerful noblewoman who ruled as regent and gained legendary status for her military leadership during the rescue of Ancona.

The regent of Bertinoro

Aldruda belonged to the powerful Roman Frangipane family. She married Rainier Calvaconti, Count of Bertinoro, but was widowed in 1144. Rather than remarry, she chose to take power into her own hands, serving as regent for her children. Her power was such that she continued to rule even after her eldest son reached adulthood.

Her court at Bertinoro was known for its refinement and intellectual vitality. It celebrated chivalric ideals and literature, and welcomed troubadours and poets.

To Ancona’s rescue

In 1173, the city of Ancona was besieged by the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, as part of his campaign to assert control over Italy. Ancona had aligned itself with the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, making it a target for imperial retribution.

Reinforcements came from Ferrara—and from Aldruda. The Countess of Bertinoro led her troops in person. Mounted on horseback, she rallied her soldiers with a rousing speech before engaging the enemy.

According to chronicler Boncompagno da Signa, the battle was won thanks to a clever ruse. Aldruda ordered her soldiers to attach two or three torches to each lance and march in a wide formation under cover of darkness. The sight created the illusion of a much larger army launching a night assault. The besiegers, believing themselves outnumbered, retreated.

Aldruda’s bravery became the stuff of legend. Byzantine chroniclers praised her as a courageous and generous leader who not only sent aid, but faced battle herself. In his orations, Eustathios of Thessaloniki described her armed with a lance, riding at the head of her cavalry. He likened her to biblical heroines such as Judith, and to the warrior queens of antiquity.

Following the rescue of Ancona, no further records of Aldruda survive.

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Further reading: 

Allaire Gloria, “Alruda Frangipani”, in: Higham Robin, Pennington Reina (eds.), Amazons to fighter pilots, biographical dictionary of military women, vol.1

Eustathios of Thessaloniki, Secular Orations 1167/8 to 1179

Frison Carluccio, “Frangipane, Aldruda”, in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 50

Jansen Philippe, “L’écho de l’événement : Boncompagno da Signa et le siège d’Ancône (1173)”

[wonder-worker]

How do you think Augustus felt about Livia?

It's a bit hard to parse out how the man felt about anyone, just because he controlled his image so tightly that nobody ever publicly saw anything he didn't want them to see, save for some very rare exceptions (ex: Augustus is recorded as having become publicly emotional three times in his entire public life, and two out of those three were very likely deliberate performances meant to engender a specific response, though one of them was definitely just spontaneous emotion). And with the added caveat that trying to ascribe feelings to historical figures can be very tough because those involve private thoughts that we are just not historically privy to, especially during the Antiquity where we're just missing so many records, I think it's fair to say that there was some kind of love there.

There's a lot of misconceptions around their relationship because Augustus and Livia just have very negative public reputations (Augustus just due to the popularity of Antony and Cleopatra as a couple, which means that most stories of this time are about them, slotting him into the role of antagonist or even outright villain in contrast to them as protagonists; Livia due to the popularity of stories like I, Claudius, which painted her as a scheming manipulator and burgeoned outward from there) that sees them both as people who didn't care about anyone, let alone possibly each other, and were in this relationship purely for opportunism and power. That's not to say that they didn't care about the power or opportunities the match would have afforded both of them, they clearly did; I've never bought into the legend that Octavian fell in love with Livia at first sight because nothing I've read about the guy, Mr. "hasten slowly" himself, shows someone who made snap judgments without thought. Octavian had prestige from his relationship to Caesar, and his family was influential in their Roman suburb, but he didn't have the patrician family roots that Livia did, and marrying her would have given him additional prestige to really solidify power. For Livia's part, her family was on the downward spiral after having repeatedly been on the wrong side in recent wars (her father fought for Brutus and Cassius, her first husband routinely was opposed to Augustus not just at Philippi but also during Fulvia's War and my beloved Siege of Perusia as well as siding with Sextus Pompey when he opposed Octavian), and allying herself instead with someone who was shoring up massive amounts of power and influence in his own right would have been hugely beneficial for her and her children. There was absolutely a calculus that went into this relationship and in figuring out what both parties could bring to the table to make the marriage viable against some not great optics, like Livia already being pregnant by her first husband and Octavian getting ready to break his alliance to Sextus by divorcing Scribonia (literally on the day she gave birth to Julia, my man you couldn't have waited a day?).

But I don't think that means that there wasn't any feeling there. For one, again, there were some bad optics involved as well as changes in alliances, and Livia definitely needed Octavian more than he needed her; he could have absolutely found some other patrician woman to boost up his pedigree by association rather than one from a family that had constantly opposed him. I wouldn't be shocked if there had been some emotion behind choosing Livia specifically, that when they met (sources say she was personally introduced to him before they decided to get married, so they had at least one chance for rapport) they formed a connection of some kind and an appreciation for each other. We also know that Octavian, as he grew in power and especially once things steadied in Rome and he got his name changed to Augustus, still relied on her as a source of advice and listened to her as a counselor, in spite of her gender and the extreme patriarchal nature of Rome. Augustus, when it comes to Livia's role as an advisor to him, actually had Livia occupying a space very similar to the one he had originally occupied for Julius Caesar: not just being an advisor and a trusted someone at their side, but also someone you could ask to intercede for you with The Great Man either on your behalf or on the behalf of someone you cared about. That Augustus allowed this at all shows a care for her, because he was big on the rigid societal structures and propriety of Ancient Rome, what with all his family laws and his strong stance on morality. But I do think the strongest indicator of love between them, since I do believe there was a love between them, is in the fact that they stayed married.

Livia and Augustus were married for 51 years, from 39 BC until he died in AD 14. And it is honestly wild that, in all that time, they never got divorced. Divorce in Ancient Roman times was exceptionally easy. Literally all was required was that one of the parties move out of the house and that's it, you're considered divorced legally and religiously in all ways that mattered. That's why, when you read about these people, you see how often they're just getting divorced right and left at the slightest provocation, Augustus included, divorcing Claudia and Scribonia with relative ease. But not Livia, even though the marriage wasn't doing the one thing most political marriages really need to be doing: bringing in children. Livia and Augustus never had any children, and only ever one pregnancy, which ended in a stillbirth. Given that Augustus specifically really needed an acceptable heir, as he was trying to build a hereditary autocracy that relied on power being passed down from father to son, rather than the semi-democracy Rome had at the time, this is a big deal. We know that Augustus struggled with heirs, mostly because everyone he ever wanted as an heir kept dying before him (which has to suck, just on a personal level, given that a lot of these were family members that he'd been close to and viewed as his own children, sorry man), and he probably would have very much liked to have a natural son to prepare to succeed him, rather than bouncing around. And given how quickly it became apparent that his marriage to Livia was not going to give him any children at all, let alone any sons, he could have easily divorced her with just a few words and found someone else, especially after he cemented his power following Actium and patrician prestige was no longer as important as his own personal presence. But he didn't do that. For a man who always thought ahead and always made decisions based on how they would advance the goals he felt he needed to have, irregardless of personal feeling (the existence of the Second Triumvirate is basically proof that Augustus, very quickly in his political career, developed a habit of shunting his own personal feelings to the side for the sake of doing what needed to be done), choosing to stay in a marriage that wasn't really offering him anything beyond the companionship of a woman he loved is very weird. It speaks to the amount and the depth of feeling there, that he decided to remove political calculation and opportunism from his thought process and decide to stay in a marriage that wasn't necessarily advantageous, because he wanted to, because he cared about and loved the person he was married to.

All in all, I think he cared about her, probably did love her, and even if there was some opportunism in the match, it seems to have been a marriage between two people who enjoyed being together and liked each other.

[wonder-worker]

“Legh’s recall from exile [in March 1540] was, therefore, the earliest indication, albeit a heavily veiled one, of King Henry’s interest in Katherine [Howard]. The next clue was less subtle. It came on 24 April 1540, when Henry granted Katherine the goods and chattels of William Ledbeter, a Sussex yeoman, and his son, who had been indicted for murder the previous February. The following month, ‘twenty-three quilts of quilted sarcenet, bought of Baptist Borowne and Guilliame Latremoylle, [were] given to Mrs Haward’ from the royal wardrobe. Since gifts were a recognised part of the ritual of courtship, much might have been read into these awards to a mere maiden of honour.”

— Josephine Wilkinson, Katherine Howard

[wonder-worker]

"The duchess of Etampes [Anne de Pisseleu] revelled in the thrill of crossing boundaries, in fact. This the highly sensitive Primaticcio understood; so in the chamber of the king's mistress at Fontainebleau, directly opposite the Roxane/Leonora fresco, he offered her something that was savoured by many a Renaissance woman of action: an identification with an armed Amazon queen." (x)

— Master F.G., Alexander and Thalestris, burin engraving, c. 1544 (Cliché Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France) - illustration taken from the link above

[wonder-worker]

"In the seventeenth century the words ‘a brave woman’ were more and more frequently used in sermons with reference to women who were constant in their faith, practising such virtues as modesty, devotion to the family and thrift – women who were bringing up a large progeny well. But in the social mentality these words had a broader meaning. They were associated with the type of woman who appeared at the end of the sixteenth century, particularly in the south-eastern territories of the country endangered by the incursions of the Turks and Tartars. It was a type of courageous Amazon who could mount a horse and wield a sword no less competently than a man – a woman who could defend her own and her family’s interests and fight an enemy not with women’s, but with men’s, weapons. This Polish virago had her counterparts in Western Europe. The femme forte was glorified in France in the seventeenth century, the mujer varonil was lauded in Spain; the virago became the heroine of countless dramas and poems.

Mannish women in Poland had many opportunities to display their talents. The most famous among them was Marina, the daughter of Polish magnate, Jerzy Mniszech. In 1605 she married Dimitr, the alleged son of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and in 1609 was crowned in Moscow. After Dimitri was murdered, she married the second impostor and, when the latter also died, she tried to keep the throne for herself. Beautiful and greedy for power, Marina ended her stormy life in a prison and soon became the heroine of numerous legends and poems. The period of Russian civil war enabled her – a woman with a dominant personality and great imagination – to surpass the passive role accorded to women in general.

Life in the eastern and southern borderlands of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth offered many opportunities for women to display their energy and courage. A legend about an energetic bride, Beata Dolska, relates how, on her wedding day in 1577, she saved her native town of Dubno from a Tartar attack. Told about the enemy, the courageous bride rushed on to the ramparts, loaded a cannon and fired a shot which hit the tent of the Khan himself. As a result, the Tartars lifted the siege.

Another famous ‘borderlands’ lioness’, Mrs Teofila Chmielecka, fought bravely at her husband’s side against the Tartars in the 1620s. Unfortunately, she was also a notorious organizer of forays against her neighbours and an extremely cruel mistress: she mutilated one of her servants, a certain Anna Walicka, by cutting off her nose. When her son fell in love with a beautiful girl whose father refused to agree to the marriage, she abducted the girl and arranged the marriage by force. Another lady, Anna Dorota Chrzanowska, wife of the commander of Trembowla castle, roused the defenders of the fortress to action during the siege in 1675 and personally led them in sallies against the Turks; she threatened the soldiers that she would blow up the fortress if they capitulated. In the Ukraine some women took up arms during the Chmielnicki uprising. During the Swedish invasion many women all over the country took part in the war activities.

In times of peace, too, women surpassed their official female roles and, in this respect, we have already mentioned the battles organized by Mrs Chmielecka. In addition, W. Łoziński’s book presents many Polish women engaged in military actions. Forays and armed attacks led by females were by no means a rare occurrence, especially in the borderlands. A. Gradowska has recently come across an interesting example of a fierce family quarrel in the eighteenth century: Mr Kazimierz Drohojowski sued his aunt, Mrs Antonina Księska née Drohojowska, for the sums bequeathed on his village, Bestwinka. The trial continued for 30 years. In the end, the aunt administered justice herself, organizing an attack on her nephew’s house. Drohojowski was shot during the fighting and died from his wounds."

Maria Bogucka, Women in Early Modern Polish Society, Against the European Background

[wonder-worker]

reading about how Edward III wore clothes embroidered with parrot images makes me think of Jimmy Buffet style clothes

[wonder-worker]

We therefore need to separate out the 'facets' of [Anne de Pisseleu's] life, the way she was perceived by different groups and individuals. According to these, she could be viewed as an ornament to the court, a grasping favorite, a desired patroness, an able businesswoman, later on as a pillar of the reformed church and cantankerous old woman. At different times and over a long life, Anne de Pisseleu played all these roles.

— David Potter, "The Life and After-Life of a Royal Mistress: Anne de Pisseleu, Duchess of Étampes"

[wonder-worker]

Fredegund, French Frédégonde, (died 596 or 597, Paris), queen consort of Chilperic I, the Merovingian Frankish king of Soissons.Originally a servant, Fredegund became Chilperic’s mistress; she encouraged him to set aside his first wife, Audovera, and to murder his second wife, Galswintha (c. 568). Galswintha, however, was also the sister of Brunhild, the wife of Chilperic’s half brother Sigebert I, king of the eastern kingdom of Austrasia. Galswintha’s murder engendered a violent animosity between Fredegund and Brunhild and an irreconcilable feud of more than 40 years’ duration between the respective families. Fredegund was certainly responsible for the assassination of Sigebert in 575 and made attempts on the lives of Guntram (her brother-in-law and the king of Burgundy), Childebert II (Sigebert’s son), and Brunhild.

After the assassination of Chilperic (584), Fredegund took refuge in the cathedral at Paris. Both she and her surviving three-month-old son, Chlotar II, were at first protected by Guntram, but, when he died in 592, Childebert II, who had taken over his throne, attacked Chlotar, albeitunsuccessfully. From Childebert’s death (595) until her own, Fredegund intrigued on Chlotar’s behalf against Brunhild, who sought to rule through Childebert’s sons, Theodebert II of Austrasia and Theodoric II of Burgundy. Although Ferdegund did not live to see it, Chlotar triumphed over Brunhild (613) and united the Frankish kingdoms under his rule.

[wonder-worker]

On this day (21 April) in 1509, Henry VII died of tuberculosis at 52. His 18-year-old son would succeed him as Henry VIII, marking the first peaceful transfer of power in England in over eighty years.

[wonder-worker]

Not all women desired marriage. Many expressed reservations. John Evelyn’s daughter Mary ‘showed greate indifference to marrying at all’. Elizabeth Stout advised her daughter Elizabeth, whose health was poor, ‘to remain single, knowing the care and exercises that always attended a marryed life, and the hazerd of happiness in it’. Margaret Kennedy’s servant, when asked ‘if she would not be glad to see her lady marryed?’, replied, ‘truly … she would be sorry to know her such a foole as to quite [quit] a contented life to make herself a slave to any man’s humour.’ … Happy single women provided counter-examples to the contemporary Protestant chorus praising matrimony. In 1688 Jane Barker celebrated singleness in her poem “A Virgin life”, concluding with a positive view of her existence:

“Her whole lives business, she drives to these ends / To serve her god, her neighbour, and her friends.”

Sara Mendelson and Patricia Crawford, Women in Early Modern England, pg. 168-169

[wonder-worker]

English Soldiers: Oh no, the Prince is surrounded!

Edward III, taking a sip of a Baja Blast™: Unfortunate,

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requested by anon

women in history ↳ asa haraldsdottir of agder

[wonder-worker]

OLYMPIAS - Greek princess of the Molossians

[wonder-worker]

Dugu Qieluo, also known as Jialuo (544–602), was the first empress of the Sui dynasty. Known for her sharp intellect, political insight, and commitment to frugality, she wielded significant influence over imperial affairs.

Daughter of a powerful clan

Born in Luoyang, Dugu Qieluo came from a prominent and well-connected family. Her mother was Han Chinese, while her father was of Xianbei descent and a respected leader and official.

At the age of fourteen, she married Yang Jian, the future Emperor Wen of Sui. His family held an esteemed position within Northern Chinese society. Their marriage, at least initially, was harmonious. In a remarkable departure from societal norms—where polygamy was common—Yang Jian promised never to father children with another woman.

Lady Dugu's elder sister became Empress to Emperor Ming (d. 558), and her own daughter, Lihua, would also go on to become an empress.

As Yang Jian rose in influence and amassed resources, his power culminated in 580 with the death of his emperor son-in-law. His young grandson, Emperor Jing, took the throne, but Yang Jian effectively controlled the court. With the support of his wife and ministers, he soon declared himself emperor, founding the Sui dynasty.

A model empress

Empress Dugu was known for her intelligence, patience, and virtue. She was a true political partner to her husband. As the History of the Sui dynasty recorded: 

“Whenever the empress discussed politics with the emperor, their ideas frequently coincided. People in the palace nicknamed them ‘the two emperors.””

She often worked late at his side, accompanied him to court, and sent trusted eunuchs to observe him while he worked in his cabinet. If she noticed mishandling of affairs, she did not hesitate to correct him and ensure justice was done.

Frugality defined their reign. Empress Dugu actively cut costs and fought corruption. When offered to buy a costly basket of pearls, she refused, saying:

“I don’t need these. At present we are continually being disturbed by insurgents, and the officers and men of our army are war weary. It would be better to award the meritorious with this money.”

She was also known for her compassion—especially toward those in distress or facing execution. Yet she was resolute in matters of justice. When her own cousin was sentenced to death for murdering seven young women, the emperor offered to spare him. Empress Dugu firmly replied: “This is a state matter; you cannot allow personal considerations to intrude.” The sentence was carried out.

Tensions and successions disputes

Despite their strong partnership, Yang Jian eventually broke his vow and impregnated a palace woman. Enraged, Empress Dugu had the woman executed. The emperor, distraught, lamented: “I am in the exalted position of emperor, yet I am not free to do what I want!” Still, the couple later reconciled.

Empress Dugu strongly opposed polygamy. She disapproved of emperors, princes, and officials taking concubines and held a lasting grudge against the minister Gao Ying for referring to her as a “mere woman.” She later had him dismissed.

One of the most controversial aspects of her legacy was her role in altering the line of succession. She supported replacing her firstborn son, Yang Yong, with her second son, Yang Guang—who would later prove to be a tyrannical ruler. It’s believed she disapproved of Yang Yong’s many concubines. However, the decision wasn’t hers alone: Emperor Wen also favored Yang Guang due to deep conflicts with his first son. Moreover, Yang Guang’s despotic nature emerged only after his father’s death.

Empress Dugu died in the palace in 602. After her passing, the emperor fell into despair and became infatuated with two palace women. In his illness, he reportedly mourned: “If the Empress were still alive, I would not have come to this.”

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Further reading: 

Long Laura, “Dugu, Empress of Emperor Wen of Sui”, in: Xiao Hong Lee Lily, Stefanowska A. D. (eds.), Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui 1600 B.C.E.–618 C.E.

McMahon Keith, Women Shall Not Rule: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Han to Liao

[wonder-worker]

Noble (obverse), 1363-1369, Cleveland Museum of Art: Medieval Art

Medium: gold

https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.161.a

[wonder-worker]

Dear Tumblr souls, you beautiful, strange humans—

you laugh through the pain,

you turn sadness into soft, glowing aesthetics,

you post memes in the darkest hours,

and somehow, your hearts remain warm.

When you feel someone is hurting,

you become shelter—an open hand, asking for nothing in return.

I'm not asking for pity, but right now… I need you.

I'm Kareman from Gaza 🇵🇸🌸.

*This painting was drawn by my friend Zara ❤️

I'm trying to get through what life threw at me—with an open heart ,We were displaced ,There was bombing everywhere—loud, close, terrifying ,We fled with nothing but our lives.😞💔

Our dreams have changed ,We no longer dream of tomorrow— ,our dream today… is simply to eat.

My son, Hamoud🥹, asks me, “Mama, when is dinner?”

And sometimes… I have no answer.

That kind of pain shouldn't exist in a mother's heart😭.

My campaing vetted by/ @90-ghost here , gaza-evacuation-funds here

If you can help🥹❤️, even a little—this is the donation link:

🌸Or PayPal🌸

And if you can't, sharing this could still bring us one step closer to a meal.

Thank you, deeply.🌸"

[wonder-worker]

song of the summer (via muco_0 on tiktok)