Of six mediaeval women; to which is added A note on mediaeval gardens

Behind castle doors and convent walls, six mediaeval women step into the light with all their courage, piety, ambition and constraint intact. Six lives. One vivid age. Alice Kemp-Welch shapes a medieval biography collection into brisk, graceful historical biographical essays that read with the pull of story while keeping a scholar's care for context. Moving through women in the middle ages - from the spheres of medieval noblewomen and queens to the devotional worlds that shaped medieval saints biographies - she sketches how power, faith, lineage and daily custom worked in practice across medieval Europe culture. The result is classic nonfiction history with a strong sense of place: courts and cloisters, ceremony and hardship, public duty and private resolve. To this is added a thoughtful note on mediaeval gardens, opening a window onto medieval gardens and horticulture as lived knowledge - seasonal, symbolic, and practical - within the wider fabric of middle ages history. Long valued as a medieval studies reference and a rewarding choice for womens history readers, this public domain history classic remains a compelling way to meet the period through human lives rather than dates alone. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike.