More Medieval Texts Were Scribed by Women Than Previously Believed

Women contributed more extensively to Medieval manuscript production — a task usually delegated to monks — than previously thought, according to a new study. 

At least 110,000 hand-written manuscripts produced in Latin Roman Catholic Europe between 400 and 1500 CE were copied by women, more than previously believed, claims a study published in Nature earlier this month. While that figure only accounts for about 1.1% of the estimated 10 million manuscripts produced during that period, researchers from the University of Bergen in Norway say their findings suggest that there are enclaves of women scribes that have not yet been identified. 

The researchers analyzed colophons — short mentions found in Medieval manuscripts that contained information about the scribes, commissioners, and when they were produced — written between the 800s and 1600s to identify women scribes in what they said might be one of the first such analyses.

“The study particularly highlights the significant contribution of female scribes in 15th-century literary culture and is a reminder that many of the manuscripts surviving today were products of female communities,” Åslaug Ommundsen, one of the study’s authors, told Hyperallergic in an email. 

Researchers examined 23,774 colophons from a Benedictine catalog and determined that of the estimated 110,000 manuscripts written by women during the Middle Ages, 8,000 must have survived. Women worked as scribes in both religious settings and “lay workshops,” according to prior research.

“While remarkable examples of Medieval manuscripts penned by women are well known from earlier research, this study provides statistical support for the often-overlooked contributions of female scribes over time,” Ommundsen said.

Woman scribes were identified as such through their colophons, some of which included feminine pronouns or more detailed biographical descriptions. One Latin manuscript analyzed by the researchers read, “I, Birgitta Sigfurs’s daughter, nun in the monastery Munkeliv at Bergen wrote this psalter with initials, although not as well as I ought. Pray for me, a sinner.” 

Another colophon analyzed in the study included a portrait of a woman, who appears to be a nun. The inclusion of illustrations of women among information colophon information most often suggests female authorship. 

“Our investigation provides evidence for a small, but steady contribution from female scribes throughout the Middle Ages,” the authors wrote. 

Some manuscripts listed more than one woman scribe and no collaborations with men.

While some women scribes identified themselves fully, researchers say others may have chosen to hide their gender, suggesting there could be even more of them. In instances where male-only licensed notaries recorded their names toward the end of the manuscript, women scribes may have written their names in the margins instead.