The Emasculating Distaff

An entire genre of medieval miniatures show women in combat with men, tournament style, but instead of a lance, they bear a distaff as their weapon.

woman tilting at man with distaff

Here she rides at an armored but unarmed man, distaff lowered like a lance, spindle flying.



woman and man jousting with distaff

In this French MS. Li Queste del S. Graal (MS5218-f10) both the woman and her male opponent are jousting with distaffs and riding on rams. Many Grail lays depict a battle of the sexes in tournament style. Dated to 1381.

 

woman jousting with man

In this lai of Lancelot, a nun is jousting with a friar and has broken his lance.
No distaff in this one. Beinecke MS 229-100v

woman magically attacking man with distaff

A witch (note serpentine lower body) is shown as causing a man to castrate himself with her distaff sorcery. Lancelot Cycle, France, ca 1300, Bodleian MS. Douce 215fol1r. This image is discussed on p. 145-6 of Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion.

 

apes in combat with distaff and churn

Here the battle of the sexes is played out by apes, the female astride a bear and wielding a churn dasher, and the male on a pig with the distaff. From a 15th century copy of Froissart's Chroniques, Bibliothèque Nationale de France (bnf-francais 2644f85r).

wild woman and man fight

German picture of a wild woman with distaff jousting a wild man with rake.
His mount is a unicorn, hers is a doe.

Next: "World Upside Down" (Women in control)

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