[MR] women warriors links (Aoife-Links Digest, Vol 8, Issue 2)

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In a message dated 5/4/2005 1:00:38 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
aoife-links-request at scatoday.net writes:

Subject:  [Aoife-Links] The Iron Rose: Women Warriors, Past and Present
To:  <aoife-links at scatoday.net>
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Greetings, my Faithful Readers!

This week's  Links List is about Women Warriors, those ladies who prefer 
their history  up close and bloody, who'd rather swing a sword than languish 
in the  castle. In short, it's about women who take their fate into their own 
 
hands. With the inclusion of  youth fighting taking off as well as it  has, 
I'm certain we can expect a whole new crop of Women Warriors, many of  a 
diminutive size. This Links List is dedicated to my own three daughters  aged 
10, 13 and 15, who've expressed the ardent desire to armor up, and  it's also 
dedicated to the young men who will meet them on the field of  honor shortly.

So, why do women do it? My own answer (I fought briefly,  until a 
non-fighting knee injury permanently side-lined me) was rank  curiosity and 
an "anything-you-can-do" attitude. And then once the armor  was on and my 
husband actually hit me in the helm, with my closed face  plate making me 
claustrophobic and the armor smelling like some other  non-bathing guy's 
sweat, I immediately thought "Hell no, I can't do this."  But then they 
pointed me at the other gentlemen in our group, and I  discovered something 
exceedingly cool. A man can look at a woman in many  ways, but he will NEVER 
look at a woman in quite the way he does if she is  wearing armor and 
attempting to beat him to a pulp. It's not sexual. It's  respectful. The 
light bulb went on over my head that day, I can tell you.  There is a certain 
level of respect and regard a woman can gain from men  in no other way than 
to pick up a weapon and engage in armored combat.  It's a look of honor, 
bravery, of fun on a different level, and of  possibilities.

Most of the women fighters I know are very careful of  their image. They 
don't give up girliness in order to pick up the sword.  By and large these 
are some of the most gracious and dignified, beautiful  and well-respected 
people in the SCA, and ones whom I am pleased to honor  with this Links List. 
There is a page specifically dedicated to Female  Knights and 
Masters-at-Arms.

As always, if you know this Links List  will be well received somewhere else, 
please forward it along. Please send  the entire list and give credit where 
it is  due.

Cheers!

Aoife

Dame Aoife Finn of Ynos Mon, CL,  CP
m/k/a Lisbeth Herr-Gelatt
Riverouge
Endless  Hills
Aethelmearc

Women as Warriors in  History
http://www.lothene.demon.co.uk/others/women.html
(Site Excerpt)  Throughout history war and fighting have been seen as men's 
activities,  however women have always been involved in battles and seiges, 
not to  mention duels, prizefights and so on.

Distinguished Women of Past and  Present
http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/
See espescially the section  on Warfare

Great Women Warriors in History, Myth, Legend, and Pop  Fiction
http://www.physics.uc.edu/~sitko/women.html#Artemisia
(Site  Excerpt) The 1990's saw a renewed interest in the concept of the 
female  warrior. From the controversy of women in combat roles in the US 
military  to the popularity of television shows like "Xena: Warrior 
Princess", the  concept of women in what has been usually considered a man's 
role is  receiving greater scrutiny than ever before. Ancient mythology has 
many  references to women in combat, and many researchers are suggesting that 
 
these may be more than just stories. In this respect the dividing line  
between what we might call "true" history and myth & legend is  becoming 
increasingly blurred.

GREAT AFRICAN  QUEENS
http://www.swagga.com/queen.htm#cand
This site lists several  Queens who were also Warriors.

Shagrat  al-Durr
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/heroine1.html
(Site Excerpt)  Women who were "powers behind the throne" are always 
fascinating. But  those who move out of the shadows to sit on the throne 
itself can be even  more so. Shagrat al-Durr took upon herself the title of 
Sultan and  regrouped the Egyptian army to take Damietta back from the 
Frankish  Crusaders.

Joan of  Arc
http://www.kings.edu/womens_history/joanarc.html
(Site Excerpt) Joan  of Arc, a village girl from the Vosges, was born about 
1412; burnt for  heresy, witchcraft, and sorcery in 1431; rehabilitated after 
a fashion in  1456; designated Venerable in 1904; declared Blessed in 1908; 
and finally  canonized in 1920. She is also one of the most notable Warrior 
Saints in  the Christian calendar.

Bellatrix Fighting School Appendix F:  Espescially for  Women
http://www.bellatrix.org/school/appendix_f.htm
(Site Excerpt)  There are certain techniques, which have been described in 
Appendix E, to  which women fighters, and any other fighter having power 
problems, should  pay particular attention. These are also techniques that 
can sometimes be  modified slightly to provide more power. Others are often 
performed  incorrectly. In some cases, I will mention a specific aspect of a  
technique that is of particular  importance.

H-Minerva
http://www.h-net.org/~minerva/
(Site  Excerpt) H-Minerva is the H-Net discussion network devoted to the 
study of  women and war, and women in the military, worldwide and in all 
historical  areas.

Lady Cecily's Rant About Gender Issues in SCA  Fencing
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/CLVaughn/fencing.htm

Five  Hurdles
by Duchess Elina of  Beckenham
http://www.themoorecollection.com/fivehurdles.html
(Site  Excerpt) Men and women think differently, we react differently, we 
have  been conditioned differently in a prejudiced world. How can we expect 
men  and women then to approach fighting the same with the same training and  
style?  I have found five hurdles that most women must overcome  before they 
are on the same playing field that the male counterpart is.  Because of the 
differences society has exposed us to, men, in general, do  not experience 
these hurdles and may have some difficulty in even seeing  them at all. For 
those gentlemen who wish to understand but do not have  the reference, look 
at the stunned faces of the women reading this and you  will see that it does 
make sense to her.

Sword  Maiden
http://www.swordmaiden.com/
(Site Excerpt) This web site is  mostly geared towards Female Heavy Weapon 
Tournament fighters (though we  do have a separate rapier section), but there 
are areas that would cross  over to any of the other areas of fighting in the 
SCA. We are not  intending to create a household or organization in the SCA, 
but to  hopefully share the knowledge found here with others.

Iron Rose Mailing  List
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HouseIronrose/

Lady Rapier  Mailing List
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ladyrapier/

Stefan's  Florilegium  f-fighters.msg
http://www.florilegium.org/files/COMBAT/f-fighters-msg.html
(A  series of internet messages about female fighters. Excerpt from ONE  
message) As a woman with "vast tracts of land" I have heard discussions  over
the years of what men think women should use for armor. The things I  have
heard for the past 15 years and interesting (and sometimes  frightening)
but the one I find most amusing is the rondel  idea....I
have always referred to this sort of armor as "cookie cutter  mail" because
of what could happen to the breast underneath that rounded  piece of metal
(shudder!!!!) ......I agree with the inadvisability of  "nipple shots" but I 
think there is a better way than mini bucklers  strapped to my chest!

Armor for  Women
http://www.geocities.com/lyanna96/warmor.html
(Site Excerpt) As  one of a growing number of serious female heavy weapons 
fighters in the  SCA, I am often asked to demonstrate that women can and do 
fight in armor  with the "big boys". Many times, a result of my exposure to 
the public is  the discussion (and sometimes outright argument) of the 
difference of men  fighting and women fighting. There are differences 
aplenty, but when it  comes right down to it, if a woman was attacking you, 
would you try to  tell her that she can't for whatever reason?

Ladies of the  Chivalry
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ladyknights/
(Site Excerpt)  Welcome to the Roll of of the Ladies of the Chivalry in the 
Society for  Creative Anachronism. The ladies honored here have all achieved 
the  highest rank as warriors in our Society, being recognized either as 
Knight  or, at their choice, by the title of Master-at-Arms, both titles 
being of  equal rank, equally members of the Belted Circle.

House Morrigan
An  Amtgard Household of Fighting  Women
http://www.nondescript.net/morrigan/
(Site Excerpt) House Morrigan  started when we realized there were a lot more 
men on the battlefield than  there were women, and a lot of women standing on 
the sidelines. Instead of  complaining about it, we decided to do something 
about it. While we  understand not all women in Amtgard want to fight, one of 
our goals is to  make it easier for those who do. We do this by giving new 
women fighters  personal attention and instruction, holding all-female 
women's fighter  practices, supporting women's tourneys and providing 
examples as women on  the field. We also stick together and support each 
other, and share  information and research of interest to women fighters.

If you wish to  correspond with Aoife directly, please send mail to: mtnlion 
at ptd dot  net