Women in Medieval Lyrics

Holy Women: Medieval Lyrics

            Ever since the story of First Sin from the Bible when Eve made a decision leading humanity to sin, women have been depicted by men in the medieval time period as deceitful and tempting. This unfair portrayal of women is not uncommon and it is no surprise that misogynistic views are displayed all throughout history. However, in Notker Balbulus’ “A Hymn to Holy Women,” the reader is taken back to the story of First Sin and women are surprisingly redeemed by Balbulus, despite Eve’s infamous “mistake.”

The lyric begins with a ladder leading to heaven, connecting humanity to God, however the journey to get there is not so simple. The ladder is “circled by torments” with a dragon and the devil at the bottom “threatening death,” which symbolize the difficulties mankind can face when trying to lead a life of Christ (Balbulus 319). Balbulus goes on to explain that despite the serpent’s deception to Eve in the Garden of Eden, “Eve’s race” is the one to bring redemption to man through the Virgin Mary, who “brought forth God incarnate” (Balbulus 320). Now instead of being at fault for the downfall of man, women are redeemed and “defeating” the devil by “bearing sons” to do God’s work against him (Balbulus 320). The message that Balbulus leaves in the hymn is: God is forgiving to everyone and even after a crime, through God’s strength, even the fallen can rise.  

One of the things I admired the most about Balbulus’ hymn was the sympathy he illustrated toward women. This is rarely seen by men from this time period because women were often shown very little respect and did not have many rights. Balbulus not only showed sympathy towards women through Eve, but also empowered them through the Virgin Mary by giving women credit for doing God’s work. Ultimately, I thought “A Hymn to Holy Women” was beautifully written and it was nice to read something positive about women that did not involve sexual innuendo.