Happy 700th to the Declaration of Arbroath, #Arbroath700 . It was a male concern but for #MondayMotivaton here's a THREAD of cracking 14th century lasses 👇1st, resistance leader, Christina Bruce (yes that Bruce) who held Kildrummy Castle in 1333. Pretty formidable quine. /1 
Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan, helped crown the Bruce in 1306. She was caged at Berwick for her affiliation with the Bruce cause - this means she was imprisoned in a cage hung off the side of a castle. In the open air. Say, what? I know, the middle ages were fierce. /2
This lass is Marjory Bruce who wd have become Queen of Scotland on the Bruce's death had she not died falling from a horse while pregnant. Her child was saved & became Robert II. Ill-fated, she was also caged at the Tower of London for a while and held prisoner in a nunnery. /3
Women didn't have to be royal to count in the medieval tho status was important. Still, Ragnhild Simunsdatter stood up to power in a land dispute on Papa Stour in 1299. Backbone of steel, she prompted an enquiry into the duke's land representative. Gotta love an island quine. /4
14th century Scotland also sees women in public office. Our 1st female tax collector in Dundee - Marjory de Schireham - held the role from 1327 - 33. This is a rare surviving example of a capable woman getting on who wasn't a nun or high royalty tho her name is pretty posh. /5
But status definitely trumps gender in this era. Agnes Randolph Countess of Moray held Dunbar Castle against the next wave of English invasion in 1338. Or as the invaders put it:
'That brawling, boisterous, Scottish wench;
Came I early, came I late.
I found Agnes at the gate'
/6
'That brawling, boisterous, Scottish wench;
Came I early, came I late.
I found Agnes at the gate'
/6
Posh women took an interest in social care at this time - all these women did. Marjory - Robert II's Ma (see above) founded a leper colony and also built a very early bridge over the Clyde (now gone). She donated money to Paisley Abbey too. /7
Women were the lifeblood (literally) of the Irish/Scots marriage trade, cementing links between the two countries by family ties. The 14th century map was read east to west quite as much as north to south, which made sense cos travel was easiest by water, not by land. /8
So I was glad to see a couple of female images on the new tapestry that commemorates the declaration. @lesleyriddoch (a fearsome quine herself) made this great documentary about why today is important 👉 vimeo.com/401599947?fbcl… Well worth a watch if you want to know more. /9
I wrote a book that includes many cracking medieval ladies as well as other amazing foremothers (of which we are not short). Walk this way 👉amazon.co.uk/Where-Are-Wome… Pls feel free to add more 14th century female firecrackers below and tx for following. Here's to #arbroath700. /10
