Duchess Edith of Gloucester of Kingdom of Albion

A concept sketch for the English Woman Warrior as part of the Historically Wrong Sketch Series: Medieval Revisited which aims to portray Women Warriors of various cultures in a fictitious historical settings based on AD 800s - AD 1400s era of warfare. She represents the English faction which corresponds to the anachronistic 15th century Kingdom of England, a timeline beyond that of Norman and Anglo-Saxon era.

So far, the portrayal of the Women Warriors in the Historically Wrong Sketch Series associated with the British Isles consists of the Anglo-Saxons, the Celts, the Normans and the Viking invaders. While it is much to my joy to relive the time of the Anglo-Saxons till the Norman Invasion, much of the latter history of the medieval period were painted by The emergence of English people and the ambitious Kingdom of England. One of its famous episode would be the 100 years war, which started as a succession crisis in the Kingdom of France on which, England put forward its claim on the throne. Major battles like Agincourt, as well as the rise of famous people like Joan of Arc (the epitome of woman warrior clad in steel) took place in this century long war. So i thought, maybe it would be a good Idea to include the English into the series.

Also, this allows me to get my hands on practicing how to draw plate armor, since it's the least depicted in the series. Out of all the 40+ women warriors drawn, there's less than 8 (i think) women warriors drawn in plate armor.

In this drawing, the lady depicted is Duchess Edith of Gloucester, a noble lady with mixed heritage of Welsh, Anglo-Saxon and Norman ancestry. Being the only daughter of the late Duke, she succeeded her father in ruling the realm. As for her armor, It's a stylized English Plate Armor...or something close, which was common amongst the English nobility in the late 15th century. She is also equipped with a longsword and a can-opener...I mean, poleaxes that were also commonly used by the knights of late medieval period as far as I have read. The man next to her is depicted in simple plate armor with a few german gothic design, visible from the Sallet he is holding. Given how expensive the armor cost at that time, he would either be her Marshal, a fellow noble or man-at-arms/mercenaries hailing from mainland Europe.

The scene depicts the aftermath of a siege of an unknown castle. It could be that she took part in some kind of military campaign against neighboring or overseas kingdoms. The more plausible explanations however, would be the subjugation of her rebellious vassals, since having women to hold powerful position may not sound well with some conservative nobles. Also, being an unmarried noble lady in such a high position and ruling on her right can seriously attract some other power hungry nobles looking to gain her land, either through diplomacy or sword.

Inspired by the works of RyanRyzzo , Schweinebeine , CapturedJoe , RoranHawkins Thinkerman as well as FritzVicari for their excellent and informative portrayal of knights and plate armor of the era

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Move along, nothing to see here. The Historical Commentary is still under construction

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May compete with the following women warriors:

Carrefour

Irn-Bru, Tayto and Iceland

IKEA & Friends

ALDI


A Part of the Historically Wrong Sketch Series: Medieval Revisited - You can find more on the various faction on the map here: