Legenda: The Real Women Behind the Myths That Shaped Europe

by Janina Ramírez

From the bestselling author of FEMINA, a brilliant reappraisal of the medieval women whose lives have been exploited over centuries for political, nation-building ends.

In LEGENDA, bestselling historian Professor Janina Ramirez peels back the layers of time to reveal how the lives of women have been co-opted by those intent on crafting national identities. Their names are well known, and summaries of their achievements have been recited in classrooms for decades, but medieval women like Joan of Arc, Lady Godiva and Isabella of Castile have been misrepresented, their stories twisted and weaponised. Meanwhile, ground-breaking 18th- and 19th-century women who blazed a trail through revolutionary Europe have been forgotten, their legacies too easily dismissed or ignored.

Questioning established narratives and searching for the real women behind the legends, Ramirez interrogates what defines a nation and who gets to build it, shining a light on how history is so often hijacked to serve the ideological and political interests of the present.

PRAISE FOR JANINA RAMIREZ:

'Ramirez blasts a powerful spotlight into the so-called Dark Ages and reveals a vibrant world, awash with colour and character' DAN SNOW, host of History Hit

'Skillfully brings out from the shadows the lives of women who ruled, fought, traded, created, and inspired' CAT JARMAN, author of River Kings

'Like the interlace stonework on an Anglo-Saxon cross, Janina Ramirez's themes are interwoven with a conssumate skill' TOM HOLLAND, author of Dominion and host of The Rest is History

'Ramirez makes us look into the mists of history in new, exciting and provocative ways' PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Feminism, Medieval, Audiobook, Womens

403 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 6, 2025

About the author

Janina Sara María Ramírez (née Maleczek; 7 July 1980), sometimes credited as Nina Ramírez, is a British art and cultural historian and TV presenter, based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. She specialises in interpreting symbols and examining works of art, within their own historical context.

Ramírez went to school in Slough. She gained a degree in English literature, specialising in Old and Middle English, from St Anne's College, Oxford, before completing her postgraduate studies at the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York. She completed an art/literature PhD on the symbolism of birds, which led to a lectureship in York's Art History Department, followed by lecturing posts at the University of Winchester, University of Warwick, and University of Oxford.

Ramírez is currently the course director on the Certificate in History of Art at Oxford University's Department for Continuing Education.

Reviews

[lucy is reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t know what to expect from this book when I first received it. While this book is, at its core, an uncovering of the myths that make certain legendary female characters, it’s also about how modern politics will co-op a historical figure to suit their narrative. It was really interesting how Ramirez dives into the idea of nation-states, which didn’t exist in the medieval period.

Throughout reading this book, I kept trying to find other books to read about the women written about in this book. While figure like Joan of Arc and Catherine of Siena have other biographies, I was disappointed to find out that 18th century figures like Laskarina Bouboulina haven’t been given the same attention. This captivating book does a great job of looking deeper into the history of the real women behind the myths, whilst also bringing more sidelined women into the forefront.

[Sembray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The follow-up to Femina is just as excellent, offering more insightful and revisionist examples of women from the medieval period and how they challenged gender norms during a turbulent period of history. This time Ramirez widens the scope to include the legacies of figures such as Joan of Arc and Catherine of Siena, considering how they have been remembered over the centuries and the parts their lives and legends have played in building modern European nations. In this age of historical appropriation and alternative facts, it's a joy to read an account which isn't afraid to push back against received wisdom, challenging stereotypes and excavating the fascinating lives of these women. All of this is delivered in Ramirez's usual accessible yet scholarly style, resulting in an informative, enjoyable and timely journey through some of history's remarkable forgotten women.

[Tilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting ideas and honestly, I’ve not read much about medieval women before so that was nice. Key learning is that lots of saints seem to be suffering from “holy anorexia”, by forgoing food in the service of god. So harrowing. And anther is that it’s quite intense to me that they still have Catherine of Siena’s head in a box which they pass around. I sort of get reliquaries that are cloths or even maybe a foreskin (in some ways removable…). But fingers and heads is a lot

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Explores the political uses of legendary women, both historically and today.

[Laura Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing about this I didn’t love. Would love to have heard the pitch to the publisher: “I want to write a book about nation building and myth-making by drawing parallels between medieval and 18th / 19th c women” - BUT IT ABSOLUTELY WORKS. She writes about medieval women with such empathy and never strays into passing judgement on their lives and stories.

[Heidi Malagisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

When we think of famous medieval European women, we often think of figures like Joan of Arc and Isabella of Castile. They are seen as women who broke the mold and challenged traditional stereotypes by becoming leaders in traditionally male-dominated fields. These women would be used to craft the identities of their respective nations, but they would help shape the identities of other women from the 18th and 19th centuries. We think we know the stories about these medieval women and their lives, but what new information can we learn from their lives when we examine their lives from their eras? Janina Ramirez takes the stories of seven medieval women and their contemporaries to show how their legacies have been transformed in her latest book, “Legenda: The Real Women Behind the Myths That Shaped Europe.”

This is the third book that I have read by Janina Ramirez, as I have read her book “Femina” and her biography on Julian of Norwich, which I loved. So when I saw that she was writing a new book about medieval women, I knew it was an instant buy for me.

While there have been centuries worth of amazing women from all over the world, Ramirez is focusing on seven countries/areas of interest: France, the Iberian Peninsula, Greece, the Low Countries, Germany, Italy, and Britain. In each chapter, Ramirez focuses on two women or groups of women, one from the medieval era and one from either the 18th or the 19th century. For the medieval period, she has selected: Joan of Arc, Isabella of Castile, Anna Komene, Marie of Oignies and the Beguines, Empress Adelaide of Bavaria, Catherine of Siena, and Lady Godiva. For the more modern women, Ramirez focuses on Charlotte Corday, Agustina Raimunda Maria Saragossa, Laskarina Bouboulina, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Lola Montez, Anna ‘Nina’ Morisi, and Queen Victoria.

What is truly inspiring about this book is seeing these stories removed from the glossy veneer used to promote nationalism, to show that these women were real and they made a difference by being themselves. We get to see warriors, writers, queens, empresses, revolutionaries, and religious women. However, we also get to see them as daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers. These women did not live in a vacuum. They lived and were more than just symbols for their nations. They fought in their own ways for what they believed was right, whether it was to protect their families or their nations, or following the path set forward by their faith. These women were real, and they were not myths; they were human.

This is another sensational book by Ramirez. While I did know a few of the medieval women featured in this book, I knew nothing about the 18th and 19th-century women, which was thrilling to see how Ramirez weaved these tales together. I loved this book so much, and I am excited to see what she will write next. If you love medieval women’s history and learning more about their legacies, I highly recommend you read “Legenda: The Real Women Behind the Myths That Shaped Europe” by Janina Ramirez.

[Jill Rattray · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so sick of historians erasing Scottish and Welsh history and trying to claim only English history is British history

[Georgia Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Femina. But LOVED this.

[Phoebe Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️