Medieval men associated women with the flesh as opposed to the spirit, with emotion as opposed to intellect. Women were supposedly inferior to men—in many men’s eyes, at least. These prejudices determined how female anatomy and physiology were understood, what women could or could not do in the Church, and what commercial and artistic opportunities were open for women. Despite women’s inferior social position, they were more likely than men to be considered saints. Saints’ lives tell of holy women who uttered severe reproofs against men in positions of power; the women were typically tortured or killed, and only later translated into sainthood. During their lifetimes, saints could look a lot like heretics and witches, who also rejected masculine authority and ended their lives at the stake. Clearly, contests for power played out across women’s bodies, and many women sacrificed their lives to their beliefs. Despite the disadvantages stacked against them, however, women also developed their own compelling traditions of medicine, literature, and religion. This course studies women’s substantial contributions to medieval English culture, whether as heretics, saints, midwives, witches, or writers.