HistoryExtra podcast The real women behind Europe's greatest legends
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Feb 25, 2026 Janina Ramirez, an Oxford art history researcher, author and broadcaster specializing in medieval legends. She explores how women like Joan of Arc and Isabella of Castile were reshaped into national symbols. Short takes cover nation-building, feminine personifications like Britannia, surprising material evidence of female power, and the modern political reuse of historical imagery.
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Nation Building Repackages Historical Women
- National icons are constructed and repurposed across centuries rather than organically born.
- Janina Ramirez shows Joan of Arc and Isabella of Castile were reworked into political symbols used by modern parties and regional identities.
Medieval Figures Still Drive Modern Politics
- Historical figures like Joan of Arc and Isabella still shape contemporary politics and regional identity debates.
- Ramirez cites Jean-Marie Le Pen renaming a party after Joan and Spain's Castilian centrality tied back to Isabella of Castile.
Nation Personified As Woman While Women Are Excluded
- Nations commonly personify themselves as women to bind citizens emotionally while excluding real women from power.
- Ramirez highlights Britannia and Marianne as maternal yet martial symbols used to demand sacrifice for the nation.
