Jadwiga: Europe’s Female King at the Frontline of History

About the event

Join Professor Janina Ramirez to learn about the life, love and reign of the 14th-century Polish royal Jadwiga – one of only two female kings in Europe.

This event is organised in collaboration between the Bodleian Libraries, the Centre for Democracy and Peace and the Polish Cultural Institute in London, to mark the inauguration of a Visiting Fellowship in Polish Studies at the Bodleian Libraries Special Collections.

Speaker

Professor Janina Ramirez is a lecturer, researcher, author and broadcaster. She is Research Fellow in History of Art at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, and Visiting Professor in Medieval Studies at the University of Lincoln. Her most recent book, Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages Through the Women Written out of it, was an instant Sunday Times number one best-seller, Waterstones Book of the Month and Book of the Year.

Janina is also an award-winning documentary-maker, with 15 years of writing and presenting for the BBC, Sky Arts and Arte. Her films include 'The Search for the Lost Manuscript', 'Britain's Millennium of Monasteries', and 'Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War'. Her repeating series 'Raiders of the Lost Past' has included episodes on the Olmec Heads of Mexico, the Lion Man of Germany, and Tutankhamun in Egypt. She is a regular contributor to radio, having developed the series 'Decoding the Masterworks' and presenting for Front Row.

Janina has taught at York, Warwick and Winchester Universities, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Oxford University. She has published extensively, including monographs on The Private Lives of Saints, Julian of Norwich and Beowulf. She has also written a series of children's novels and non-fiction, including Goddesses in collaboration with the British Museum. Her forthcoming book, Legenda: A New History of Nation Building Through the Women at the Heart of It, is due for release in July 2025 with Penguin-Random House.

Janina is a patron of many organisations, including NSEAD, the Stained Glass Society and Oxford Festival of the Arts, and an ambassador for the Centre for Peace Keeping and Democracy. She is Lifetime President of Gloucester History Festival, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society for the Arts.

Tickets and booking information

This talk takes place in person at the Weston Library. Tickets are free, but booking is essential. Once you have booked your place, the ticketing system will send you an automated confirmation.