Was This Mysterious Woman a Medieval Warrior?

Researchers in Spain have discovered the remains of a woman who they believe was slain in battle alongside male warrior monks.

The scholars’ analysis, published in the journal Scientific Reports last month, examined the remains of 25 individuals who were buried at the Zorita de los Canes castle in Guadalajara between the 12th and 15th centuries. All but two of the skeletons showed evidence of puncture wounds and blunt force trauma—telltale signs of death in battle.

“[This] is the first time, including in the Near East, that warrior monks have been so clearly identified,” lead author Patxi Pérez Ramallo, an archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Germany, tells Newsweek’s Aristos Georgiou. “This group of warrior monks represents a pioneering study in terms of both their numbers and their identification.”

According to a statement, study co-author Carme Rissech, an anthropologist at the University of Rovira i Virgili in Spain, discovered that one of the skeletons had different bone proportions in the face and pelvis, indicating the remains belonged to a woman.

The identity, status and role of this woman are still in question. The male skeletons unearthed at the castle likely belonged to the Order of Calatrava, a Christian military group established in 1158 to defend the fortress of Calatrava against the Moors, or Muslims, who dominated the Iberian Peninsula between the early eighth century and 1492.

As Tony Perrottet wrote for Smithsonian magazine in 2023, this period of European history began “when the armies of the Umayyad Caliphate crossed by sea from North Africa into southern Spain, which was then ruled by Christian Visigoths. The Umayyads soon conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula, which became known in the Islamic world as al-Andalus.”

The researchers speculate that the warriors might have been killed during the Battle of Alarcos in 1195 or the Battle of Navas de Tolosa in 1212. Both were significant clashes between Christians and Muslims, who fought over the territory that the castle of Zorita de los Canes anchored.

Rissech’s discovery could cast doubt on the idea that the order was exclusive to men. This woman almost certainly fought—and died—alongside the male warrior monks. Her bones show no signs of regrowth or healing around her injuries.

Una recerca liderada per la #URV i l’Institut Max Planck ha estudiat les restes de 25 individus enterrats entre els segles XII i XV a Guadalajara. Les restes òssies han permès determinar l’alimentació, l’estil de vida i les causes de la mort dels monjos guerrers membres de… pic.twitter.com/JDQGMQAJUr

— Universitat Rovira i Virgili (@universitatURV) May 29, 2024

One hypothesis suggests this mystery woman was a servant called to arms out of desperation to defend the castle against the order’s Muslim opponents. Evidence of lower protein consumption than her male counterparts supports the claim that she was from a lower social class.

But Rissech refutes this theory. The skeleton’ bones and joints do not reflect the wear typically associated with years of menial work and drudgery, and the difference in diet might simply reflect gender discrepancies in medieval Guadalajara.

“I believe that these remains belong to a female warrior,” says Rissech in the statement, though she cautions that further research is necessary to determine the woman’s links to her male counterparts.

Per the statement, “We should picture her as a warrior of about 40 years of age, just under five feet tall, neither stocky nor slender and skillful with a sword.”

Eli Wizevich | | READ MORE

Eli Wizevich is a history correspondent for Smithsonian. He studied history at the University of Chicago and previously wrote for the El Paso Times.