Centre MedioEvA: Uncovering the Gendered Middle Ages for Scholarship and Society

Founded in 2022, the Interuniversity International Centre MedioEvA (Siena–Rome– Tours) responds to the growing need for comparative and interdisciplinary research on women’s writing throughout the Middle Ages. Drawing on philological and literary methodologies, the Centre’s work redefines the cultural and intellectual landscape of the medieval millennium by recovering women’s authorial voices long excluded from the canon. Its initiatives include critical editions, translations, and digital projects, as well as international conferences and publications. These works establish the methodological foundations for a new gender-inclusive understanding of medieval textuality, revealing the extent of women’s contributions to every literary genre. MedioEvA’s research has identified more than three hundred Latin female authors, expanding six-fold the number known from previous scholarship. Beyond academia, the Centre pursues extensive public engagement through educational outreach in schools, public readings, and digital communication. It challenges the gender imbalance of the National Curriculum by introducing students to medieval women’s writings and by rethinking the canon through public engagement. Its commitment to accessibility and dissemination also informs projects in mass media, including a forthcoming graphic novel on Radegund of Poitiers, which merges scholarly rigour with creative storytelling. Through these multifaceted activities, MedioEvA bridges research and society, illuminating the centrality of women’s cultural agency in the Middle Ages and reshaping both scholarly and public perceptions of the period.