Bolton AES Lecture - Women Warriors
Speaker:
David Casserley - Silver School of Arms
15th April 2025
David has presented several times to the Bolton Archaeological Society on various themes, generally based on swords and historical martial arts. This month David took us through some of his collection of historical swords and linked each one to the story of a formidable woman warrior from the past. Some of the stories were familiar, like Boudica of the Iceni and Joan of Arc. Some were slightly less well known, such as Anglo Saxon Queen Aethflaed, eldest child of Alfred the Great, ruler of Mercia (after her husband died) and successful Viking-basher. Her younger brother Edward got most of the credit for what were largely her achievements as a war leader.
David took us out of Europe, with his tachi sword (an early type of katana, pre 15th C) and the story of Tomoe Gozen or Lady Tomoe (1157 to 1247). Apparently is was common in Japan for women, as well as men, to undergo military training. Lady Tomoe at one time led 300 samurai.
Being a sword master himself, David had to touch on the book, simply known as Royal Armouries Ms I-33. This is the oldest known surviving copy of a combat manual and the last few pages contain images of a woman fighting a man with arming sword and buckler. The book dates to around 1320 but the woman is thought to be Walpurga, an Anglo Saxon saint from the 9th C.
We heard many stories of impressive women warriors from history. Some showed incredible courage, some must have been quite scandalous in their time, some sounded like they quite enjoyed themselves. They were all impressive and their stories are worth looking up in more detail.Â
So, here are the warrior women that David told us about, along with one interesting fact and their associated sword:
Boudica (North Grinston Celtic sword)
Boudica’s successes against the Roman army very nearly convinced Nero to pull out of Britain altogether.
Mevia gladiatrix (the gladius)
In AD88 Domitian advertised Coloseum games, including women! (Mevia was perhaps more likely to fight animals with a spear, rather than gladius.)
Aethelflaed - The Lady of Mercia
Aethelflaed was from Wessex (Alfred’s daughter) but was a very successful and popular leader of Mercia. She captured Derby, East Anglia, Leicester and very nearly York, before she died. Her daughter took over as Lady of Mercia but was deposed by Uncle Edward (king of Wessex) which the Mercians were non-too-pleased about.
Lady Tomoe (Tachi sword from ~900 to 1590s)
Tomoe Gozen once collected seven heads, detached by herself, during one battle.
St Walpurga (arming sword and buckler)
Could that be the Anglo Saxon saint fighting a priest in the back pages of Manuscript I-33?
Joan of Arc (Bastard sword – typically carried on a pack, rather than as a sidearm)
After achieving several impressive victories against the English, was Joan eventually set-up and dropped by King Charles VII?
Grace O’Mally (Gallowglass Sword circa 1500)
Following a few scraps with the English back home in Ireland, Grace visited Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich and (successfully) petitioned for the release of her brother.
Kit Cavenaugh aka Christopher Walsh (mortuary or basket-hilted sword ~ 1625 to 1700)
A truly amazing story!
Kit cut her hair, joined the English Army and set off to fight in Holland to look for her husband who had disappeared. She found him, several battles and injuries, 11 years later.
Julie D’Aubigny (the small sword or dress sword ~1650 into the 1700s)
Julie (a fencing instructor and singer) kidnapped/rescued her girlfriend from a convent by burning part of it down to aid their escape.
She was sentenced to death but later pardoned by the King who thought she was too dazzling a character to kill!
Mary Read (the boarding cutlass for a pirate, of course!)
Mary was a pirate in the Rackham, Read and Bonny crew in the Caribbean. Following a quarrel on board ship, she went ashore and fought a duel on her lover’s behalf, as he wasn’t much of a swordsman, and won.
Krystyna Skarbek aka Christine Granville (the Fairburn-Sykes fighting knife – WWII)
This SOE operative, working on the continent, rescued her husband (and lots of other men) from the Gestapo in 1944 by bribing and threatening them (the Gestapo!
That must have taken courage beyond words and she was awarded the George Cross, the highest bravery award for a non-combatant, plus an OBE.
About the speaker
David Casserly is a local historian, author, and martial arts instructor based in Bolton. He has led the Silver School of Arms, a Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) group specializing in Renaissance swordplay, for over 20 years.
In addition to his writing, David Casserly contributes to historical education as a guest speaker and holds qualifications as an instructor under the British Federation of Historical Swordplay and the British Academy of Dramatic Combat and is a Fellow of the Anglo-Zulu War Historical Society.
David is passionate about the stories of these women warriors as well as the wider subject of historical martial arts. So, if you see him at one of the Silver Schools demonstrations in or around the Bolton area, do ask him to tell you more. We’ll also try and get him back to another Bolton Archaeology and Egyptology Society meeting in the near future.
