Beatrijs

Beatrice’s tale in a nutshell? A medieval nun leaves the convent to be with her childhood sweetheart. But as soon as the money runs out, he abandons her and their children. Beatrice, ex-nun, turns to sex work to support her children. But in the end, she decides to give up her children and return to the convent.  

The early medieval period is often described as the “dark ages”, dominated by men and where women did not play significant roles. But the women of that time were far more emancipated than we think. Beatrice is the perfect figure to finally put an end to this one-sided view of history. This woman was a nun, a mother and a sex worker. Lola Bogaert, Sara Heck and Yinka Kuitenbrouwer get to the bottom of this wafer-thin story and bring to light its true complexity. 

Theme

The medieval period is often described as a dark time in which men dominated society. Women hardly seemed to be there. But when you look at the reality, women were far more emancipated back then than we think. Take Beatrice. A woman who was a nun, a mother and a prostitute; an enterprising woman who makes her own decisions regardless of men or God. This show puts an end to the usual, one-sided view of history. Three women provide side notes to Beatrice’s story, illuminate certain aspects and eliminate others, without apology. They remake Beatrice from an emancipated standpoint and share their refreshing views on women and gender.  

Beatrice is very interesting from a literary and historical perspective. Literary because this is the first work of Middle Dutch that gives a woman the leading role. Furthermore, this woman has a will of her own and does not let herself be manipulated by God or the Devil. She makes her own decisions. Historical because this tale was distributed all over the world. There are no less than 54 medieval versions of Beatrice’s tale, in languages ranging from Arabic to Old Norse. And that does not even account for the 147 later adaptations that were published.