Femalie Voices in the Three Cultures:
Spanish Christians
Jews and Muslims in the Middle Ages

Before written chronicles existed, history was passed on orally, history by word of mouth or history through song. These sources are essential for our knowledge of the past. There are feelings, emotions and attitudes that can be understood better, and recovered better, through non-written sources, through songs and images of the past. Music, painting and miniatures, are more than just an artistic expression, they are a way of telling us something, as well as moving us with their beauty. Those who sang women’s songs and painted their images understood the power of women’s language.

When we look at the miniatures or listen to the songs medieval women sang we should immerse ourselves in the time when they were created. However many times we look or listen, we will always see and hear something new and different. The work of Gothic artists included their own real world, the world that surrounded them, representing the daily life of their characters.

This selection of songs, sung by female vocalists, explores the value of expressive qualities, helping us to participate in the history of the medieval woman. The effort made will help us to understand a portion of our own history. We present a balanced selection of songs, alternating between the Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures in Medieval Spain.

A woman’s condition in medieval times was a balance between two typical concepts; the image given by the troubadours of the earthly goddess, and in contrast the image conveyed by religious moralists, of the perverse woman who incites man to lust. In contrast to these stereotypes, these songs show the real woman, dedicated to her daily tasks, surrounded by a domestic atmosphere, immersed in her chores or in the case of noble ladies, in her leisure. Music for women was a pastime. Noble ladies sang for their own entertainment with women instrumentalists. In this way, they could liven up their tedious and slow embroidery and really enjoy their parties and dancing. Eduardo Paniagua