Of the 25 skeletons studied, 23 showed signs consistent with a violent death. By studying the proportions of the bones, she realized that among the warriors was a woman
A study conducted by the University of Robira e Virgili and the Max Planck Institute revealed the diet, lifestyle and causes of death of medieval knights monastics.
A joint study, conducted by the University of Robira y Virgili (URV) and the Max Planck Institute, analyzed the remains of 25 people buried between the 12th and 15th centuries in the Zorita de los Canes Castle in Guadalajara. The team excavated the remains from the castle's cemetery, which allowed them to determine the diet, lifestyle and causes of death of the warrior monks who belonged to the Order of Calatrava.
The results, published in the journal Scientific Reports, determined that 23 of the people died in battle and that the knights were fed a diet typical of medieval high society, with significant consumption of animal protein and sea fish, in an area far from the coast. Unexpectedly, Karma Risk, a researcher at the URV, identified the remains of a woman among the fighting monks.
The castle is located in one of the bends of the Tagus River as it flows through the province of Guadalajara in central Spain, and the remains of the Zorita de los Canes Castle still stand on the same hill where Emir Muhammad I of Córdoba ordered its construction in 852. The citadel, built to protect the emirates from Christian attacks, changed hands twice Until it was finally occupied by the Knights Templar in 1124. Fifty years later, Alfonso VIII of Castile transferred the citadel to the Order of Calatrava, a Cistercian religious military order, who were charged with protecting the border, which at that time was defined by the Tagus River, from Almohad attacks.
Insights from a project MONBONES
Karma Risk, a researcher in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences at the URV, says that when she was told that the researchers were sending her the remains of the Knights of Calatrava she could not believe that they were really knights. As part of the MONBONES project, which investigates the diet and lifestyle in monasteries during the Middle Ages, its project partners analyzed the presence of carbon 14 and nitrogen 15 isotopes in the bones of the 25 people. They also studied animal remains found around the castle, which filled in the missing information filled in by isotopes and helped them understand the habits of the people who lived in the castle between the 12th and 15th centuries. Once the remains arrived at the lab, Risek studied them to determine the age, sex, morphology, and health of the individuals and perform analyzes of their lifestyles and causes of death.
Of the 25 skeletons studied, 23 showed signs consistent with a violent death. These were mainly stab wounds and blunt injuries and were found on the parts of the body that were most vulnerable and not protected by the weapons of the time. "We saw a lot of injuries on the top of the skull, on the cheeks and on the inside of the pelvis, which corresponds to the assumption that we are dealing with fighters," explains Risk. By studying the proportions of the bones, she realized that among the warriors was a woman.
Generally, male and female skeletons have specific characteristics that distinguish them. "The structure of the facial bones and the pelvis are the most obvious examples," explains Risk. In some individuals, these characteristics may not be decisive in determining the species, but in the case of these remains, there was no room for error. Who was this woman? Was she part of the order? Did she have the same status as the other knights?
A debate about the role of the warrior
On the one hand, the woman's injuries led the research team to believe that she had participated and died in battle, as there was no sign of bone regrowth in her injuries. "She may have died in a very similar manner to the male knights, and it is likely that she was wearing some type of armor or chain mail," says Risk.
The cemetery of the Order of Calatrava in Guadalajara
On the other hand, she did not have the same nutritional indicators as some of the people tested: "We saw a lower level of protein consumption in the case of this woman, which may indicate a lower status in the social group," she says. Some researchers assumed that she was a servant who would have been called to defend the castle if needed, but the researcher from the URV does not think so: "Her work as a servant would have left marks on her bones, marks of a certain physical activity that we could recognize now."
In contrast, Shelda showed characteristics similar to those of the other warrior monks, whose duties required them to train in the use of a sword, an activity that leaves verifiable marks that were also observed on the woman's bones. "I believe these remains belong to a female warrior, but further analysis is needed to determine how contemporary this woman was with the other knights," says Risk. According to the researcher, we should imagine her as a forty-year-old warrior, about 1.5 meters tall, neither robust nor thin, and skilled in the use of a sword.
The study also included researchers from the University of Barcelona and the archaeologists who led the excavations. It is part of the MONBONES project, which takes a multidisciplinary approach including zooarchaeology, anthropology, documentary research and molecular analysis to offer a new historical perspective on lifestyle, diet, health, economy and society in monasteries from the 14th to the 19th century.
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