This free event will take place in the British Library Knowledge Centre Pigott Theatre. It will be simultaneously live streamed on the British Library platform. Tickets may be booked either to attend in person (physical) or to watch on our platform (online) either live or within 48 hours on catch up. Viewing links for the online version will be sent out in the confirmation email you receive after booking.

What does it take to bring the real lives of medieval women into focus? How can artefacts and archives be connected into a wider narrative? What are the ambitions and the challenges of the curatorial role? Join the creators of the British Library’s flagship new exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words to get behind the scenes and find out! The curators Eleanor Jackson and Julian Harrison will be in conversation with Helen Castor.

This event accompanies the British Library exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words (25 October – 2 March 2025)

Doors open at 12:30. Please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event.

The Curators’ Lunchtime Lecture is free to attend but booking is required.

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Eleanor Jackson is Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts at the British Library and lead curator of the exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words. She previously curated the exhibition Gold: Spectacular Manuscripts from Around the World (2022) and her publications include The Lindisfarne Gospels: Art, History and Inspiration (2022).

Julian Harrison is Lead Curator of Medieval Historical and Literary Manuscripts at the British Library, and co-curator of Medieval Women: In Their Own Words. He previously curated the exhibitions Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy (2015), Our Shakespeare (Library of Birmingham, 2016) and Harry Potter: A History of Magic (2017).

Helen Castor is a medieval and Tudor historian. Her books include the prize-winning Blood & Roses (Faber & Faber, 2004), She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England before Elizabeth, and Joan of Arc (Faber, 2010 and 2014). Her new book, The Eagle and the Hart (2024), tells the story of the tumultuous reigns of Richard II and Henry IV. She is on the advisory board for the exhibition.

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