Crusade dressed and riding astride like a man. Although her behavior was
doubtless chic (Eleanor never actually entered battle with the Muslims), her
disregard for propriety caused the pope to forbid women from joining the
Third Crusade of 1189. Like most laws, the ban was widely ignored by the
working classes.
1184 Minamoto soldiers kill a Taira general named Yoshinaka and his
wife. Subsequent Japanese accounts portray the woman, Tomoe Gozen, as
a mighty warrior.668 Women in the Martial Arts
A depiction of the
mighty female
warrior Tomoe
Gozen from 100
Heroes Storyby
Japanese author
Kuu’yoshi. (Tokyo
Central Library)