Three Forgotten Women and Their Historical Legacies

Abstract

This study will explore the roles, perspectives and experiences of three women. These women are Empress Irene, who lived in eighth century Byzantine Empire during the Iconoclastic Controversy, Denmark’s Leonora Christina, a seventeenth century Danish princess who was imprisoned for a large part of her life due to her husband's political misdeeds, and Katherine Harrison, an accused witch in the seventeenth century Connecticut. Their unique cultural and social settings shaped and informed the narrative of their lives. Each suffered from some form of persecution, which was often harsh and took many forms from isolation to imprisonment and even death, and yet their legacies have been largely forgotten. Women have played significant roles in history, but their contributions have often been ignored or downplayed. By analyzing the experiences of these three women, along with the political and cultural contexts of their lives, we can gain new insights into the complex contributions and legacies of women in history