Margaret Wade Labarge (1916–2009) was a Canadian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

specializing in the role of women in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. She was adjunct professor of history at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...

. Labarge attended Harvard and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

universities, and taught at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

before her move to Carleton. In 1982, she was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. In 1988, she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. She authored nine books about history.

Early life and family

Margaret Wade was born on July 18, 1916, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and grew up on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

. Her father, Alfred B. Wade, was a partner in a brokerage firm and her mother, Cecilia Helen Mein Wade, was an alumnus of Sacred Heart. Her parents had expectations of her that were no less than those for her three older brothers: Monroe became and actor and drama teacher in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

; Hugh became head of the

Canadian Studies Canadian studies is an interdisciplinary field of undergraduate- and postgraduate-level study of Canadian culture and society, the languages of Canada, Canadian literature, media and communications, Quebec, Acadians, agriculture in Canada, natu ...

department at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

and writer of ''The French Canadians'', a history of the economy of

French Canada French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...

; Philip was a World War II soldier who earned a medal of honour from France.Fitterman, Lisa (September 8, 2009).
Ottawa author was fascinated with medieval women: Margaret Wade Labarge was named to the Order of Canada for bringing history to life and volunteering on behalf of nurses and the aged
, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', p. S8. Retrieved on 2009-09-09. The family moved from New York to

New Canaan New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bounde ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, after a physician made a recommendation for country living to help ten-year-old Wade's vision problems. She was also told not to read at all for a year, but she snuck books into trees she climbed and under her covers at night. She later attended a Sacred Heart boarding school in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, Connecticut.

Education

She studied at Radcliffe College, then went on to graduate studies at St Anne's College of Oxford University. She considered English literature as a focus, but settled upon

medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

; her supervisor was Frederick Maurice Powicke. She wrote her thesis about

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...

Career and later personal life

She married a Canadian she had met at Oxford, Raymond Labarge, who was there studying law. They moved to Canada, and she spent most of her later years in Ottawa, where the couple had two daughters and two sons. She became a patriotic Canadian, and renounced her US citizenship. She wrote nine books about history, mostly focusing on the lives of women in medieval times. Her husband was named deputy minister of customs and excise in the National Revenue Ministry; he died when she was 55. She wrote and lectured at Ottawa universities, while also expanding her volunteer work; she was named to the

in 1982, with mention of her historical writing and her volunteer work with nurses and with the elderly. She became the first president of the Canadian Society of Medievalists in 1993. She is best known her various books: ''A Baronial Household of the Thirteenth Century'' is about

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

, wife of Simon de Montfort, detailing the time while her husband was away at war; and ''Medieval Travellers: The Rich and the Restless'' is about Mary, daughter of

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

, a peripatetic nun. Her most significant monograph was ''A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life,'' published in 1986. This was the first monograph devoted to the study of medieval women and it had a tremendous influence both popularly and in university classrooms. She died on August 31, 2009.

Selected works

* (1965) ''A Baronial Household of the Thirteenth Century'' * (1968) ''Saint Louis: The Life of Louis IX of France'', London. * (1980) ''Gascony, England's First Colony 1204–1453''. London: Hamish Hamilton * (1982) ''Medieval Travellers: The Rich and the Restless'', London: Hamish Hamilton * (1986) ''A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life'', London: Hamish Hamilton, * ''Simon de Montfort'' * ''Henry V''

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Labarge, Margaret Wade 1916 births 2009 deaths Radcliffe College alumni Carleton University faculty Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Canadian medievalists Women medievalists Members of the Order of Canada Former United States citizens People from the Upper East Side 20th-century Canadian historians Canadian women historians 21st-century Canadian historians 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers American emigrants to Canada