SOUND THE TRUMPET !

(But not for John Knox)

The Monstrous Regiment

In 1558 John Knox (1514-1572)  wrote a pamphlet denouncing gynarchy. ‘The First Blast of the Trumpet’, was a tirade against what he called ‘The Monstrous Regiment of Women’. A firebrand Protestant leader of the Scottish Reformation, he managed to offend a number of powerful women by writing such things as:

To promote a woman to bear rule, superiority, dominion, or empire above any realm, nation, or city, is repugnant to nature; contumely to God, a thing most contrary to his revealed will and approved ordinance; and finally, it is the subversion of good order, of all equity and justice.

Several royal women took exception to his ranting. They included:

• Mary 1 of England, also known as Bloody Mary and well known for her vicious methods of persecuting Protestants
• Mary of Guise, Regent of Scotland and mother of Mary Queen of Scots, who ridiculed him.
• Mary Queen of Scots herself, who, although she ‘feared’ Knox’s prayers, really upset him when she began to gather eminent scholars to refute him.
• Elizabeth 1 of England who was so incensed by his comments that she refused to allow him a passport into England.

Gynarchy’ What on earth is that?

It’s not a word in common usage, but think about the ‘archy’ in patriarchy, anarchy, oligarchy and the like, then ponder the ‘gyn’ in gynaecology and misogyny. It only then takes a small step to deduce that gynarchy is government by women or a woman. In fact, when you delve a little more deeply, you find that there are quite a few ‘gyn’ words. Gyneolatry is the worship of women and a gynoecious plant is one that has female flowers only. And as for gynepogon, well, look that one up for yourself.

Female led countries.

So here we are, more than 500 years after Knox was born. But there is little sign of reaching gender parity in the leadership and governance of countries. The United Nations has 193 member states and currently only 12 have female leaders, down from 17 in 2022. Only 59 members have EVER had a female leader. At this rate it will take 130 years, according to UN Women, to reach gender parity at the highest levels of office. And in 2023 several female leaders including Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, Natalia Gavrilita of Moldova and Sanna Marin of Finland have, for various reasons, stepped down from office, to be replaced by men. Closer to home, Scotland (not a UN member), also saw Nicola Sturgeon resign.

There have been some suggestions that growing militarisation in the world may potentially have an impact on the choice of leaders, with men stereotypically being seen as more suited to defence and security while women are seen to be more effective in healthcare and education.

But there are countries where governance by women is not remotely an option. We live in a world that still allows millions of women to be treated with the same contempt and fanaticism that John Knox demonstrated. Just pause for a moment and imagine what it feels like to be this young Afghan woman who is denied education or liberty in a country where gynarchy is unthinkable.

“We all live like prisoners, we feel that we are caught in a cage,” said Hafiza, 22, who goes only by her first name and who used to be a first-year law student before the Taliban banned women from attending classes at her university. “The worst situation is when your dreams are shattered, and you are punished for being a woman.”

‘Turning the tables. ‘Monstrous Regiment’ as a badge of honour.

It’s ironic really that John Knox was able to compose such a memorable phrase, one that has lent itself to ridicule and subversion. It has frequently been used in film, theatre and literature to undermine and satirise his ideas. Here are a few examples:

• Regiment of Women (1917), is a novel by Winifred Ashton (using the pseudonym Clemence Dane). Its exploration of relationships in a school setting, with an underlying lesbian theme, raised a few eyebrows at the time.
• Between 1975 and 1993, Monstrous Regiment, a feminist performance collective created over thirty shows. Their website, https://monstrousregiment.co.uk/ is a celebratory archive of their work. 
• Terry Pratchett wrote ‘Monstrous Regiment’ in 1993 about a country where religion centres around the Abominations, which has a huge list of bans, including cats, garlic, jigsaw puzzles, the colour blue and shirts with six buttons.
• Laurie R King is an American writer who studied comparative religion and theology. Her novel ‘A Monstrous Regiment of Women’ (2014) features Mary Russell, a brilliant apprentice to Sherlock Holmes, and explores the intersection of feminism and religion.

Back to that trumpet.

John Knox planned to write further versions of The First Blast of the Trumpet, but the second and third blasts never saw the light of day. A minor victory for 16th Century women perhaps? And in another ironic twist, isn’t it wonderful to see and hear so many remarkable women trumpeters strutting their stuff so brilliantly. So, put that in your pipe and smoke it, John!

Quite frankly, in this world of oppressive governments, repressive religious practices, misogyny and abuse, a Monstrous Regiment of Women sounds like a very good idea.