The Brothers Grimm defined the word legend as ‘a folktale that is historically grounded’.
The word legend comes from the medieval Latin word ‘legendarius’ pertaining to legends.
Legends are transmitted either orally, passed on from person to person or through written text.
Legends remind us about past figures, events or actions and usually have at least some historical truth (but often this truth can’t be substantiated).
Shelegends are everywhere. Some of them, like Lady Godiva are so well known that you wouldn't even think of them as legends.
Often they are brave, feisty and powerful women. Women that should be household names but were instead written out of the history books because they were not born male.
Historical narrative has largely been shaped by those who documented it, and until relatively recently, this task was primarily undertaken by men, who often focused on male-driven narratives and perspectives, unintentionally or otherwise marginalizing the stories of women.
This practice led to many significant female figures and their accomplishments being overlooked, underrepresented, or even entirely omitted from the historical record.
As a result, the full breadth of women's contributions to society, culture, politics, and more was eclipsed out and unacknowledged. The concept of Shelegends is a response to this legacy of exclusion of the feminine, striving to restore the stories of ancient women that were once deemed irrelevant or overlooked.
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