"We found women running priories, commissioning books, taking early package tours to visit the Holy Land," she said.
She added women were also defending their property and property rights.
Dr Niebrzydowski's research involving middle aged women in the middle ages will be discussed at a conference at the university on Wednesday.
The medievalist at Bangor's Institute of Early and Modern Studies, studied legal records, literature and songs to build up a picture of life for women between the 12th and 15th Centuries.
First thing I thought was that a lot of them were widowed, which is something brought up in the article. I'd wager you'd find much the same thing elsewhere and at other periods.