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Medieval Writings on Secular Women

Elisabeth van Houts editor Dr Patricia Skinner editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd

Published:31st Mar '11

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Medieval Writings on Secular Women cover

'Woman, who is equal to the moon in the flower of youth,
Is equal to a little old ape after the onset of old age'


This remarkable collection brings together a host of writings from across different regions and cultures of the Middle Ages, from the ninth to the fifteenth century. They are arranged to follow the life stages of a Medieval woman living a secular existence, from infancy and girlhood, through marriage and motherhood, to widowhood and old age. Some women are famous or captured in exceptional circumstances, many more are anonymous: an abandoned baby in Italy, or an epitaph for the female leader of a Synagogue, speaking across the ages.

This selection contains an introduction discussing the Medieval woman's status, separate introductions to each chapter, notes and a bibliography.

Both medieval historians and feminist historians will be delighted about this extraordinary, long-awaited anthology [...] This volume appears to be the best possible textbook currently available for a seminar on medieval women, covering the entire spectrum from birth to death [...] Anyone interested in the life of women in the premodern era will certainly want to pick up a copy and consult it intensely. -- Professor Albrecht Classen, The University of Arizona

ISBN: 9780141439914

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 20mm

Weight: 258g

352 pages