Description: Reveals the varied manifestations of female power in the medieval household and community--from the cultural power wielded by the wives of Venetian patriarchs to the economic power of English peasant women and the religious power of female saints.
Brief description: MARY ERLER is a professor of English at Fordham University. Her books includeRecords of Early English Drama: Ecclesiastical London and Women, Reading, and Piety in Late Medieval England.
Review Quotes:
According to evidence presented in the articles, medieval women were empowered by a wide variety of means--family connections, networks of patronage and friendship, widowhood, noble birth, gift-giving--but were never granted authority, that is, power that was publicly legitimated. The authors use an excellent range of sources, such as letters, wills, seals, court records, hagiography, literature by both women and men, and guild records. Many of the essays complement each other nicely by allowing the reader to compare the experiences of rural and urban women, or of peasants and nobles. Most also explore questions that use gender as a category of analysis, comparing female and male networks of influence, methods of telling stories, or concepts of the family. The authors are all well-known authorities in their fields, presenting their most current research.
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