Medieval Women

La Pologne, un don maternel de Catherine de Médicis ? La cérémonie de la remise du Decretum electionis à Henri de Valois

by Ewa Kociszewska

Le Moyen Age 2011/3-4 (Le mécénat féminin en France et en Bourgogne, XIV-XVIe siècles. Nouvelles perspectives)

Women before the qāḍī under the Abbasids

by Mathieu Tillier

Published in: Islamic Law and Society, 16 (2009), p. 280-301.

In this article, I examine the appearance of Muslim women before the judge during the Abbasid period... more In this article, I examine the appearance of Muslim women before the judge during the Abbasid period (132-334/750-945), both in theory and practice. The cases involving women found in law books suggest that they came freely to the court, especially for familial or marital purposes, and that the judges employed some women as court auxiliaries. However, a comparison of judicial manuals and the biographical literature shows that a woman's appearance before the judge could create a social disturbance and that not all women were allowed to appear in court. I argue that the social distinction between those who could leave their houses—and thus come before the judge—and those who could not correlated with the social hierarchy.

‘Gwreic wyf fi’: Transition to Womanhood in Medieval Wales

by Sara Roberts

in Middle-Aged Women in the Middle Ages, ed. S. Niebrzydowski, (Boydell and Brewer, 2011), 25-36.

"sancta mulier nomine Mechtildis". Mechthild (von Magdeburg) und ihre Wahrnehmung als Religiose im Laufe der Jahrhunderte, in: Beginen. Eine religiöse Lebensform von Frauen in Geschichte und Gegenwart, hg. von Marco A. Sorace und Jörg Voigt (erscheint in der Reihe: Studien zur christlichen Religions- und Kulturgeschichte) (in Vorbereitung)

by Balázs J. Nemes

These:
Mechthild von Magdeburg macht Karriere - als Nonne (und Begine?) in Mittelalter und Früher Neuzeit, als... more These:
Mechthild von Magdeburg macht Karriere - als Nonne (und Begine?) in Mittelalter und Früher Neuzeit, als Begine (und Nonne!) in der Moderne

Der involvierte Leser. Immersive Lektürepraktiken in der spätmittelalterlichen Mystik-Rezeption, in: Immersion im Mittelalter, hg. von Hartmut Bleumer (Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik 167, 2012) (in Druckvorbereitung)

by Balázs J. Nemes

The article approaches the immersive potential of Mechthild von Magdeburg's “Fließendes Licht“, dispensing the reader... more The article approaches the immersive potential of Mechthild von Magdeburg's “Fließendes Licht“, dispensing the reader from his role as a spectator and turning him into a participant, something which has frequently been claimed by the new German medieval studies. This particular kind of recipient is, certainly, an ideal-typical reader, a literary construct with the function to display the strategies of persuasion in “Fließendes Licht“ and the special literacy or the functional inclusion of the text. It should be all the more interesting to have a look at a specific historical recipient as this allows making the text's calculated aesthetic impacts plausible or outlining them with regard to the history of receptions. The instructions by Heinrich von Nördlingen from the first half of the 14th century, addressed to Margareta Ebner and the Dominican nuns of Maria Medingen near Dillingen, which told them how to incorporate and read „Fließendes Licht“ will be the centre of my analysis. This particular example and the recourse to circulating thoughts about the phenomenology of immersion shall show which requirements have to be fulfilled in a special religious context of reception to obtain the effect of immersion. Heinrich's directives are perfectly suitable for this line of questioning as they create the model of an involved reader, amounting to the requirement to get into the diegesis of the text and to identify with the literary figure.

Im Beitrag geht es um das in der neueren germanistisch-mediävistischen Forschung vielfach behauptete immersive Potential des „Fließenden Lichts“ Mechthilds von Magdeburg, den Leser seiner Rolle als Beobachter (spectator) zu entbinden und ihn zu einem Teilnehmer (participant) der textuell entworfenen virtuellen Realität zu machen. Freilich handelt es sich bei diesem Typ vom Rezipienten um einen idealtypischen Leser, ein literaturwissenschaftliches Figurenkonstrukt also, dessen Funktion darin besteht, die im „Fließenden Licht“ verfolgten Persuasionsstrategien und damit die besondere Literarizität bzw. funktionale Einbindung des Textes sichtbar zu machen. Umso interessanter dürfte es sein, den Blick auf einen konkreten historischen Rezipienten zu lenken, ermöglicht er doch, die von der Forschung beobachteten kalkuliert wirkungsästhetischen Effekte des Textes zu plausibilisieren bzw. rezeptionsgeschichtlich zu perspektivieren. Im Mittelpunkt meiner Untersuchung stehen die an Margareta Ebner und die Dominikanerinnen von Maria Medingen bei Dillingen gerichteten Anweisungen von Heinrich von Nördlingen aus der Mitte des 14. Jahrhunderts, wie sie das „Fließende Licht“ aufnehmen und lesen sollen. An diesem Fallbeispiel und im Rückgriff auf die kursierenden Überlegungen zur Phänomenologie der Immersion gilt es zu zeigen, welche Voraussetzungen speziell in einem religiösen Rezeptionskontext erfüllt werden müssen, damit es überhaupt zum Effekt der Immersion kommt. Heinrichs Direktiven eignen sich für diese Fragestellung insofern bestens, als sie das Modell des involvierten Lesers entwerfen, laufen sie doch auf die Forderung hinaus, sich in die Diegese des Textes zu begeben und sich mit der Textfigur zu identifizieren

Childbirth Miracles in Swedish Miracle Collections

by Anders Frojmark

In Journal of the History of Sexuality 21:2 (2012), 297–312. ISSN 1043-4070.

The chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth was very real for medieval women, and still is in many Third World... more The chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth was very real for medieval women, and still is in many Third World countries. In Medieval Catholic Western Europe, including Scandinavia, these risks, and the absence of medically schooled persons who could give efficient help, led many women to turn to the saints for intercession. The evidence produced by miracle accounts that this practice has generated allows us to look into the bedchambers of otherwise unknown medieval women, suffering the pains of extended labor or giving birth to seemingly lifeless children.
From their stories we may learn much about the situation at childbirth, and not least about the circle of women which normally surrounded the woman giving birth. The stories supplement information that may be gathered from other sources and shed light on questions that have been debated in earlier research, such as the professionalization of midwifery and the presence or non-presence of men and/or unwed women at childbirth. As a whole, miracle tales provide an interesting source material for many aspects of medieval everyday life, not least because it is—compared to other sources—more balanced in terms of gender.

Ritratto di una cortigiana del Cinquecento: Caterina de Medici da Verona e le sue vicende (1518-1582). In: Ritratti. La dimensione individuale nella storia (secc. XV- XIX), Hg. Seidel Menchi, S., Pierce, R. (Roma: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2008), 147-176.

by Cecilia Cristellon

Call for Papers––31st Haskins Society––Boston, November

by Robin Fleming

הושע הפמיניסט

by Amir Ashur

התפתחויות וחידושים במעמד האישה – עדותם של הסכמי שידוכין ואירוסין מן הגניזה הקהירית

by Amir Ashur

Hildegarda de Bingen (1098-1179). La necesidad de un lenguaje

by Josemi Lorenzo

published in "El Libro de la 50º Semana de Música Religiosa [5 artículos]” (2011), Cuenca, Fundación Patronato Semana de Música Religiosa de Cuenca, pp. 85-121.

La imperiosa necesidad de decir guió la larga e intensa vida de esta abadesa benedictina, conformando una de las... more La imperiosa necesidad de decir guió la larga e intensa vida de esta abadesa benedictina, conformando una de las autorías musicales más importantes de toda la Edad Media.Varias categorías guiarán el acercamiento a su figura en el plano musical: el monasterio como “comunidad de canto”; la búsqueda de un lenguaje que entroncase con el de Adán antes de la Caída; y la centralidad del cuerpo femenino, una somaticidad musical que se plasma en una sonoridad románica singular, que todavía hoy sorprende. En definitiva, una teología musical vertida en una obra insólita, que impugna la manera de pensar la propia historia de la música, así como el llamado “Renacimiento del siglo XII”, alumbrando puntos de fuga imprevisibles para la Historia de las mujeres.

Christine de Pizan's Metaphoric Womb

by Tina-Marie Ranalli

Medieval Feminist Forum 47.1 (2011)

As a medieval woman writer, Christine de Pizan (ca. 1364-1430) was in an unusual position which necessitated not only... more As a medieval woman writer, Christine de Pizan (ca. 1364-1430) was in an unusual position which necessitated not only that she establish her authority as a vernacular writer, like her male counterparts, but also that she find a way to reconcile her scholarly activity with her sex. In the Livre de la cité des dames, Christine finds a unique solution to her problem of authority and identity. It is my contention that in this work Christine presents an ingeniously crafted and multifaceted metaphor of the development of human life in the womb, what I term her “womb metaphor.” The Cité des dames involves an overarching allegory whereby Christine's book narrates the process of its own development, presenting it as the construction of the City of Ladies. The task that Christine sets out for herself in the Cité is no less than the composition of a convincing and erudite response to the entire misogynistic scholarly tradition. The womb metaphor not only involves a scene of metaphoric conception within the space of a womb, but also constitutes another dimension of the global book/city/defense allegory of Christine-author's project.

Women and Lordship in Twelfth-century England

by R. C. DeAragon

Draft only

Paper delivered at the American Historical Association meeting, Jan. 2010.

Distinguishing between female... more Paper delivered at the American Historical Association meeting, Jan. 2010.

Distinguishing between female land holding and lordship, this paper investigates the relatively rare exercise of lordly authority by women in Norman and Angevin England and the ways in which lordship was gendered.

Sainte Brigitte de Suède et Alfonso de Jaén : une "amitié spirituelle" / saint Bridget of Sweden and Alfonso de Jaén : a Female-Male friendship in Late Medieval Italy (Language : French)

by Giulia Puma

published in Arzanà. Cahiers de littérature italienne médiévale, n. 13, juin 2010, p. 329-364.

Ecritures et pratiques de l'amitié dans l'Italie médiévale
Describing and experiencing Friendship in Medieval Italy

Publications de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III.

Par « amitié spirituelle », on entend au Moyen Âge l’unisson des amis dans l’amour du Christ, qu’en est-il d’une... more Par « amitié spirituelle », on entend au Moyen Âge l’unisson des amis dans l’amour du Christ, qu’en est-il d’une amitié mixte, entre une femme et un homme ? Les mots employés par sainte Brigitte de Suède (1303-1373) dans ses Révélations pour décrire son rapport à son dernier confesseur, Alfonso de Jaén (1329-1389), constituent des documents précieux pour la connaissance de l’amitié mixte. Ils se rencontrent à Rome en 1368, puis séjournent ensemble auprès du pape. Alfonso sert à la fois à Brigitte de confesseur et d’interprète lors de son entrevue avec Urbain V, visant à le persuader de rentrer d’Avignon à Rome. Alfonso a une très bonne connaissance du latin, ce qui conduit Brigitte à rendre encore plus étroite leur collaboration. Elle reçoit plusieurs révélations où Marie et le Christ lui ordonnent explicitement de confier à l’ermite espagnol le travail de révision et de publication des Révélations. Brigitte est ainsi la dépositaire de la parole divine et Alfonso le récipiendaire de ce précieux trésor. Si l’ami est traditionnellement un alter ego, la relation de Brigitte et d’Alfonso, qui présuppose une profonde similitude morale, aboutit à l’altérité pragmatique de leurs rôles, complémentaires mais hiérarchisés : leur amitié mixte est légitimée, formalisée, codifiée par les interventions divines, qui président en même temps à sa mise en pratique, pour que le message oral des Révélations accède au statut de livre.

After her husband's death in 1344, Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373), a mother of eight, starts having divine revelations and decides to dedicate her life to God, promoting the return of the pope in Rome, city where she lives from 1349 until her death. The paper focuses on the nature of her relationship to her last confessor, the spanish ermit, former bishop, Alfonso de Jaén (1329-1389), also known as Alfonso Pecha da Vadaterra. The documents of her canonization process as well as some of her revelations, edited in Latin by Alfonso, point out their different but complementary role as "amici Dei", God's friends but also friends through God. Bridget and Alfonso seem to be good candidates for what recent research (Sahlin 2001, Coakley 2006) has identified as "amicitia spiritualis". Spiritual friendship, a particular form of Female-Male relationship, would typically tie a charismatic/mystical woman to her confessor, acting both as a spiritual guide to her and as a promoter to the external world of the divine messages she would receive.

Clerks and Laity

by Emma Campbell

in The Cambridge Companion to Medieval French Literature, ed. by Simon Gaunt and Sarah Kay (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), pp. 210-24

Il lessico tedesco in Causae et Curae di Ildegarda di Bingen. «Itinerari» 3 (1997), pp. 111-126.

by Eleonora Cianci

" 'Anse Maravillado que muger haga tractados': Defensa y concepción de la escritura en Teresa de Cartagena (Siglo XV)"

by Rocío Quispe-Agnoli

En: "Actas de la Asociación Hispánica de Literatura Medieval." Alcalá de Henaress: Universidad de Alcalá, 1997. Vol. 2, p. 1227-1239

The Woman Warrior: Gender

by Megan McLaughlin

The woman warrior: gender, warfare and society in medieval Europe

by Megan McLaughlin

Ragnhild

by Anders Frojmark

In Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, vol. 29, pp. 613–15. Year of publication: 1996. Language: Swedish

At the Swedish church of Södertälje south of Stockholm, a cult of a local saint, Queen Ragnhild, presumed founder of... more At the Swedish church of Södertälje south of Stockholm, a cult of a local saint, Queen Ragnhild, presumed founder of the church, is known from 15th C. sources. The information concerning her identity is confused in the sources, but she is thought to have lived at the end of the 11th and/or beginning of the 12th C.
Apart from having founded Södertälje church, Queen Ragnhild is said to have made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and 15th C. murals depict her as a pilgrim.
The publication of Vitis aquilonia by the exiled Catholic Johannes Vastovius in 1623 led to a renewed interest in St. Ragnhild, and Södertälje church is currently referred to as St. Ragnhild's church.