Medieval women of power and the Book

Aims

This course aims to: 

• introduce you to some of these remarkable women and to the beautiful and exciting world 
  of their thoughts and arts, situating them in their eras
• serve as an overview of aspects of book history and of patronage
• serve as a corrective to what, by the nature of the creation of documents and retention 
  of evidence, is often an almost exclusively masculine narrative

Content

Women too seldom make it into the annals of art history – or history in general, especially before the 20th century. But one area in which we can track women who made a mark on their society 
is in the pages of medieval manuscripts. Here women emerge as authors, powerful patrons and makers of the book and its arts. For only in the trades related to the book could women, in the medieval guild system, trade independently as scribes, illuminators, binders and entrepreneurial stationers.

Medieval queens and abbesses commissioned intricately illuminated books and published their own texts, from poetry to political and scientific treatises. The Anglo-Saxon queen Emma gave stunningly beautiful manuscripts as gifts in her power-play and published her own account of events for which she was imprisoned. Abbess Hildegard of Bingen had her works on music and medicine copied in her scriptorium. Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine and the poetess Marie de France patronised the troubadours and gave birth to courtly love. The adventuress and mystic Margery Kempe dictated her travellers tales. The young widow, Christine de Pisan, set up her own desktop publishing enterprise to earn a living and in the process took on the Parisian university authorities and her male peers. Female artists painted cutting satire in the margins of manuscripts, whilst others were its subjects.

We shall begin by examining how the role of women began to change in the late Roman Empire and Early Christian church and how, as monastic founders and daring missionaries, they prepared the way for better-known spiritual authors such as Hildegard, Mother Julian of Norwich and laywomen, Marie de France and Margery Kempe. We shall also consider the role of women as book producers in the medieval urban milieu, including the audacious author / publisher, Christine de Pizan. Female patrons and book-owners will also be considered, including Queen Emma (and Cnut), Queen Margaret of Scotland, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Christina of Markyate, Queen Isabella, Elizabeth de Bohun, Bona Sforza, Joanna the Mad and the Tudor queens.

Evidence for women’s lives is often difficult to find for this period, but by examining the books they read, made and commissioned, as political and religious leaders, courtiers, educators, household managers, physicians and tradespeople, we can construct a fuller picture of their contribution to society and culture. 

Presentation of the course 

The course will be taught by illustrated lectures. We shall also read excerpts from texts written by women, examine the nature and constraints of the evidence for their activities in this area and discuss images of some of the manuscripts made by and/or for women.

Course sessions

1. Women in late Roman, Early Christian and Byzantine literacy
2. Women in Anglo-Saxon, Frankish and Celtic society and its book culture
3. Women in the Norman and early Gothic periods
4. Women as urban book-makers
5. Women as medieval authors and patrons

Learning outcomes

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course. 

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• to review the nature of the evidence for the role of women in the history of the book
• to comprehend the nature of the evidence and its constraints
• to gain a greater insight into the intellectual, spiritual, artistic and economic roles of women from the late Roman period to the Reformation

Required reading

Brown, Michelle P, “Female book-ownership and production in Anglo-Saxon England: the Evidence of the Ninth Century Prayerbooks” in C, Kay and L, Sylvester (editors) Lexis and Texts in Early English: Papers in Honour of Jane Roberts (Brill: Amsterdam 2001) pp. 45-68

Watt, Diane, Medieval Women's Writing: Works by and for women in England, 1100-1500 (Polity 2007)

Typical week: Monday to Friday 

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students.   

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to your learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events. 

Evaluation and Academic Credit  

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.  

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay. 

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit. 

Certificate of attendance 

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.