It is telling that within the medieval guild system, only the book-related trades permitted women to inherit businesses from fathers and husbands and to trade in their own right. This may have something to do with the long history of women being involved in writing, studying and making books in the religious sphere earlier in the Middle Ages.
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. We shall 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.
