Women in the Middle Ages [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia
Current scholarship holds that the medieval period was a better time for women than the Renaissance. To demonstrate "women's multidimensional uniqueness" during the Middle Ages, more than 130 international contributors have helped create this encyclopedia, which spans the third to the fifteenth centuries.More than 300 entries are meant to provide "as broad a sampling as possible of medieval women's diverse culture." Entries are generally between 1 and 10 pages in length, and most are biographical, treating women from Eleanor of Aquitaine and Hildegard of Bingen to the less popularly known mystic Marguerite Porete and humanist Maddalena Scrovegni. Figures of legend, such as Morgan Le Fay and Pope Joan, are included, as are women such as troubadour Almuc de Castlenau, for whom very little documentation exists. Interspersed among the biographies are topical entries such asDowry; Embroidery; Hagiography (female saints); andMusic, women composers and musicians. Entries that extend the work outside the European sphereinclude Aztec warrior women; Fatimid Egypt, women in; andMurasaki, Shikibu. Each entry concludes with a bibliography of primary and secondary sources; some of these are extensive. Many of the contributors discuss the available records as well as the current scholarship on their subjects, and readers will learn as much about the challenges of research as about the women and topics represented here.A "Guide to Related Topics," repeated in both volumes, groups entries under broad categories. Volume 2 contains a short general bibliography. Black-and-white illustrations, though not numerous, are handsomely reproduced and enhance the text.Some similar ground is covered by the single-authorEncyclopedia of Women in the Middle Ages(McFarland, 2001), but in this earlier title biographical entries are usually shorter, and topical entries place more emphasis on everyday life. The McFarland title also has extensive genealogical charts. More scholarly, though still very readable,Women in the Middle Ages: An Encyclopediais recommended for academic and large public libraries.Mary Ellen QuinnCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved