Women and Power in the Middle Ages
"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.”--Choice