Women and Power in the Middle Ages
eds. Mary Erler, Maryanne KowaleskiReassessing the conventional definition of power that has shaped such portrayals, Women and Power in the Middle Ages reveals the varied manifestations of female power in the medieval household and community―from the cultural power wielded by the wives of Venetian patriarchs to the economic power of English peasant women and the religious power of female saints. Among the specific topics addresses are Griselda's manipulation of silence as power in Chaucer's "The Clerk's Tale"; the extensive networks of influence devised by Lady Honor Lisle; and the role of medieval women book owners as arbiters of lay piety and ambassadors of culture. In every case, the essays seek to transcend simple polarities of public and private, male and female, in order to provide a more realistic analysis of the workings of power in feudal society.Review
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.