History 305: Women and Gender in Pre-Modern
Europe
Spring 2006: Mon/Wed 3-4:20pm (Wyatt 305)
Eve once destroyed us,
But Mary redeemed us
By means of her Son.
One mother bore sadness;
The other with gladness
Fruit second to none
- Adam of St. Victor, 12thc.
I have heard of Esther, Judith and Deborah, who were
women of great worth, through whom God delivered
His people…and I have heard of many other worthy
women as well, champions every one, through whom
He performed many miracles but He has accomplished
more through this Maid…What an honor for the female sex!
- Christine de Pisan on Joan of Arc, 15thc.
Instructor: Katherine Smith
Email: kasmith2@ups.edu
Office phone: 879-3906
Office / Hours: Wyatt 142 / Mon. and Wed. 10:30-12 (and other
times by appointment)
Description: Although men largely dominated the public sphere
in pre-modern Europe, women left their mark on this world in a
number of ways, serving as rulers, gaining renown as saints
and visionaries, and even leading armies to victory. In this
class we will explore the paradoxical nature of pre-modern
ideas that condemned women as the root of all worldly evil,
while simultaneously celebrating a female ideal embodied in
the virtues of chastity, modesty, and passivity. We will find
that women writers, artists, and mystics challenged prevailing
ideas about gender roles and the inferiority of women to men,
while others struggled to compete in the economic or political
spheres of a patriarchal world.
After a brief comparison of women’s and men’s roles in
the Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian, and Germanic traditions, we
will trace the evolution of conceptions of gender through the
sixteenth century, with an emphasis on medieval and early
modern Europe. We also will consider how factors such as
social class, religion, age, and marital status interacted
with gender to determine the experience of pre-modern women.
Though we will meet extraordinary and well-known pre-modern
women like the mystic Hildegard of Bingen, the visionary Joan
of Arc, and the humanist Laura Cereta, we will spend most of
our time reconstructing the experiences of ordinary women who
lived as wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters in relative
obscurity in the European past.
Finally, the course will introduce students to the
historiography of pre-modern women, as we will read a number
of famous older pieces of writing by pioneers in the field of
women’s history, as well as recent work in the field of gender
studies that continues to shape contemporary scholarship on
medieval and early modern women’s (and men’s) experience.
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Course Objectives: Throughout the semester, all members of the
class will have the opportunity to:
 trace the evolution of Western ideas about women from the
Classical world through the sixteenth century, and
considered how this pre-modern heritage has shaped (and
continues to influence) our own views of gender roles,
sexuality, and the family.
 explore the ways in which scholars use gender as a
category to guide scholarly inquiry, and consider how
gender may be considered in combination with other
factors such as religion and class to gain a better
understanding of women’s and men’s lives in the past.
 read a variety of primary sources by and about pre-modern
women, and develop their own historical voices through
critical engagement with these texts in written
assignments and class discussions.
 evaluate various contemporary approaches to the study of
women in pre-modern Europe, and grapple with some of the
major scholarly debates in this field, concerning (among
others) the declining status of women over the course of
the medieval period, the impact of Christian ideals of
virginity and celibacy on ordinary women, and the role of
women intellectuals in the Renaissance.
Texts: The five texts listed below are required for the class
and are available for purchase at the university bookstore.
Additional readings will be found in the course packet
(available at the campus bookstore). Readings marked with an
(*) appear in the packet in the order in which they are
assigned.
-
-
Emilie Amt, Women’s Lives in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook
(Routledge, 1993)
Margaret L. King and Albert Rabil, eds., Her Immaculate Hand:
Selected Works by and About the Women Humanists of
Quattrocento Italy, 2nd ed. (Pegasus, 1992)
Steven Ozment, The Burgermeister’s Daughter: Scandal in a
Sixteenth-Century German Town (Perennial, 1997)
Shulamith Shahar, The Fourth Estate: A History of Women in the
Middle Ages, rev. ed. (Routledge, 2003)
Willard Trask, ed., Joan of Arc: In Her Own Words (Turtle
Point, 2004)
A Note on the Readings: Three of these texts (Amt,
King/Rabil, and Trask) contain primary sources – sources
produced in the periods we will study in the course – that were
produced by or directly concern pre-modern women. Through these
primary sources, which range from poetry to trial transcriptions
to the biographies of female saints, we can gain direct access
to the experiences of people who lived in the distant past and
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become historians ourselves, rather than relying on the
interpretations of other scholars.
When reading primary sources, always ask yourself the
following questions:
-
-
Who wrote this? What kind of person was the author (social
class, gender, etc.)?
For what audience was this piece intended? How did the
author tailor the content and style of their text to this
audience?
What was the author’s purpose in writing this piece?
What can the text tell us about the cultural tradition(s)
and period in which it was written?
I will expect that you will have answered these questions for
the assigned primary sources when you come to class.
The remaining texts (Ozment and Shahar) are secondary
sources, or modern scholars’ interpretations of the history of
women in pre-modern Europe, as do most of the assigned
articles listed on the syllabus. When reading secondary
sources, you should spend some time considering the following
questions:
-
-
What is the author’s main argument, or thesis?
How well does the author support this argument? Does she or
he seem to have a good grasp of the topic?
Is this piece revisionist (that is, does it challenge some
earlier body of scholarship or suggest a new way of
interpreting evidence)? How?
What kinds of primary sources does the author employ in
their analysis?
We will read and discuss at least one primary source in
nearly every class, with the goal of becoming comfortable with
this kind of direct analysis rather than relying on readings
offered by others. However, we will also consider the merits
and shortcomings of various approaches to the history of women
in the pre-modern past, as exemplified by selected articles by
modern scholars written in recent decades.
Requirements and Evaluation: Students are required to attend
class meetings and to keep up with all reading assignments so
that they can participate in discussions and activities. Be
advised that more than two unexcused absences in the course of
the semester will adversely affect your final grade, and that
coming to class more than 15 minutes late constitutes an
absence for that day. All members of the class are required to
complete two short written assignments (3-4 pp. each) and a
substantial research paper (10-12 pp.) on a topic to be
determined in consultation with the instructor.
The final grade is calculated as follows:
Class Participation: 15%
Close Reading of a Primary Source (3-4pp.): 15%
Paper on Joan of Arc: 15%
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Annotated Bibliography, Outline, and Thesis Statement: 15%
Research paper (10-12pp.): 40%
Grading Scale: Written assignments, exams and class
participation will all be graded on a scale from A to F. For
the numerical equivalents of each grade, see the list below.
A:
B:
C:
D:
93-96
83-86
73-76
63-66
A-:
B-:
C-:
D-:
90-92
80-82
70-72
60-62
F:
B+: 87-89
C+: 77-79
D+: 67-69
below 60
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
Wed. Jan. 18th: Introduction: Sources and Problems in Pre-Modern
Women’s History
The Making of Pre-Modern Attitudes Towards Women
Mon. Jan. 23rd: The Heritage of the Classical World
- Amt, docs. 6-8
- (*) “Women, Family, and Sexuality in the Age of Augustus and
the Julio-Claudians,” in Women in the Classical World: Image and
Text, ed. Elaine Fantham et al. (Oxford UP, 1994), pp. 294-329.
Wed. Jan. 25th: Germanic Cultures
Amt, docs. 9-11
Mon. Jan 30th: The Judeo-Christian Tradition
- Amt, docs. 1-5
- (*) Helen Schüngel-Straumann, “On the Creation of Man and
Woman in Genesis 1-3: The History and Reception of the Texts
Reconsidered,” in A Feminist Companion to Genesis, ed. Athalya
Brenner (Continuum, 1993), pp. 53-76.
Wed. Feb. 1st: Women in the Early Middle Ages
- Amt, docs. 29 & 30.
The Female Life Cycle in the Middle Ages
Mon. Feb. 6th: Biological Views of Women
- Amt, doc. 24
- (*) Vern L. Bullough, "Medieval Medical and Scientific Views
of Women," Viator 4 (1973): 485-501.
Wed. Feb. 8th: Childbirth and Motherhood
- Amt, doc. 23
- (*) “St Jerome on the Education of Girls,” in Love, Marriage,
and Family in the Middle Ages: A Reader, ed. Jacqueline Murray
(Broadview, 2001), pp. 418-24)
- (*) Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English Church and
People, book I: ch. 27 (on pregnant women)
Mon. Feb. 13th: Childhood and the Dangers of Adolescence
- Amt, docs. 32 and 56
- (*) “How the Goodwife Taught her Daughter”
- (*) Kim Phillips, “Maidenhood as the Perfect Age of Woman’s
Life,” in Young Medieval Women, ed. Katherine J. Lewis et al.
(St Martin’s, 1999), pp. 1-24.
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Wed. Feb. 15th: Widowhood and Old Age
- (*) Gautier Le Leu, “The Widow,” in Woman Defamed and Woman
Defended, ed. Alcuin Blamires (Oxford, 1992), pp. 135-43
- (*) Heather Arden, “Grief, Widowhood and Women’s Sexuality
in Medieval French Literature,” in Upon My Husband’s Death,
ed. Louis Mirrer (U of Michigan, 1992).
Mon. Feb. 20th: Library Class on Research Methods and Resources
(meet in Collins room 118)
The close reading of a primary source is due in class today; please bring
your assignment with you to our meeting in Collins. Please also consult
the list of topics at the end of the syllabus and think about possible
research interests before class.
Sexuality and Marriage
Wed. Feb. 22nd: Marriage: Ideals
- Amt, docs. 18-20;
- Shahar, chapter 4: “Married Women”
Mon. Feb.27th:
Marriage: Realities
- Amt, docs. 32, 41, & 81.
Wed. Mar. 1st: Gender and Sexuality
- (*) St Jerome, “Letter to Eustochium” and “Against Jovinian”
- (*) Clarissa Atkinson, “’Precious Balsam in a Fragile Glass:’
The Ideology of Virginity in the Later Middle Ages’ Journal of
Family History 8 (1983): 131-143.
Gender and the Medieval Social Order
Mon. Mar. 6th: The Noble Life
- Amt, docs. 35, 38 & 39
- Shahar, chapter 5: “Women in the Nobility”
Wed. Mar. 8th: Women in Towns
-
Amt, docs. 51, 54 & 57
Shahar, chapter 6, “Townswomen”
Everyone must choose a research topic by March 8th. I will ask you to
share
** your topic
in class today, and we will choose research partners based on common
interests.
SPRING
BREAK: No classes meetings on March 13th or 15th
Mon. Mar. 20th: The Peasant Life
- Amt, docs. 48-50;
- Shahar, chapter 7: “Peasant Women”
Wed. Mar. 22nd: Constructions of Masculinity
- (*) “The Strange Story of Thomas of Elderfield”
- (*) “Sir Orfeo,” trans. J.R.R. Tolkien (Ballantine, 1975), pp. 13348.
Come prepared to give an in class update on research problems &
progress March 22nd
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Women, Religion, and Authority
Mon. Mar. 27th: The Monastic Life
- Amt, docs. 61, 64 & 65
- Shahar, chapter 3, “Nuns”
- (*) Aelred of Rievaulx, “The Nun of Watton,” in Women and Writing in Medieval Europe,
ed. Carolyne Larrington (Routledge, 1995), pp. 128-133.
Wed. Mar. 29th: Saints and Mystics
-(*) “The Life of Holy Hildegard,” Scivias, trans. Anna Silvas
in Jutta and Hildegard: The Biographical Sources (Brepols,
1998), pp. 135-80.
Mon. Apr. 3rd: Women and Heresy
- Amt, docs. 79 & 80
- Shahar, chapter 8, “Witches and the Heretical Movements”
Wed. Apr. 5th: An Extraordinary Woman: Joan of Arc
- Trask, Joan of Arc: In Her Own Words, pp. 1-38, 57-61 and 81144.
Paper on Joan of Arc due in my office (Wyatt 142) Friday,
April 7th by 3pm.
Women in the Italian Renaissance
Mon. Apr. 10th: A Renaissance for Women?
- (*) Giovanni Boccaccio, Famous Women, tr. Virginia Brown
(Harvard, 2001), dedication, preface, chapters 1, 100, and 105
(pp. 3-17, 437-41, 455-67, and 473-5)
- (*) Joan Kelly-Gadol, "Did Women Have a Renaissance?" Repr. in
Becoming Visible: Women in European History, ed. Renate Bridenthal
and Claudia Koonz (Houghton Mifflin, 1977), 137-164.
Wed. Apr. 12th: Women Humanists: Writings by Women
- King & Rabil, Here Immaculate Hand, parts 1 and 2 (pp. 33-88).
Mon. Apr. 17th: Women Humanists: Writings About Women
- King & Rabil, Her Immaculate Hand, part 3 (pp. 91-129).
- (*) Margaret L. King, “Book-Lined Cells: Women and Humanism in
the Early Italian Renaissance,” in Beyond Their Sex, ed. P.H.
Labalme (New York U., 1980), pp. 66-90.
Wed. Apr. 19th: The Renaissance Marriage Market
- (*) Leon Battista Alberti, The Family in Renaissance Florence,
trans. Renee Neu Watkins (U. of Southern California Press,
1969), pp. 109-22 and 207-29.
Come prepared to give an in class update on research problems &
progress April 19th
Early Modern Women
Mon. Apr. 24th: Women, Family, and Reputation (I)
- Ozment, Burgermeister’s Daughter (chapters 1-3)
Wed. Apr. 26th: Women, Family, and Reputation
-
(II)
Ozment, Burgermeister’s Daughter (chapters 4-7)
Annotated bibliography, outline, and thesis paragraph due in
my office (Wyatt 142) on Friday, April 28th by 3pm
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Mon. May 1st: Witchcraft and Gender
- (*) “Judgment on the Witch Walpurga Hausmännin,” in European
Witchcraft, ed. E. William Monter (NY: Wiley, 1969), pp. 75-81
- (*) Christina Larner, “Was Witch-Hunting Woman-Hunting?” and
Lyndal Roper, “Oedipus and the Devil,” both in The Witchcraft
Reader, ed. Darren Oldridge (Routledge, 2002), pp. 273-75 and
329-42.
Wed. May 3rd: Conclusions
- (*) Judith M. Bennett, 'Medieval Women, Modern Women: Beyond
the Great Divide', in Culture and History: 1350-1600, ed. David
Aers (Wayne State U. Press, 1992), pp. 147-75.
- (*) Nancy F. Partner, “No Sex, No Gender,” Speculum 68 (1993):
117-42.
**Research papers are due in my office on Friday, May 12th by
4pm**
Possible Research Topics
The following is a list of ideas – by no means exhaustive
– to help you get started; you are free to choose one of these
or develop your own paper topic as you wish. While you may
choose any topic that treats an aspect of women’s experience
or gender roles through the sixteenth century, if you choose a
topic from one of the earlier periods you will benefit from
class discussions of the period at an earlier stage in your
research.
Double-Monasteries of Men and
Women
Female Saints and Ideals of
Sanctity
Non Period Specific Topics
Pregnancy and Childbirth
Motherhood and Fatherhood
Childhood and Adolescence
Gender and Literacy
Marriage Ceremonies
Clothing and “Fashion”
Widows and Widowers
Prostitution and Sexuality
Legends of the Virgin Martyrs
Ideal of Virginity
Women’s Education
The Early Middle Ages, 6th10th centuries
Merovingian or Carolingian
Queens
Women in Anglo-Saxon England
Polygamy in Early Medieval
Europe
Women as Abbesses /Founders of
Monasteries
High Middle Ages, 11th-13th
centuries
Women and Church Reform
Women Mystics and Ascetics
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Married Women Saints
Virginity, Gender, and Sanctity
Peasant Women
Women and Labor in Towns
Cult of the Virgin Mary
Cult of Mary Magdalene
Courtly Love
Chivalry and Masculinity
Chaste or “Spiritual” Marriage
The Beguines
Anchoresses (women recluses)
Female Heretics
Clerical Celibacy and Priests’
Wives
Myth of Pope Joan
Non-Christian Women in Medieval
Europe
Late Middle Ages and
Renaissance, 14th-16th
centuries
Women Humanists
Humanist Writing on Women
Women as Artists
Women as Patrons of the Arts
The Renaissance Marriage Market
Witch-hunting
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