by Eulalia de Ravenfeld
I think women's history is neat, and consequently have read quite a few books on the subject. Here's a brief rundown of my thoughts on some of these books. (Some of these categories have been alphabetized by author, some haven't.)
Scholarly
Amt, Emily (Ed.). Women's Lives in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook. New York, New York: Routledge: 1993.
Amt collects translated primary documents and organizes them conveniently. Allows one to learn about somewhat esoteric subjects (such as anchoresses) that may not be covered by other sources. Contemporary writing about women offers a view of how women were viewed by their contemporaries.
Bennett, Judith M. Women in the Medieval English Countryside: Gender and Household in Brigstock Before the Plague. Oxford University Press, 1987.
Judith Bennett is, in my opinion, the best scholar writing about Medieval women. For this work, she presents statistical analyses of manor records to shed light on the lives of medieval women who would otherwise go unwritten – commoners, daughters, sisters, wives, widows. I cannnot reccommend this book highly enough. Bennett has lots of other great titles, too. (My love for her borders on creepy fangirl.)
Larrington, Carolyne (editor). Women and Writing in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook. New York, New York: Routledge, 1995.
This is another collection of translated primary documents with commentary. I like the commentary, and Larrington delves into territory that is occasionally risque and beyond the usual account of medieval women – for example, she includes a delightfully scandalous discussion of lesbianism (featuring naughty Welsh poetry!)
Taylor, Jane and Lesley Smith (editors). Women and the Book: Assessing the Visual Evidence. London, England: The British Library, 1997.
Collection of essays, mainly of an art historical leaning. I found the essay by Smith to be particularly interesting; in it she gives a history of images of women as readers and discusses the dearth of images of women as scribes.
General
Gies, Frances and Joseph. Women in the Middle Ages. New York, New York: Harper and Row: 1978.
With solidly written, engaging prose, this book is a rare combination of scholarly and readable. Of the books listed here, this would probably be the best to read if you are interested in but not obsessed with medieval women as it gives the best general account.
Klapisch-Zuber, Christiane (editor). A History of Women in the West: Volume II: Silences of the Middle Ages. Cambridge, Mass. and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: 1992.
Really, the title of this one should have tipped me off. Despite considering myself to be a feminist, I found this book too heavy on the theory and too light on the facts. Read this only if you want your history filtered through an "End medieval oppression of women now!" mindset.
Pernoud, Régeine (trans. Anne Côté-Harriss). Women in the Days of Cathedrals. San Francisco, California: Ignatius Press, 1998.
A great many statements of fact are presented, but very few are cited. I am suspicious of this book but use it anyway as the information given is compelling. Another general book for a general audience.
Women’s Writing in the Middle Ages: Authors You May Wish to Investigate
Hildegard von Bingen, notably the Scivias
A dense work, read this theological tome only if you are really interested in medieval religion (or in medieval religious women). Do try to get an edition with pictures, her image of the universe is, uh, interesting.
Marie de France, notably the Lais (she also wrote a translation of Aesop's fables)
Marie collected early Breton lais and translated them into French, possibly for the Norman courts of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The tales of courtly love are complex and entertaining.
Margery Kempe, The Book of Margery Kempe
Margery tracks her adventures in talking directly with Christ and the persecutions she suffers from as a result. Difficult going at times but interesting in that it includes a fair amount of detail on the daily lives of women in the 15th century.
Christine de Pisan, most famously The City of Ladies
Recommended. Classic proto-feminist text. Although the format, with its accounts of exceptional woman after exceptional woman, can get a little – dare I say it? – tedious.
Hrosthvitha
Anglo-Saxon playwright, I can't know the name of her major work. I like to imagine Anglo-Saxon nuns performing her (sometimes bawdy) plays on religious topics. Her protagonists include reformed prostitutes and virgin martyrs.
And, just for good measure, two post-medieval women authors:
Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World (and others)
If you are a fan of science fiction, you will find this work very interesting. That goes double if you are a fan of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman. Also offers a good overview of 17th century science and thinking.
Aphra Behn, The Rover
A 17th century play about, I am not making this up, a pirate and an ex-nun. History is hot!
©Laurel Black