Women in the Middle Ages

About This Book

The experiences of women in the Middle Ages have been receiving growing amounts of attention and we are only now beginning to appreciate the full extent of their contributions. Medieval women shaped political and domestic life, founded and nurtured religious orders and created numerous enduring literary works. Comprehensive in scope, meticulous in scholarship and accessible in style to general readers and specialists alike, this encyclopedia offers full coverage of the myriad roles, experiences and contributions of women in the medieval world. The Guide to Related Topics groups the entries into the areas of Abbesses and Prioresses, Artists, Craftswomen and Scribes, Communities, Groups and Circles (Religious and Lay), Cultures (Ethnic, National and Religious, Deviants and Marginals, Doctors, Healers and Caregivers, Fairies, Magicians and Witches, Founders, Missionaries, Ascetics, Reformers and Religious, Heretics, Historians, Chroniclers, Memorialists and Sagas, Laws, Customs, Edicts, Oaths, Privileges, Prohibitions and Rules, Literary Characters, Genres, Myths and Themes, Lovers and Beloved, Manuals of Conduct, Morals and Penance, Martyrs, Sufferers, Prisoners and Victims, Misogynistic/Feminist Topics, Debates and Theoretical Concepts, Mothers (Royal, Dynastic and Theological), Musicians, Composers and Musical Genres, Mystics and Visionary Authors, Rulers (Popes, Empresses, Queens, Noblewomen), Saintsʼ Cults, Lives: Authors and Heroines, Scholars, Humanists, Thinkers and Teachers, Sportswomen, Tradeswomen and Workers, Virgins, Warriors, Protectors and Protesters, Wives and Widows, Writers (Literary), Poets, Translators and Patrons.