Stories of Women in the Middle Ages

by Maria Teresa Brolis, Joyce Myerson (Translator)

Between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries in Europe, not all women fit the stereotype of passive housewife and mother. Many led bold and dynamic lives. In this collection of historical portraits, Maria Teresa Brolis tells the fascinating tales of fashion icons, art clients, businesswomen, saints, healers, lovers, and pilgrims – both famous and little known – who challenge conventional understandings of the medieval female experience. Drawing on evidence from literary works and archival documents that include letters, chronicles, trials, testimonials, notary registers, contracts, and wills, Brolis pieces together an intricate overview of sixteen women’s lives. With zest and compassion, she describes the mysterious visionary Hildegard of Bingen, the cultured Heloisa, the powerful Eleanor of Aquitaine, Saint Clare of Assisi, the rebel Joan of Arc, as well as lesser-known women such as Flora, the penitent moneylender, Bettina the healer, and Belfiore the pilgrim, among others. Following the trajectories and divergences of their lives from wealth to poverty, from conjugal love to the love of community, from the bedroom to life on the streets of Paris, London, Mainz, Rome, and Bergamo, each portrait offers a riveting glimpse into the often complex and surprising world of the medieval woman. Combining the rigour of research with the thrill and empathy of narrative, Stories of Women in the Middle Ages is a provocative investigation into the biographies of sixteen incredible medieval heroines.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Feminism, Historical, Biography

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2017

Reviews

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars
The first half covered women I'd heard of in lesser detail before. The second half was covering women from other social classes which I appreciated but the tone changed and it was kinda boring.

[Desirae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, lots of interesting facts, and the author showcases women who previously were unknown to me - particularly Briget of Sweden.

My main issue was the sad fact that in 2019 (or 2018, when this book was published) we only get a 200 page book, segregated into dozens of sections, about women. Why was the book so short, and by telling these stories, what was Brolis' main point? What is she bringing to the field that we haven't already seen.

Felt like a cheap dissertation.

[Margarete Maneker · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting enough overview of some medieval women & their biographies. particularly bowled over by brigit of sweden but i already have a soft spot for hildegard (duh), christine de pizan, and eleanor of aquitaine. the second half of the book used a kind of history from below angle by focusing on common/not famous women, which is cool and i appreciate that the book fleshed out women from across many centuries, states, and economic means. one of those audiobooks you put on in the background to absorb some info while you putter about

[Ameya Warde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book doesn't go into depth about anyone, but gives a short chapter to each of the women and gives a fairly brief overview of their lives. The first half is more famous women while the second half is just regular women, and it's no surprise there's not much depth to those because the records would only show so much! I was rather disappointed there wasn't more info in the famous women's chapters though. But still, as an overview type thing, it was still interesting enough, as it's so rare to really hear about the lives of women in the middle ages, especially on their own terms and not just being mentioned in relation to a more famous man.

[Ragne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a taste of 16 women's lives and legacies. It is not an in-depth of any of them. Many of them need, and indeed has several, books of their own.
The 16 women are used as an intro into medieval history, and as examples of how life were for women in general in addition to some backstory on the more famous ones.

The style is more academic than many other similar books, and is probably not for everyone. For instance, I have a degree in medieval studies, have special interest in women's history, and have read a lot about several of the women before. If you want to read about the specific women, you might want to consider other works.

[Sanita Kacuba · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book consists of short summaries of the several Middle Ages women lives. Interesting to see beyond the typical portrayal but a bit hard to follow the facts after facts. Would advice to read a single story and put the book down for a bit before the next one.
The other half of the book didn't stick together with the first one for me, felt more like a PhD dissertation which I believe the author's material was based on.

[Andrea Hickman Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit preachy and self-satisfied but nonetheless an interesting collection.

[Susy Emiliani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Per il mio gusto, la scelta dell’autrice è stata un po’ infelice. Il suo volersi proporre a un pubblico di non specialisti sembra l’abbia costretta a fare compromessi. Il libro presenta prima le storie di 8 donne che potrei definire “importanti” e successivamente 8 situazioni vissute da donne “comuni”. Dover affrontare la biografia di Chiara d’Assisi o Giovanna D’Arco in poche pagine, per docente di storia medioevale, dev’essere un’impresa ardua e il dover necessariamente tagliare qualcosa, impoverisce il saggio. Di contro credo sia quasi impossibile epurate dai riferimenti alle fonti, storie che sono quai sempre desunte da atti testamentari. La prima parte, quindi, mi ha lasciata insoddisfatta, mentre la seconda è veramente interessante. Fa venir voglia di andare a scartabellare tra le pergamene. Poi è un’altra passata di spugna sui pregiudizi sul medioevo che ci portiamo dietro dai tempi della scuola.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. It has short summaries in the first half of some famous women from the Middle Ages (but with less info than what you'd get from other sources) and then talks about several common, unknown women from Bergamo, Italy in the second half.
I liked hearing about the wills women left behind and the fashions they had in the second section, but wasn't very interested in the rest. I think the first part with summaries of famous women was far too short to do the women justice and I just wasn't interested in some of the information in the second part. Good overview, but I think with the content the author was trying to tackle it needed to be a much longer book.

[Christine]

If you are interested in a more personal view of historical figures, and “normal” people that lived in historical times then this is certainly a good book for you. While, this is a very brief look at the lives of individuals. It adds some personal touches, and makes them more human, rather than just names and dates. It is fascinating how the author manages to eke out details of individuals lives that are normally not publicized. I definitely recommend this as a brief historical read. I love seeing history from different points of view, it never would’ve occurred to me that the wills of individuals would offer a glimpse of how unfortunate individuals lived in historical times.

[Noel Cisneros]

Brolis ofrece un amplio panorama de las mujeres en el medioevo, para ello reconstruye la vida de dieciséis mujeres, ocho de las cuales son figuras ya conocidas por la historia (reinas, santas, escritoras, peregrinas) y por el otro la vida de mujeres menos conocidas por la historia y que tuvo conocimiento de ellas por los archivos. La parte dedicada a las figuras históricas tiene menor interés dado que no en pocos casos Brolis se limita a repetir las noticias que sobre ellas se tienen. Interesa más la historia de las mujeres de pie.

[Dasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brolis does an excellent job giving agency to 16 women (8 of which are "famous" and 8 of which are from lower classes and do not populate the popular consciousness) of the Middle Ages. I enjoyed the detailed stories of these women and Brolis does an excellent job piecing together the often scattered source material to paint these images. I give it 3 stars because I really wish she included notes and references so the reader could see which sources she grabbed from to shape these narratives. Nonetheless, learning about these women's lives was intriguing and surprising, often finding myself relating to many of them.

[Polly Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book is not very noteworthy, it might as well be the Wikipedia entries of the famous women it describes. The second half is amazing, it truly delves deep into the lives of women I, at least, wouldn’t have heard of otherwise, it gives an insight into their daily lives and their cultures and it makes the whole book worth it.

[ITry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tw: history

The writing style didnt capture me but what i remember from it, i enjoyed.
Cannot speak to the historical accuracy but i love that she showed women from all classes

Read through audiobook

[TheDeityChildren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wish I was able to understand this book, but I just couldn’t. The idea is interesting, especially about showing us common day life for women, but it could have been much better executed. Also, it required an understanding of Christianity I just don’t have.

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had been very intrigued to learn about the accounts of these women as individuals however most chapters used the women more as a jumping off point into a theme of the time (religiosity, family life, etc) and it was less on their lives and personal histories.

[Fides · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. Anti-Catholic much? Rewriting history to suit her modern/postmodern feminist ideas.

I've never understood why anyone who is blatantly anti-Catholic takes the time to study and write about Catholics.

[Yan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An academic book through and through, this may appeal to those who already have some interest and rudimentary knowledge of the middle ages. The narrator is awesome but this book is best read in print especially if you're not very familiar with Italian and Latin.

[Vitor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah eu gostei bastante até (3.5*)

[JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright, nothing overwhelming or groundbreaking but alright.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh

[Arjun]

Chapter 2 - Riengard, the mother

[Valentina Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessante negli spunti, accademico nell’approccio. Non che sia un male, sempre apprezzabile il rigore scientifico, ma personalmente ha intaccato il mio livello di coinvolgimento.

[Anna C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part One: Vignettes about famous Medieval women like Eleanor of Aquitaine and Hildegard von Bingen. Always interesting, but we've seen this before.

Part Two: Vignettes about middle-class and poor women living in 14th century Bergamo, Italy, using previously unstudied financial archive sources. Incredible- we need to take a field trip to Bergamo! @ my favorite, Bettina the witch, who talks to dead people and treats a man for muteness by putting a hot cooked chicken on his head, but is so harmless and loveable that the authorities just let her off with a warning.

[Mills College Library]

920.72 B867 2018