Stories of Women in the Middle Ages

De: Maria Teresa Brolis, Joyce Myerson - translator, Franco Cardini - foreword

Narrado por: Elizabeth Wiley

Between the 12th and 15th 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 16 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 rigor 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.

©2018 McGill-Queen's University Press (P)2018 Tantor

loved everything

the lives of both famous and ordinary women are given new breath by Brolis and Myerson. great book!!!!

Perhaps the fault is in translation...

... but this book is too wordy, the sentences drag on, and it is disjointed, a side note here, a side note there, now back to subject at hand, making it difficult to read. If you enjoyed that sentence then you will enjoy listening to this book.
I am disappointed because the subject matter seems like it would be very interesting.