Power of the Weak: Studies on Medieval Women

Covering the eleventh through
sixteenth centuries, these essays suggest that influence and power may
have paradoxically been available to women despite, and sometimes precisely
because of, their subordinate position in society. Striking for its range
of scholarship, this collection explores the power and independence, relationships
and influence of medieval queens, holy women, mothers, widows, Jewish
conversas, and others. Latin and Anglo-Norman hagiography, confessors'
manuals, coronation rituals, responsa literature, and legal theory
are represented.
"An intriguing exploration
of a basic paradox of medieval society, and an excellent blend of theory
and gender studies with detailed work relevant for social and political
history." -- Joel Rosenthal, author of Patriarchy and Families
of Privilege in Fifteenth-Century England
JENNIFER CARPENTER
is a lecturer in history at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.