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From: bmcjmp@burdvax.UUCP (Barb Puder)
Newsgroups: net.books
Subject: Re: Obscure favorites - women's literature
Message-ID: <1307@burdvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 15-Nov-83 05:07:45 EST
Article-I.D.: burdvax.1307
Posted: Tue Nov 15 05:07:45 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 16-Nov-83 01:41:52 EST
References: <1145@mhuxm.UUCP>
Organization: SDC - a Burroughs Company, Paoli PA
Lines: 16

If you want to read some literature about the pre-17th century roles of
women, a good book to catch is "Medieval Women", a collection of the
lectures of Eileen Powers edited by M. M. Postan. This is a small paperback
book, usually available through sources such as Publisher's Central Bureau,
although I have seen it in an occasional bookstore. 

This book gives a good overview of the life of three classes of women in
medieval to early Rennaisance life -- the noble class, the working class,
and the religious orders. It tells about what was expected of women, what
they accomplished, many times in spite of the expectations, and the ways a
woman could be her own person in a truly male-dominated society. It also
shows the origins of many modern (post-Rennaisance) notions about women. I
think that many people would find the information in this book surprising,
to say the least. I found it fascinating. 

Barb Puder, burdvax!bmcjmp