Intended Audience
College Audience
LCCN
92-003338
Dewey Edition
20
Reviews
'fine anthology ... Woman Defamed and Woman Defended will be staying out on the desk'Times Literary Supplement'fascinating anthology of medieval writings ... the selections in Woman Defamed are presented in clear, modern English, including many new translations by Blamires ... I admit I took perverse delight in dipping into the wellsprings of Western misogyny. Ultimately, however, skimming for fun and outrage does a disservice to the real importance of Blamires' book. A steady, cumulative reading of the anti-feminist tracts in Woman Defamed is anopportunity to peer into the distant past and find it disturbingly familiar.'Pamela J. Petro, The Women's Review of Book, Vol. X, No. 5/February 1993'A most significant contribution...This anthology meets the urgent need for a single and substantial sourcebook'The Way, 'fine anthology ... Woman Defamed and Woman Defended will be staying out on the desk'Times Literary Supplement, "An essential compendium of primary sources, until now inaccessible to undergraduates. Should be a permanent addition to any syllabus in feminist studies of the Medieval/Renaissance period."--Eunice D. Howe, University of Southern California "[A] fascinating anthology....All the selections in Woman Defamed are presented in clear, modern English, including many new translations by Blamires. Each entry is helpfully accompanied by a brief editorial note about the author and the work....A tremendous repository of reference material....A steady, cumulative reading of the anti-feminist tracts in Woman Defamed is an opportunity to peer into the distant past and find it disturbingly familiar....The chief contribution of Blamires' anthology is to expose the sources of our misogynistic inheritance to the clear sun of readable English."--Women's Review of Books "An excellent anthology--thorough and clearly organized, with useful notes--which I would expect to become a standard adjunct to courses in medieval and woman's studies."--Suzanne Rahn, Pacific Lutheran University "A splendid volume. Contains so many of the resources which have hitherto been scattered through hard-to-find editions, all now nicely gathered and scrupulously presented. A real treasurehouse for understanding the complexities of medieval ideas of gender."--Roy M. Luizza, Tulane University "The selections are tremendously useful."--Linda Marie Zaerr, Boise State University, "An essential compendium of primary sources, until now inaccessible to undergraduates. Should be a permanent addition to any syllabus in feminist studies of the Medieval/Renaissance period."--Eunice D. Howe, University of Southern California"[A] fascinating anthology....All the selections in Woman Defamed are presented in clear, modern English, including many new translations by Blamires. Each entry is helpfully accompanied by a brief editorial note about the author and the work....A tremendous repository of reference material....A steady, cumulative reading of the anti-feminist tracts in Woman Defamed is an opportunity to peer into the distant past and find it disturbingly familiar....The chief contribution of Blamires' anthology is to expose the sources of our misogynistic inheritance to the clear sun of readable English."--Women's Review of Books"An excellent anthology--thorough and clearly organized, with useful notes--which I would expect to become a standard adjunct to courses in medieval and woman's studies."--Suzanne Rahn, Pacific Lutheran University"A splendid volume. Contains so many of the resources which have hitherto been scattered through hard-to-find editions, all now nicely gathered and scrupulously presented. A real treasurehouse for understanding the complexities of medieval ideas of gender."--Roy M. Luizza, Tulane University"The selections are tremendously useful."--Linda Marie Zaerr, Boise State University, 'A most significant contribution...This anthology meets the urgent need for a single and substantial sourcebook'The Way, "An essential compendium of primary sources, until now inaccessible to undergraduates. Should be a permanent addition to any syllabus in feminist studies of the Medieval/Renaissance period."--Eunice D. Howe,University of Southern California "[A] fascinating anthology....All the selections inWoman Defamedare presented in clear, modern English, including many new translations by Blamires. Each entry is helpfully accompanied by a brief editorial note about the author and the work....A tremendous repository of reference material....A steady, cumulative reading of the anti-feminist tracts inWoman Defamedis an opportunity to peer into the distant past and find it disturbingly familiar....The chief contribution of Blamires' anthology is to expose the sources of our misogynistic inheritance to the clear sun of readable English."--Women's Review of Books "An excellent anthology--thorough and clearly organized, with useful notes--which I would expect to become a standard adjunct to courses in medieval and woman's studies."--Suzanne Rahn,Pacific Lutheran University "A splendid volume. Contains so many of the resources which have hitherto been scattered through hard-to-find editions, all now nicely gathered and scrupulously presented. A real treasurehouse for understanding the complexities of medieval ideas of gender."--Roy M. Luizza,Tulane University "The selections are tremendously useful."--Linda Marie Zaerr,Boise State University, 'fascinating anthology of medieval writings ... the selections in Woman Defamed are presented in clear, modern English, including many new translations by Blamires ... I admit I took perverse delight in dipping into the wellsprings of Western misogyny. Ultimately, however, skimming for fun andoutrage does a disservice to the real importance of Blamires' book. A steady, cumulative reading of the anti-feminist tracts in Woman Defamed is an opportunity to peer into the distant past and find it disturbingly familiar.'Pamela J. Petro, The Women's Review of Book, Vol. X, No. 5/February 1993
CLASSIFICATION_METADATA
{"IsNonfiction":["Yes"],"IsOther":["No"],"IsAdult":["Yes"],"MuzeFormatDesc":["Trade Paperback"],"IsChildren":["No"],"Genre":["LITERARY COLLECTIONS","LITERARY CRITICISM","PSYCHOLOGY","HISTORY","RELIGION"],"Topic":["European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh","Women","Medieval","Human Sexuality (see also SOCIAL SCIENCE / Human Sexuality)","Sexuality & Gender Studies"],"IsTextBook":["Yes"],"IsFiction":["Yes"]}
Illustrated
Yes
Dewey Decimal
808
Synopsis
This sourcebook of texts in modern translation makes accessible key anti-feminist works, together with a surprising range of early texts championing women., "It is impossible / That any clerk wol speke good of wyves." Behind the words of Chaucer's Wife of Bath lies a vast corpus of medieval misogynistic writings. These texts, which range from those of the Church Fathers to a rich array of vernacular literature, have had a profound effect on the status of women in the West. Despite the recent surge of investigations into women's situation, however, no one book has sought to collect the key voices of medieval antifeminism, let alone to present the voices sometimes raised, even at that epoch, in defence of women. This new volume meets the urgent need for a single and substantial sourcebook of these materials in modern translation, including an introduction, notes, and commentary. The accessibility of the better-known texts here (from Jerome to Walter Map; from Héloise and Abelard to Christine de Pizan and Chaucer) will be welcomed by those engaged in medieval and women's studies; the lesser-known writings concerning, for instance, the sexual "double standard", and women and the priesthood, will provide unexpected discoveries for specialists and beginners alike. The book also features a surprising range of early texts championing women--including material never previously available in translation., '... it is impossible / That any clerk wol speke good of wyves.' Behind the words of Chaucer's Wife of Bath lies a vast corpus of medieval misogynistic writings. These texts, which range from those of the Church Fathers to a rich array of vernacular literature, have had a profound influence on the status of women in the west. Yet, despite the recent surge of investigations into women's situation, no one book has sought to collect together the key voices of medieval antifeminism, let alone to present the voices sometimes raised, even at that epoch, in defence of women. The urgent need for a single and substantial sourcebook of these materials in modern translation is met for the first time in this volume, which includes an introduction, notes, and commentary. The accessibility of the better-known texts here (from Jerome to Walter Map; from Heloise and Abelard to Christine de Pizan and Chaucer) will be welcomed by those engaged in medieval and women's studies; the lesser-known writings concerning for instance the sexual 'double standard', and women and the priesthood, will provide unexpected discoveries for specialists and beginners alike. Indeed, a surprising range of early texts championing women - including material never previously available in translation - is here represented. All those concerned with women's studies and with medieval and later culture (European as well as English) will find Woman Defamed and Woman Defended fascinating to read as well as a useful resource.
LC Classification Number
PR1912.A2 W65 1992
ebay_catalog_id
4
Copyright Date
1992
As told to
Pratt, Karen, Marx, C. W.
