Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Women in the Days of the Cathedrals


As I continue to put the finishing touches on my novel set in medieval France, author and editor Regina Doman recommended to me Women in the Days of the Cathedral Share

12 comments:

B & C said...

Interesting blog!

I think you may enjoy mine:

www.lessonsontheenglishlongsword.blogspot.com

We touch upon some of the same topics.

I'm not Catholic (I'm Deist), but I certainly have no prob w\ Catholics.

-Brandon Heslop

Gareth Russell said...

It certainly is bizarre that many scholars are trumpetting the freedom of women in the immediately pre-Christian era, apparently confusing the oppression of Roman gender politics with the actual freedom of other ancient civilisations, namely Egypt. Although of course many women in the Middle Ages were subject to a series of restrictions which we would find horrifying today, the same could be said for many others - including children. It's also true that we should avoid lumping the entire half-millennium period together as a whole; from my own area of interest, it is worth noting that early medieval queens in England, such as Matilda of Flanders, Matilda of Boulogne and Eleanor of Aquitaine had far greater ceremonial "clout" than their later successors, such as Joanna of Navarre or Catherine de Valois. In the case of women, the case for the prosecution has been made ad nauseum and this book sounds fascinating in its attempts to redress the balance.

Stephanie A. Mann said...

Great post--I remember reading this book on a flight and a passenger across the aisle noted the title and the cover. She made some quip about "that was a really bad time for women" and I replied, "well, you might read the book--the historical evidence this author presents shows it was quite otherwise!" I offered her a couple of examples and then the conversation rather tailed off.

elena maria vidal said...

Welcome, Brandon, I will check it out!

Gareth, you would enjoy the Pernoud book for its attention to detail and the fact that Madame Pernoud makes it clear that the Middle Ages were a thousand year period in which a great deal happened, and that different regions had different customs. Her book Those Terrible Middle Ages is excellent as well.

That's funny, Stephanie. I have stuff like that happen all the time.

Cay Gibson said...

Excited to hear you're working on another book Elena.

Is there a timeframe for when it'll be offered?

elena maria vidal said...

Thanks, Cay. No dates have been set for anything yet, as far as I know, but when I know anything I will broadcast it from the rooftops! You'll love my new book. I also have two others in the works.

Linda said...

Thanks for this review. This is a fascinating book full of startling information, such as the role of medieval queens in Christianizing Europe. The Renaissance brought greater restrictions upon women, relative to their rights during the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages are much maligned, since it was an era dominated by the Catholic Church. The 1,000 years of the Middle Ages were the years that saw the building of Western civilization. Instead of bringing out what was achieved in creating Europe out of the forests and the swamps, historians tend to latch on to the idea what the medieval period lacked compared with Renaissance. We don't call the period when America was carved out of the West a "dark age"--we call it the frontier. I hope more people will read this eye-opening book.

Michelle Therese said...

I'll deffinatley read that book!! I'm ordering from Amazon as I type :-)

For some reason I have a hard time getting Tea At Trianon to come up on my computer. :-(

Glad to hear you're still writing!!!! God bless!

elena maria vidal said...

Everybody should read it, Linda, I agree. Especially students of medieval history. I only regret that it took me so long to getting around to reading it.

You'll love Pernoud's book, Coffee!

Stephanie A. Mann said...

I gained some great insights from Pernoud's book on the "Terrible Middle Ages" that you mentioned. One comment she made that has really stuck with me is that Medieval artists and architects developed new styles (Romanesque/Norman and Gothic) while Renaissance artists and architects copied ancient styles.

Anonymous said...

I am adding this one to my Amazon wish list. Medieval history is one of my favorite topics.

Anonymous said...

What a brilliant recommendation. I know Madame Pernoud's work on Jehanne d'Arc but not this one.
Many thanks Elena. And all the best with your book.