Bonnie Wheeler (1) (1944–)

Ekki oft sem maður kemst yfir umfjöllun um konur á miðöldum bæði vegna skorts á heimildum en einnig vegna þess hve staða þeirra var oft ósýnileg í karlægum valdavettvangi. Þetta er ágætis umfjöllun um örfáar konur sem vöktu verðskuldaða athygli á þessum tímum. Jóhanna af Örk (1412-1431), Eleanor frá Aquitaine (1124-1204), Hildegard af Bingen (1098–1179) og heimspekinginn og nunnuna Heloise (1101-1163). Allt mjög ólíkar konur en orð þeirra og gjörðir höfðu mikil áhrif.… (more)

A solid collection of essays about the twelfth-century queen Eleanor of Aquitaine which tackles both her remarkable life and the legends which grew up around her in the centuries after her death. Many of the nineteen essays also fit into a broader scholarly consideration of medieval queenship and the ability of elite women to exercise power in the Middle Ages. I found the empirically grounded essays the strongest, and did find myself skimming the more lit based ones a tad, but that reflects my own personal interests as much as anything.… (more)