Women's Lives in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook

by Emilie Amt (Editor)

Through public and private records, letters, laws and archaeological evidence, this book describes the everyday lives of women in medieval Europe. Using women's own voices where possible, the collection focuses on ordinary women of all ranks.

Genres: History, Medieval, Nonfiction, Medieval History, Womens, Womens Studies, Feminism

360 pages, Paperback

First published December 21, 1992

About the author

Emilie Amt is the Hildegarde Pilgram professor of history at Hood College in Frederick (MD).

Reviews

[Mary]

If you are interested in how women lived in the middle ages, or at least how their lives are portrayed in contemporary documents this sourcebook is perfect. It has clear citations and gives reasons for using the documents chosen. It has an array of documents from various cultures eg The Church, the Latin based cultures and the Germanic cultures plus some from the less numerous but still influential such as the Jewish peoples. It is well laid out so that information can be easily accessed. Their are clear attempts to let women speak for themselves wherever possible. Each section ends with suggested questions. There is an extensive bibliography for wider reading.

In short this is an excellent reference book for those who have an interest in this area.

Highly recommended.

[Christina]

When I picked it up I thought it would have more commentary about each section. Each section and each entry does have a few paragraphs giving explanation and context the book is otherwise primary sources of the medieval time period.

[Kara]

Sources cited – check

Material organized in a clear manner by time, place and subject – check

Full background explained rather than make assumptions – check

Questions marks highlighted rather than filled in with fanfiction – check

Finding new ways to examine overlooked people in history – check

Tantalizing look into a world both foreign and yet filled with recognizable human emotions – check, check, check!

[Kit Alloway]

This book is a must-read for anyone truly interested in medieval life. The information is fascinating. It comes a huge diversity of sources--legal records, autobiographies, coroner's records. Although I would have loved the editor to include more information to help the reader put this information in context, the excellent bibliography points the way toward a wealth of sources.

[Ethan]

I'm using this as the sourcebook for a course on Women in the Middle Ages. It's well arranged and offers wonderfully readable translations. One weakness is that the readings feel heavily sourced from western and northern Europe.

[Gavin]

Primary sources are hard work, obviously, but I am sometimes too grumpy to trust others' filters.

[Kathleen Marguerite]

Informative, but not easy reading if you aren't used to primary sorces and dry scholarly works. I do have to go bck and finish this one; I'd wait untill then for the final rating.

[Hildegart]

This is a good sourcebook for documents from the middle ages related to women. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in women in the middle ages.

[Leah]

Very useful book. Sources well cited. Gives a look at women of all classes, throughout Europe.

[Ginger Rogers]

Dnf