This is a beautiful book which is worth buying for the luminous images of the medieval manuscripts but it is also a fascinating look into the world of the women in this era.

Medieval women are usually thought of as being idle and wealthy, damsels in distress, nuns or prostitutes. The truth is very different. Women played a big role in the economy. Merchant's wives sold their crafts at markets and participated in the trade of goods and poor man's wives worked in the fields. Aristocratic women often commissioned manuscripts, became patrons of art and the higher-ranking ones even played a part in negotiations. Saint Hedwig, for example, had seven children, assisted her husband, a former duke, with peace negotiations, and after she and her husband made vows of chastity, she sponsored religious houses and cared for the poor. She is also supposed to have performed miracles so she became a saint.

Some women, such as Christine de Pisan, Helouise and Hildegarde of Bingen, also played important roles in the arts. Christine de Pisan and Helouise wrote while Hildegarde composed wonderful music, amongst other things. Other women illuminated manuscripts themselves or had their own images or words placed in works that they commissioned.

This book covers a wide range of topics, such as how women were viewed, the ideal women,'bad' women and marriage and courtly love. Each chapter contains manuscripts illustrating these subjects. Although piety and obedience were regarded as virtues, I liked the fact that strong-willed and courageous Biblical women, such as Judith who slayed an Assyrian general in his sleep to save her people, were also greatly admired.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in medieval women.

I received this free book from Net Galley in return for an honest revie

Clear concise text, gorgeously decorated illuminations and short simple stories of female saints revered for their piety, what's not to like in this book? This shows us how women were considered in the Middle Ages and attempts to show that then, as now, we're a complicated bundle of emotions, and men struggled to define us then and now!
Poorer working women were often considered the most fortunate of the sisterhood as they were capable of earning their own money and had more freedom in how they lived their lives. They spun wool, washed laundry, were barmaids and became prostitutes. They worked in the fields alongside the men and married and took charge of the house and the children. On the down side, they could be committed to a nunnery due to unwanted pregnancy and loose morals, lack of dowry or in order for the husband to get control of a large fortune.
Richer women were able to educate their daughters and found schools and universities in their own name. They gave money to the poorest of society and through patronage enabled prayers to be said upon nearest and dearest passing from life, commission books to be printed and expensive jewellery to be created as gifts for family or courtly favours. Some women were trusted to rule the Kingdom whilst the King was away at war.
This book would be lovely for someone wanting to learn more about mediaeval society and the role of women. It is a basic introduction to this era and it explains the meanings behind these beautiful paintings. I have posted a copy of this review on Goodreads today.

This book was interesting in the sense that it told the story of women in history, taken from the depiction and understanding of illuminating of the time. I really would have liked a little more about the actual art shown in the pictures. An good book for moment in history.

It is a beautifully illustrated work, with carefully selected manuscripts to enhance each chapter which is depicted in the exhibition. We have topics covering the ideals of womanhood (Christian saints and martyrs), "warnings" on behaviour (adultery, wantoness), daily life (courtship, marriage, childbirth, death), women in the arts (artists and illuminators), and finally a small section on the renewed interest in women of history.

This book will be a companion to the upcoming exhibition in the J. Paul Getty Museum.

It is a lovely picture book, especially for those of us who will not have the opportunity to visit the actual exhibition. The text will give you an elementary context for the illuminations, but does not provide in-depth scholarly insights.

Most people have a limited knowledge of women in the Middle Ages. This book by Christine Sciacca will open up many eyes. The publication is timed to coincide with the 2017 exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

An illuminated manuscript is defined as a manuscript in which the text is supplemented with decorations. These could include initials, borders, and illustrations. Ms. Sciacca has divided her book into four sections, Medieval Ideals of Womanhood, Warnings to Medieval Women, Medieval Women in Daily Life, and Medieval Women in the Arts. The layout is wonderful, and almost turns the pages for readers. The balance between text and illuminations changes constantly, never allowing the eyes to tire.

The Middle Ages was a time when males dominated the church and state, and controlled much of what happened. However, there were women who thought differently, who were opposed to the “normal” order of things and had the courage to speak their minds. Many of the illuminated manuscripts present these women through the images and accompanying text. Not only are women featured, but many of the manuscripts were commissioned by female patrons as well as illuminated by women.

The script is informative, enlightening readers not only about each illumination but also offering a back history of some of the essential characters featured in the art. For anyone interested in the medieval life and the attitudes of those living during that time, this is an excellent book. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Illuminating Women in the Medieval World

by Christine Sciacca

Getty Publications

J. Paul Getty Museum



Arts & Photography , History

Pub Date 20 Jun 2017

I am reviewing a copy of Illuminating Women in the Medieval World through Getty Publications Netgalley:

Almost nine hundred years ago in Medieval France Abelard and Heloise d' Argentueil became lovers engaged in an ill fated affair.

Although Women formed an integral part of the Medieval World records of their achievements are few.

At the age of twelve Hedwig of Selsia married the future Duke Henry of Selsia she raised seven children one who died in battle.

Numerous female saints served as Models for both Men and Women I'm the Medieval World.

Catherine of Alexandria was a learned woman who refused to worship paagan idols.

Margaret of York was well renowned for her small but lavish collection of books.

Hildegard of Bergen was a twelfth century mystic who was famous for the visions she wrote down and were eventually published.

Jeanne de Montabason was a Pakistan Book Seller and illuminator.

I give Illuminating Women in the Medieval World was five out of five stars.

Happy Reading!

Illuminating Women in the Medieval World by Christine Sciacca

Pros: lots of colour illustrations, good explanations

Cons:

This is an examination of medieval women as depicted in illuminated manuscripts. There’s a short forward by Timothy Potts, the Director of the J. Paul Getty Museum, followed by the Introduction. There are four chapters: Medieval Ideals of Womanhood, Warnings to Medieval Women, Medieval Women in Daily Life and Medieval Women in the Arts. At the end there’s a short epilogue and some suggestions for further reading. The book is 120 pages, and there are 100 illustrations.

The chapters start with a short explanation followed by a large number of illustrations. Each image has a good descriptive explanation that often gives context and/or insights into the medieval mind. I was impressed to see an Ethiopian and a Persian image in the Ideals of Womanhood chapter, as well as a few Hebrew manuscripts represented. The images depict a wide variety of women from a good mix of sources. There are saints, Biblical scenes, scenes of romance, giving birth, patrons praying, etc. Some of the sources are book of hours, prayer books, hymnals, medical and history texts, a book of law codes, etc.

The Warnings chapter opens with a brief foray into nude female imagery and the male readership for whom those images were generally commissioned, something I had never considered before. There are several other interesting tidbits that give greater depth to the people who made and used the manuscripts.

I found this a wonderful read. It’s an introductory volume and so accessible to anyone interested in learning more about the middle ages and the role of women.

Beautiful book! Great glimpse into the life of medieval women, including female saints. It was written in an accessible, easy style.

This is a lovely coffee-table style book on the subject of women in medieval illuminated manuscripts. If you know nothing on that subject it is a great starting off point, if you love perusing medieval art then it is a great addition to a collection. If you were wanting a deeper dive into the symbolism of art then you are going to want to look elsewhere.

One thing I really liked about this book (even though I was reading it in digital format rather than its clearly intended format) was how it inspired conversation. I was reading while surrounded by friends and they were greatly entertained by the various factoids about life for a medieval woman I was able to share. I passed around my kindle, but admit it would have been even more enjoyable to have the book with larger art to show off.

As someone who does not have easy physical access to the manuscripts or the exhibitions where they are shown. So being able to see them in the pictures given was amazing and it showed me more of the medieval world than just England or Britain.
In each chapter, there was an introduction given first, to give one a broad, general, and quick insight into what happens in the chapter. The illustrations also had explanations next to them which was extremely nice and handy.

An introduction to the life of medieval women, illustrated with beautiful paintings. A chapter is dedicated to the medieval ideal of womanhood, another contains warnings with examples of "incorrect" behaviours. The text is essential and easy reading, the main attraction of this volume are the magnificient pictures.

The book features full colour illustrations of paintings depicting women and their life. A must-read if you want to know how women lived, the expectations imposed on them by society and the symbols of women in the medieval period.

This is an analysis of women's roles in the middle ages using medieval illustrations of women, and accompanying them with only a very brief description of each. It comes across as rather like an academic coffee table book. I was hoping for much more text and analyses than what there is, but it is still interesting if you take it for what it is. I am sure the images are much more interesting in the print version too (I was given a free ebook copy for review from the publisher via NetGalley). It is published by Getty Museum, and indeed it strikes me as the type of book you would buy in a museum gift shop as a souvenir of the paintings you viewed there.

I’ve seen many beautiful illuminations at different museums, but never understood the deep meaning of them until reading this book. It is written in a straight-forward manner. Each story is supported by remarkable illumination. However, the order of presenting those illuminations strikes me as not well-organized. For me natural order would be from presenting birth, learning, to getting married or nunnery and life struggles or luxuries.

The fact is: in the medieval times in the male-dominated church and state little was recorded in regards to women. So those illuminated manuscripts offer glimpses into their lives: from giving a birth, baptism, teaching children read, to taking part in political and economic arena and giving spark to women literacy.

The book starts with a breath-taking illumination of Saint Hedwig of Silesia, Poland, 1353. Her life reflects “the varied prescribed roles that women in the Middle Ages played: wife, mother, political negotiator, charitable patron, pious laywoman, and saint.

Illumination of Mary Magdalene Borne Aloft depicts family of wealthier class where mother teaches her daughter read, often using prayer books as primers.

Threshing and Pig Feeding illumination presents “important functions of women in medieval society.”

“Manuscripts were some of the most expensive art objects that one could buy in the Middle Ages.” Lot of them were commissioned by and for women, thus leaving us with glimpses into their lives.

In the Middle Ages, some women were forced to become nuns as their families could not afford dowries. Their dedication was to prayer, charity and God, but also led to encouragement of female literacy and “eventually spreading to the royalty, the nobility, and the middle class.”

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary illumination depicts niece of Saint Hedwig. Elizabeth is widowed at young age and choses to join convent instead of marrying again. But her spiritual advisor subjects her to cruel treatment of lashing.

Economic role: “Peasant women helped harvest the fields alongside men, and women of the growing merchant class produced and sold crafts and participated in the trade of goods…” And wealthy women commissioned luxury goods, including manuscripts.

Through illuminations displaying love, we learn about types of courting women: flirtatious conversations, game playing, poetry citing, love letter writing.

A Marriage Ceremony illumination depicts marriage contracts, creating political and economic alliances.

The Birth of Caesar illumination portrays Julius Caesar’s mother giving birth to him through stomach incision; not clear if this gave term “Cesarean.”

The Massacre of the Innocents illumination paints painful picture of Middle Age realities of mothers protecting their children from soldiers stabbing them.

Most common manuscripts to be commissioned were books of hours and prayer books. Books of hours were the medieval bestsellers. There were relatively few women artists/writers, creating text and painting images, compared to male artists/writers.

Christine de Pizan illumination is of one of the earliest known professional female authors.

Hildegard of Bingen Receiving a Vision illumination “was 12th century nun famous for her visions, which she wrote down and were eventually published.”

The role and position of women in the medieval world was not a subject I was particular knowledgeable about, like most people I had read biographies and historical novels of certain Queens of the period but beyond that my knowledge of this subject was somewhat lacking. As stated in the book although women formed an integral part of medieval society records substantiating this are relatively few. Therefore it was with much anticipation that I began reading this informative and scholarly work that showed the importance and many nuanced ways that they contributed to medieval society.

This book can easily be read in one sitting and comprises over one hundred illuminations from Europe and Ethiopia showing the varied abilities of women in text and also image. The power and influence of religion is an omnipresent theme in a world where the Church was as is now male dominated and where the formal education of women was frowned upon. There is much allusion to biblical heroines and saints as to the correct conduct to be followed as religion seemingly permeated all aspects of society.

The illuminated manuscripts are a source of fascination in themselves and coupled with the accompanying text certainly made for a very enlightening afternoon read.

In Jane Austen’s ‘Northanger Abbey’ Catherine Morland laments that she finds History uninteresting in the following terms:

“The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences on every page; the men so good-for-nothing, and hardly any women at all – it is very tiresome.”

This critique contains more than a grain of truth, with women once largely written out of the past or appearing only as adjuncts to their menfolk. Those exceptional women like Joan of Arc or Elizabeth I who forced themselves upon male consciousness were either treated as aberrant (in Joan's case stressing her cross dressing) or forced into conventional modes of understanding (in Elizabeth’s case the cult of the Virgin Queen providing an outlet for otherwise repressed Mariolatry).

In ‘Illuminating Women in the Medieval World’ Christine Sciacca helps put women back into the broader picture of the past by examining the role of women as they are represented in the illuminated manuscripts of the J. Paul Getty Museum, supplemented by examples drawn from other collections, both public and private.

The images are beautifully reproduced and together with the informative text provide a salutary reminder that medieval women occupied roles other than Madonna or Whore, although the saintly and the seductive are certainly well represented.

Thus within the admittedly severe constraints of the source material, ‘Illuminating Women in the Medieval World’ does a very good job of rescuing women from anonymity or from being mere appendages of men, and in the process provides both food for thought and a veritable feast for the eyes.

If we don't think about it much or are not historians, we might think that women in the Middle Ages were ornamental and not tremendously useful outside the usual sphere of house and home. Certainly any study of history or religion will show us that this is not entirely true but even that could be dismissed as being just a few outliers.

What is far harder to dismiss is the evidence from the pictures in illuminated books and manuscripts from the period that show us women actively taking part in their world. The book shows us saints and sinners, peasants and queens, rich, poor, an middle-class. We see them all in the charming pictures of books of all kinds.

This book, written to accompany an exhibit at the Getty Museum. looks at women in different ways through these pictures. The text, while short is illuminating it tells us something about the subject, such as warnings to women, and the describes each of the plates and how it relates.

I loved that it stuck nicely to the subject at hand and didn't spend too much time on technical details of the different artists, the different books, or the styles of art.

It's a book that will give you new insight into the Medieval world and delight you with the miniature works of art.

This short but enlightening volume presents one hundred illuminations that give readers insight into the role of women in the medieval world. The majority of the discussed artworks are Western European, but there are a few inclusions from places such as Poland, Ethiopia, and Iran. A treat for those interested in medieval and/or art history.

Excellent! Beautiful.