Friday, January 11, 2008

At left we see a picture of one of the most famous of learned women, Christine de Pizan, instructing her son. She was married at 15, left widowed at 25, and under the pressure of needing to make a living took up her pen to support herself as a writer. Her father, as King tells us, was particularly conscientious in seeing to it that she had a good education as a girl, even though her mother preferred she take a more conventional path. She wrote a treatise on military matters, as well as love poetry and books of etiquette for ladies. She is perhaps best known for The Book of the City of Ladies, a defense of women against their misogynistic detractors.

For questions, I'm going to start with the documents:

Salutati's letter to Caterina di Messer Vieri di Donatino D;Arezzo:

• The background to this letter, as you know from reading King, is a young woman's appeal to a humanist scholar and statesman, Coluccio Salutati (1331-1406). In 1375 Salutati was appointed chancellor (chief executive officer) of the commune of Florence. We learn about Caterina's case from the footnote to our reading, and from King: she was forced to take vows at an early age, and later wished to leave the convent to marry and have a family. She was also an educated woman, and perhaps expected Salutati to respect her and sympathize with her position for that reason. Obviously, she was wrong!
• Note the rhetorical features of his letter. This is a highly scripted form of communication, not a personal note he dashed off. What are some of the strategies he employs to make his point?
• What seems to be his motivation for the position he takes? What is his overt reasoning? Do you think that there is an element of misogyny under the surface?

Leonardo Bruni's letter to Battista Malatesta:

• With Leonardo Bruni (1369-1444) , we have another celebrated humanist chancellor of Florence, of a later generation than Salutati. The two knew each other well and were friends. Battista Malatesta was a powerful woman from a ruling family.
• Compare the Bruni's attitude towards his correspondent with Salutati's attitude towards Caterina. Find vocabulary that particularly emphasizes the contrast.
• What is the significance of Latin for education, according to Bruni? What special features does good Latin writing possess?
• What content does he feel most appropriate? Why?
• What subjects does he close off to her, and why?
• Are there subjects today that some people think are unsuitable for women? Are there subjects women tend to avoid? Why do you suppose that is?

Laura Cereta

• There are two letters here, not to individuals, but open letters to types of people, the first a man who praises Cereta as an individual but disparages her gender, and the second a woman who mocks learned women as being unfeminine. What language does Cereta use in each case to express her contempt?
• Why is she so angry at "Bibulus Sempronius" (a nickname suggesting he is a drunkard)? After all, the man has apparently expressed admiration for her.
• How does she refute his position? What does she believe women are capable of doing? Why haven't they realized their potential?
• In her letter to "Lucilia Vernacula" (who according to this nickname knows only the vernacular and no Latin), Cereta achieves a high level of invective. She could give lessons to our political commentators today! What enrages her so much about other women? Is her attitude toward them potentially misogynistic?

King and Wiesner:

• Humanist males seem to have endorsed the idea of a woman's education; what was the reason?
• How did the Reofrmation affect women's education? What did the reformers endorse by way of education for women?
• What sources of information do we have about women's literacy?
• Both King and Wiesner give examples of individual women who gained a high level of literacy, along with statistics placing these examples in perspective. What is the overall conclusion to the story they tell?

Laurel Carrington carringt@stolaf.edu
Most recent update: January 11, 2008

Disclaimer