WOMEN IN MEDIEVAL TIMES

Children know the medieval period best for its knights in shining armor. With an eye to redressing the omission of women from many historical accounts, MacDonald highlights some of the better-known women of the time, as well as the lives of everyday women, in this overview. While the other books in this series explore specific countries (Women in Ancient Greece, 1999, etc.), this history covers a broad spectrum of Christian women in many European nations. Contents include the role of women in medieval society, marriage, motherhood, health, dress, work, and religion, as well as short biographical information on notable women. Each subject is divided into paragraphs under bold headings in the style of an encyclopedia article. In a paragraph entitled “Multicultural,” MacDonald acknowledges that medieval Muslim, Jewish, and pagan women did exist; however, scanty information about them is given. Numerous reproductions of illustrations taken from books and paintings of the time break up the text, as do boxed quotations and anecdotes taken from original sources. The illustrations are accompanied by excellent explanatory captions; in fact, quotations and the captioned illustrations are often more interesting and specific than the text, which is quite general. A survey of five hundred years of history cannot cover so large a subject in depth, and this one omits many historical events that affected women’s lives, but students looking for another source for information on women will find this helpful. (Nonfiction. 8-12)