McKenna McKrell, Harvard College
This video provides a brief overview of women’s education in the Medieval West, comparing and contrasting it with educational opportunities for men. The resource also provides an introduction to the figure of Christine de Pizan to prepare students for engaging with her written work.
Video
Primary Source
Christine de Pizan, “Against those men who claim it is not good for women to be educated,” in The Writings of Christine de Pizan ed. Charity Cannon Willard. 1st ed. New York: Persea Books, 195-196. Online text: 2.36.1.
Further Reading
Karras, Ruth Mazo, “Using Women to Think With in the Medieval University,” Seeing and Knowing, vol. 11, Brepols Publishers, 2004, pp. 21–33.
Wilson, Katharina M. Medieval Women Writers. University of Georgia Press, 1984.
Kersey, Shirley. “Medieval Education of Girls and Women." Educational Horizons 58, no. 4 (1980): 188–92.
Abelard, Peter, et al. “The Calamities of Peter Abelard.” Abelard and Heloise: The Letters and Other Writings, Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by William Levitan. Hackett Publishing Company, Incorporated, 2007.
Discussion Questions
- Who empowered women in their education? Themselves? Their parents? their teachers?
- Who is Christine’s audience? Just women? Just men? Everyone?
Cite
McKrell, McKenna. "Women, Education, and the Halls of Learning," Middle Ages for Educators, June 12, 2024. Accessed [date]. https://middleagesforeducators.princeton.edu/women-education-and-halls-…