The Scribes For Women's Convents in Late Medieval Germany Review

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(More customer reviews)Before the printing press, books were rare, and made mainly by religious institutions. "The Scribes for Women's Convents in Late Medieval Germany" discusses this manuscript production of women during this era, and how these manuscripts differed from those of their male counterparts. Scrutinizing a forgotten portion of women's history, author Cynthia J. Cyrus goes over the work of women from nearly five hundred convents who did much in the production of the era's literature. Granting insight on the stories of these unsung copyists, "The Scribes for Women's Convents in Late Medieval Germany" is a top pick for any medieval history or women's studies collections.

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While there has been a great tradition of scholarship in medieval manuscripts, most studies have focused on the details of manuscript production by male copyists. In this study, Cynthia J. Cyrus demonstrates the prevalence of manuscript production by women monastics and challenges current assumptions of how manuscripts circulated in the late medieval period. Drawing on extensive research into the surviving manuscripts of over 450 women's convents, the author assesses the genres common to women's convent libraries emphasizing a social rather than a codicological understanding of how manuscripts of women's libraries came to be copied.

An engaging mix of biography, women's history, and book history, The Scribes for Women's Convents in Late Medieval Germany will change the way medieval manuscripts are understood and studied.