
Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women
by
Hetta Howes
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780520396586
Publication Date: 12/10/2024
Edition Description: First Edition
"Brilliantly revealing history of medieval women . . . Howes’s debut has just the right meld of insightful research, enjoyable storytelling and contemporary contexts."—The Guardian
"A history of medieval women’s lives as told through the prism of four exceptional individuals. . . . throughout, the tensions of medieval womanhood strain and stretch—eroticism and purity, sexuality and motherhood, silence and speech."—The New York Times
Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife charts the lives and times of four medieval women writers—Marie de France, a poet; Julian of Norwich, a mystic and anchoress; Christine de Pizan, a widow and court writer; and Margery Kempe, a no-good wife—who all bucked convention and forged their own paths. Largely forgotten by modern readers, these women have an astonishing amount to teach us about love, marriage, motherhood, friendship, and earning a living.
Reading the words of these four writers, Hetta Howes engagingly reveals how everyday women lived, survived, and thrived in medieval times. Who did they marry and why? Did they ever have extramarital affairs? Could they earn money and become self-sufficient? Could they be leaders? What did they think about death—and what about life and their place in it? Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife paints a vibrant portrait of these women, their world, and the ways they speak to us today.
"A history of medieval women’s lives as told through the prism of four exceptional individuals. . . . throughout, the tensions of medieval womanhood strain and stretch—eroticism and purity, sexuality and motherhood, silence and speech."—The New York Times
Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife charts the lives and times of four medieval women writers—Marie de France, a poet; Julian of Norwich, a mystic and anchoress; Christine de Pizan, a widow and court writer; and Margery Kempe, a no-good wife—who all bucked convention and forged their own paths. Largely forgotten by modern readers, these women have an astonishing amount to teach us about love, marriage, motherhood, friendship, and earning a living.
Reading the words of these four writers, Hetta Howes engagingly reveals how everyday women lived, survived, and thrived in medieval times. Who did they marry and why? Did they ever have extramarital affairs? Could they earn money and become self-sufficient? Could they be leaders? What did they think about death—and what about life and their place in it? Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife paints a vibrant portrait of these women, their world, and the ways they speak to us today.
Choose options
New Releases
Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution
Amanda Vaill
Hardcover
Sale price$36.00
Shattered Dreams, Infinite Hope: A Tragic Vision of the Civil Rights Movement
Brandon M. Terry
Hardcover
Sale price$35.00
Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy
Julia Ioffe
Hardcover
Sale price$35.00
















