The Power of Women: A Topos in Medieval Art and Literature by Susan L. Smith (review)

STUDIES IN THE AGE OF CHAUCER tunic, which is "besmotered" by his rusty mail (p. 153). In the same sec­ tion, while vividly describing an array of large and small medieval weapons, they fail to note how many of these very items are carried by the various pilgrims. The "Arms and Armor" chapter might, however, splendidly inform a classroom discussion of the "arming of the warrior" scenes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In sum, this book is an inconsistent mix of hits and misses. Scattered throughout the volume are useful and illuminating charts. Table 2.1, "The Social Hierarchy" (p. 23), which arranges the traditional three es­ tates across a grid equating a priest or master ofarts from the first estate with a squire from the second estate and a lesser merchant from the third estate, indicates a social parity that belies Chaucer's arrangement ofrep­ resentatives of these same groups in his Prologue. The chapter "Cycles of Time," covering the canonical hours, the agricultural calendar year, and the liturgical calendar of feasts, is informative but has little demonstra­ ble connection to Chaucer's works. The patterns for costumes (whose au­ thentic sources are actually Scandinavian, not English) give a sense ofthe construction of medieval garments; however, realizing them from a small line drawing to their ultimate "fabrication" would probably chal­ lenge even the most skilled home sewer. The recipes add little or noth­ ing to the collections of medieval recipes by Lorna Sass, Sharon Buder, and Constance Hieatt. This book will be appreciated best by enthusiasts of the Middle Ages. Its academic usefulness is questionable and, at $45.00, it is beyond the acceptable price range for a recommended text in a Chaucer course. LORRAINE STOCK University of Houston SUSAN L. SMITH. The Power of Women: A Topos in Medieval Art and Literature. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995. Pp. xv, 294. $44.95. The Power of Women: A Topos in Medieval Art and Literature is a powerful and fascinating study ofthe literary and visual representation ofa rarely examined medieval topos. Like a number of conventions of recent in­ terest, the Power of Women topos is so familiar a motif to scholars of 310 REVIEWS medieval art and literature that its meaning has been taken for granted. In revealing the manifold significations ofthis topos, Smith provides a wealth ofinformation about medieval culture. The topos is "the repre­ sentational practice ofbringing together at least two, but usually more, well-known figures from the Bible, ancient history, or romance to ex­ emplify a cluster of interrelated themes that include the wiles of women, the power oflove, and the trials ofmarriage" (p. 2). Examining how the topos was used to make different sorts ofcommentaries in a va­ riety of contexts, Smith demonstrates how its meaning continually shifted throughout the Middle Ages. The book covers a wide temporal, geographical, and disciplinary range, encompassing a large swath of literary, theological, rhetorical, artistic, and social history. A work of careful and deeply thoughtful scholarship, it abounds in detailed analysis, broad-ranging commen­ tary, and critical insight. The chapters are organized logically and pleas­ ingly: Smith begins with the rhetorical foundations ofthe topos, moves to an analysis ofits place in literary and narrative traditions and then shifts to a discussion ofthe topos in the visual arts from its emergence on the margins ofmanuscripts to its uses in such divergent contexts as cathedral decoration and secular luxury items. One general concern ofthe book is the place oftradition in the me­ dieval arts. Since most medieval artistry relied on, imitated, parodied, or otherwise made variations on rhetorical and iconographical conven­ tions, this topic is relevant to any study ofrepresentational art in the period. In particular, Smith examines how literary and visual artists, while keeping within a tradition that was known and familiar, manip­ ulated and commented on the idea ofthe Power of Women, expressing a variety ofpoints ofview as well as their own originality in the process. The first three chapters are taken up by the literary and rhetorical tra­ ditions into which the topos fits, including a skillful summary of the place of paradigm and exemplum in classical and medieval rhetoric. Literary scholars may find...