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1 nswering boccaccio’s De mulieribus claris in her Book of the City of Ladies (Le Livre de la Cité des Dames, 1405), Christine de Pizan celebrates queens, female warriors, prophetesses, foundresses, inventors of arts and science, instructors , and saints, drawing not only upon classical legends but also from her own experience of educated women,talented artisans,virtuous and valiant women from all the social classes—magisterial women, in short, who have instructed others by word and example. Against those who would oppose the education of women, Christine bears witness to “the benefits accrued and still accruing because of good women—particularly the wise and literary ones and those educated in the natural sciences” (2.36.1).1 Medieval writers and artists certainly knew how to depict the words and deeds of vitally alive,authoritative women,each of whom merits the title of magistra in one or more of its various senses: boethius’s lady Philosophy with her blazing eyes, dante’s radiant beatrice, Alan de lille’s and Geoffrey Chaucer’s dame natura, Hildegard of bingen’s towering and bejewelled ecclesia, Christine de Pizan’s city-building ladies, the potent virgin Mary of the miracle-tales, Queen Guenevere on her dais, the Wife of bath pontificating from her ambling horse, the Pearl-poet’s consoling and correcting maiden. Inspiring these images and, in part, inspired by them, stood, in turn, the historical women of the Middle Ages— among them, famous figures such as eleanor of Aquitaine, the abbess Heloise of the Paraclete, and Joan of Arc. Christine de Pizan likened her pen to Joan of Arc’s banner and sword, rejoicing in the Maid’s victories, her womanly accomplishments , and drawing hope from them. Magistra doctissima. each one’s true name remains hidden in heaven, according to the Scriptures (Rev. 2:17), but here on earth a word, an expression, can Introduction Ann W. Astell and Howell Chickering A 2 Ann W. Astell and Howell Chickering still capture a defining quality. The editors of this volume use its title to name and to honor bonnie Wheeler. The idea for this book originated several years ago when the editors realized that the time had come—was in fact overdue— to honor her many scholarly achievements and to celebrate her wide-ranging contributions to medieval studies in the united States.The volume was quickly and confidently conceived; the call for papers went out, and the contributors to this volume responded with equal alacrity. It is no exaggeration to say that bonnie has effectively shaped medieval studies over the course of the last three decades. not only is bonnie most expert (doctissima) in her chosen scholarly fields as well as a master teacher in the classroom and lecture hall, she has also guided innumerable national committees, often as their chief, and, above all, has been a beloved mentor to generations of students and colleagues. during her career she has played the role of magistra in so many different contexts that the title seemed inevitable. While to many medievalists latin magister/magistra primarily means “teacher”in the sense of a schoolmaster or classroom teacher, to classicists it has a broader range of meaning: not only “teacher”but also “guide, tutor, expert, mentor, guardian, shepherd, master, chief, instigator, author, and judge,” depending on the context and date of use. Medieval latin preserves this same rich array of meanings .2 Middle english similarly reflects the plural senses of magister/magistra in its related latin-derived words: maieste (majesty), maistres (masters), magistrat (censor , judge, magistrate), mages/magis (magicians), magi (philosophers), and magisteri (the academic degree of Master).3 one could easily use the full semantic range to gloss the career of bonnie Wheeler. Among her many contributions to medieval studies in north America, the one for which she is perhaps best known, and which definitely has had a profound and long-lasting effect upon the field, has been her role, beginning in 1980, as the founding chair of the Committee on teaching Medieval Studies of the Medieval Academy of America. Subsequently this standing committee metamorphosed into teAMS, an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the teaching of the Middle Ages in north America.For more than two decades bonnie served on its board of directors. Its acronymic name (TEAching Medieval Studies) emphasizes the necessity for interdisciplinary cooperation that characterizes the medieval field. Since 1984 bonnie has been a member of the advisory board for the Middle english texts Series published for teAMS by Medieval Institute Publications...

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