Women of the Twelfth Century. Vol 2: Remembering the Dead (review)

218 Reviews history was based on the cult of the hero, and physiognomy was considered a valid means of deducing traits of character. Many portraits were fictitious. W h e n no ancient model existed, a suitable portrait was invented. Sometimes these imaginary portraits provided inspiration for later medallists. There exists, for instance, a 'medal' of Sextilia the mother of Vitellius which faithfully reproduces the imaginary portrait which appears in Fulvio's lllustrium Imagines, Rouille's Promptuary and Jacopo de Strada's Epitome. It m a y have been made in the sixteenth century. Chapter Ten. 'Multorumque Monent Quae Tacuere Libri: Coin Books and Emblem Books in the Sixteenth Century', is an important study of this subject, focusing particularly on the relation between numismatics and 'emblematics' at this period. Chapter Eleven. 'Non Sine M a x i m o Sudore: The Great Corpora Projects of the Later Cinquecento', discusses several ambitious plans to publish all surviving Roman coins. None succeeded. They are viewed in the context of other contemporary scientific developments. Chapter Twelve. 'Figure de' Corpi, e Historia Che Tace: Empiricism and Rationalism in Renaissance Numismatics', outlines the rationalist developments of the sixteenth century, from which a more scientific attitude to the study of numismatics emerged. The contribution of Antonio Agustin of Tarragona is acknowledged. The book is completed by a detailed bibliographical guide to sixteenth-century numismatic writers and their books, so detailed that i t has to be followed by a bibliography of the sources which it cites. It is a major contribution to the study of the revival and use of classical forms in the European Renaissance. John R. Melville-Jones Department of Classics and Ancient History University of Western Australia Duby, Georges, Women of the Twelfth Century. Vol 2: Remembering the Dead, trans Jean Birrell, Chicago and London, University of Chicago Press, 1998; paper; pp. vi, 153; R.R.P. US$17.00. In the first volume in this series Duby discussed the 'symbolic fi Reviews 219 of the princesses, female saints and heroines of popular romances' (p. vii). This second volume is concerned with the lives of aristocratic women, and uses the genre of writings commemorating noble lineages as the principal source of evidence. The f i r s t section, 'Serving the Dead', s e t s the scene with a discussion of the noble house in the twelfth century and by stressing the importance of establishing an unquestioned lineage. Women contributed to this through being initially daughters t obe bestowed in marriage, then wives and mothers. Curious patterns, such as the frequent marriage of lower-born men to higher-born women, are mentioned. Duby then considers whether the lady of the house had a special relationship with the dead ancestors. He commences with a discussion of the Manual of Dhuoda, a Frankish noblewoman, written f o r her son in 841-43. She is concerned to record for her son the names ofhis distinguished ancestors and asks that her name be inscribed upon her tombstone so people will pray for her. From Dhuoda the focus moves to more general texts about the dead, and finally to information about women which is embedded in these texts. The book is very readable, but the brevity with which a l l of these quite large topics are discussed is irritating; there is also a complete absence of footnotes and other scholarly apparatus. Part II, 'Wives and Concubines', commences with the court of Henry I I Plantagenet of England and covers the romances written by various authors for him and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. These include Benoit's Roman de Troie and Wace's Roman de Brut (romance of Brutus, legendary king of Britain) and Roman de Rou (romance of Rollo). The last of these was closest to Henry's dynastic interests, and was based on William of Jumieges' Deeds ofthe Norman Dukes, which i t s e l f was based heavily on Dudo of Saint Quentin's early eleventh-century writings. Thus far this section says l i t t l e about women, but Duby i s intent on describing the cultural milieu in which small nuggets of information about women are to...