Women and Literature in Britain 1150-1500 (review)

Short Notices 225 figure of the most sombre and implaccable countenance, are the words 'Omnia dispono solus' or 'I alone dispose of everything'. As spectator face to face with that figure of passionless judgment and timeless finality I am happier to be alive in this century, difficult as thesetimesmay be. John James Lawsons Long Alley Hartley Vale N S W 2790 Meale, Carole M., ed., Women and Literature in Britain 1150-1500 (Cambrid Studies in Medieval Literature 17), Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, second ed., 1996; paper; pp. xxxviii, 236; 2 b / w illustrations, chronological table; R.R.P. AUS29.95. Carol Meale's collection of essays, now re-issued in paperback, offers delightful variety of opinions, perspectives and insights into women's writing and the represented activities and identities of w o m e n in the Middle Ages. Principally, this volume recognises the ambiguous position that w o m e n held in male dominated medieval culture; w o m e n were both attached to, and detached from, the patriarchal order. So argues Judith Weiss w h o explores the power and weakness of w o m e n in Anglo-Norman romance. Women, she says, were excluded in many different ways 'by virtue of their o w n rank' (p. 11). Yet, those w h o had the good fortune to receive some education were, says Weiss, able to 'indirect[ly] exercise power'. Heroines were 'energetic, able, even formidable—despite being held in check by misogynistic comment, threatened with violence or married against their will' (p. 19). Although, in general, this volume strongly emphasises the fact that w e cannot fully depend upon such depictions of strong and resourceful heroines and lovers as reflections of everyday life, they do indeed suggest an awareness of it. Flora Alexander's essay complements Weiss's by proposing that story-tellers w h o depicted w o m e n as commanding were, in fact, responding to a desire felt by w o m e n in their audiences 'to imagine an autonomy and freedom of action' denied in reality (p. 38). Each essay follows on in an orderly fashion, from the depiction of w o m e n within medieval narrative, to w o m e n as owners and readers of literature, through to w o m e n as authors of literature. This, in itself, adds strength to the idea of a steady growth in female influence and independence. Bella Millett gives evidence to show that holy narratives were, in some cases, written not only to be heard, but also to be read by female solitary readers. Meale's own contribution explores laywomen and their books in late medieval England, concluding that some middle and upper class w o m e n received training in reading and writing and that their 'everyday activities', social status and 226 Short Notices family life had a profound influence on their roles as readers, owners and patrons of books. Julia Boffey discusses the degree of literacy possessed by medieval w o m e n and Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan reviews women's literature in medieval Wales. Reinforced with a chronology of events before 1150 at the beginning of the edition and containing an extensive bibliographical guide, this is is a thought-provoking, encouraging and accessible work. Caroline Thompson Publications Unit University of Western Australia Newman, Barbara, Sister of Wisdom. St. Hildegard's Theology of the Feminin a N e w Preface, Bibliography and Discography, Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1997 (first printed 1987); paper; pp. xxiv, 305; 14 b / w illustrations; R.R.P. U S $14.95. The reprinting of a paperback version of Barbara Newman's study of Hildegard's theology of the feminine is a welcome event. As she remarks in a new preface to the volume, serious scholarly attention to Hildegard was still in its infancy when it was first published in 1987. Much has changed in the intervening decade. In the late 1980s, Hildegard's name was still often associated with a string of popular publications inspired by Matthew Fox and his particular theological perspective, known as creation theology. Since then, more scholarly research into...