Legend of Good Women: Medieval Women in Towns and Cities [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Erika Uitz (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-- Taking its title from Chaucer, this scholarly but accessible book examines the world of medieval urban women from the 12th to the 16th centuries. Uitz sheds a new and welcome light on an era that, to many YA readers, would seem to have been peopled by famous men who were shadowed by anonymous women of little consequence to history. To disprove this false perception, she quotes extensively from diaries, wills, letters, guild and parish records, and autobiographical sources to develop a fascinating account of the many activities and contributions women made to European society. After some brief historical background, the book is divided into four sections of female activity: trade, crafts, marriage and family, and religion. One of the best aspects is the large number of illustrations, 38 of which are glowing full-page color reproductions. Each picture is fully documented and explained in a concise caption. Uitz makes a valuable contribution not just to the study of women but also to readers' knowledge of a remote but important segment of Western history.
- Carolyn E. Gecan, Jefferson Sci-Tech, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Moyer Bell Ltd; 1st edition (October 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559210133
• ISBN-13: 978-1559210133
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,643,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars women's lib in the twelfth century, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Legend of Good Women: Medieval Women in Towns and Cities (Paperback)

This is a carefully crafted academic study, allowing readers the kind of solid documentation that will make this work a classic reference. Through a careful examination of documents (letters, wills, deeds, contracts, and other public documents), the author traces the growth of new urban centers in Europe in the twelfth through fourteenth centuries. The lifeblood and reason for being for these towns and cities was commerce. Women's lives were radically changed by the economic demands of production for export. Both the need for women's labor in creating goods and conducting business and the partnership aspect that grew within marriages because of this need resulted in widespread changes in law that allowed women to own property, conduct business, and participate in the decisions about their lives. The economic characteristics of the middle ages created the first opportunities in modern history for women to experience some degree of independence and begin the centuries-long process of escaping chatteldom.