FYOS: Twelfth Century Women Badder than Taylor Swift The twenty-first century doesn't have the market cornered on kickass women. In this FYOS, we'll learn about some seriously bad women from medieval Europe, the books they wrote, and the books written for them. Women like Hildegard of Bingen, German theologian, mystic, playwright, and natural historian. And Christina of Markyate, a female hermit who ingeniously dodged rape threats and refused to consummate her arranged marriage. Then there's Heloise, scholar, one-time lover of the philosopher Abelard, and reluctant nun. Anna Komnene, Byzantine princess and historian; Melisende, queen of the Christian crusader state of Jerusalem. These women were learned, influential figures at moments of change in history, women who took active control – often against dire odds -- of their sexual, political, and spiritual lives. Come look at their (beautiful, handmade) books -- like the Melisende Psalter and the St Alban's Psalter -- read their words, and learn how to kick ass as a twelfth-century woman. Workload and expectations: Regular and energetic participation in classroom discussion, events, and exercises. Weekly reading and online viewing assignments. Some of our course material will come from online digital facsimiles of medieval books, so you’ll need regular access to a computer and a robust internet connection. Please feel free to bring your laptops and tablets to class! Regular (short) written assignments – expect to write 1-2 pages about every other week on the course material. In some cases, these assignments will take non-written (or at least non-typed-up) form and/or will be collaborative projects done with your classmates. Participation in, and writeups of, three Campus Events (as required by the FYO program). One event must be chosen from a list of events related to this FYO’s topic; the other two can be selected from the FYO website’s Events calendar or from other events around campus. Texts Life of Christina of Markyate. Ed. and trans Samuel Fanous and Henriette Leyser. Oxford World's Classics. ISBN-13: 978-0199556052 The Letters of Abelard and Heloise. Ed and trans. Michael Clanchy, Betty Radice. Penguin Classics. ISBN-13: 978-0140448993 Hildegard of Bingen: Selected Writings. Ed. and trans. Mark Atherton. Penguin classics. ISBN-13: 978-0140436044 The Alexiad of Anna Comnena. Trans. E.R.A. Sewter. Penguin classics. ISBN-13: 978-0140455274 Other readings will be available as PDFs and/or online You must use THESE editions, not others you may find elsewhere. Used copies of any of these texts are fine! I will also allow you to substitute the Kindle editions for print versions of these texts, as available. Twelfth-century women pictured, left to right: Christina of Markyate, from the St. Alban's Psalter (linked above) An allegorical female figure from Hildegard of Bingen's Scivias Irene, Empress of Byzantium and sister-in-law of Anna Komnene, from a mosaic in the Hagia Sophia Heloise, from a fourteenth-century manuscript of the Roman de la Rose Level: Undergraduate Semesters Taught: 18FA
