The Italian Renaissance | Women in Renaissance Italy (Lecture 18)

Lecture 18: It has been argued that women did not have a Renaissance, that their position was better during the Middle Ages. There is some truth to this, in part because the classical literature that was recovered during the Renaissance was often misogynistic. Roman law also disadvantaged women; they had no legal persona before the courts and had to be represented by a male proctor, usually a blood relation or husband. Women could not own property in their own names, except under very unusual circumstances. In essence, they were subject to their fathers until marriage and, thereafter, to their husbands. In light of the Humanist belief that the purpose of a classical education was to prepare for public life, learning for women was seen as superfluous. Indeed, it generally came to be regarded as an outright danger to a female’s virtue and reputation.

Despite these inherent disadvantages, many women rose to great heights, often assisted by high birth. Beatrice (d. 1497) and her sister, Isabella d’Este (d. 1539), for example, were patrons of art and skillful representatives of their princely husbands. Laura Cereta (d. 1499) became a celebrated Humanist scholar, and Sofonisba Anguissola (1532−1625) became a famous painter. Wealth, rank, and a sympathetic husband or father permitted women to fulfill their ambitions, but for the majority, life was very difficult. Poor women were particularly marginalized, because there were few opportunities for work outside the convent, domestic service, or prostitution.

Primary Source Texts:
Kenneth R. Bartlett, “Marriage, the Family and Women,” pp. 139–208, in The Civilization of the Italian Renaissance.

Secondary Sources:
Judith C. Brown and Robert C. Davis, eds., Gender and Society in Renaissance Italy.

Supplementary Reading:
Gene Brucker, Giovanni and Lusanna: Love and Marriage in Renaissance Florence.
Franco Cardini, introduction, The Medici Women.

Lecture 19: https://rumble.com/v4y3y09-the-italian-renaissance-neoplatonism-lecture-19.html