Review

General Books

Historians and literary scholars have paid increasing attention to pre-modern Italian women in the years since Joan Kelly first asked "Did Women Have a Renaissance?" (reprinted in her Women, History and Theory, University of Chicago Press, 1984). In addition to specialized studies that have focused on topics as varied as saintly charisma as a route to public authority, the social influence of wet nurses, and the symbolism of earring styles, the Italian Renaissance also has been particularly well served by Margaret King's synthesis, Women of the Renaissance (University of Chicago Press, 1991). With Women in Medieval Italian Society Patricia Skinner now offers an orientation to the period prior to the thirteenth century. Her nuanced reading of the medieval sources and critical use of other scholarship results in an engaging introduction to Italian medieval women's lives. It admirably serves both specialists interested in the "state of play "(p.7), as well as those interested generally in the history of medieval women.	1
Organized chronologically (unlike many surveys of medieval women), Skinner considers how political, economic, familial and ecclesiastical developments impacted the experience of women. (Bookended between the end of the Roman Empire in the West, marked by the Germanic incursions in the North and those of the Byzantine Empire in the South, and the twelfth century when the communal movement ushered in a new political system, this book also serves as a useful introduction to medieval Italian history). Underlying each chapter is her main argument for the importance of the family and family-based politics in allowing (some) women to exert real power and play public roles through their positions as heiresses, landholders, and sometimes even rulers. Skinner stresses that when political alliances mattered, women became more visible in their roles as wives and mothers. Although aristocratic women appear most frequently in the sources and therefore her discussion, she pays attention to women from all social classes, making particularly good use of charters (which survive in greater numbers from the ninth century on) to show women as pious donors able to exert some control over the disposal of their property. She also brings gender into her analysis by considering the relationship between men and women and how social norms and social status effect women's roles. A key finding is the ambiguous ideology governing ruling women. They might be powerful and even adopt masculine qualities, but still were praised for being modest and submissive, always in need of protection from the family, the monarchy, or the church.	2
One of the book's strengths is its use of primary sources to illustrate Skinner's arguments. With an opening example concerning the role of Countess Matilda of Tuscany in the ubiquitous Investiture Conflict, Skinner challenges us to consider how medieval texts and modern historians have presented women's role in history. Matilda played a critical role, bringing together the German king (her relative) and the pope (whose partisan she was) at Canossa, but most contemporary sources and modern historians overlook her efforts. To be sure, medieval sources sometimes do not speak directly of women or their place in medieval society, but Skinner correctly points out these silences are also important. And even though the sources may offer stereotypical or idealized views of women, they provide important information about their status in society. For example, Skinner argues that the common complaint of medieval chroniclers that the social disorder was so great that even women were targeted represents a way in which women were used to 'think with.' Their depiction as politically powerless marked the breakdown of society and serves as a critique that the reigning powers were not doing enough to protect this vulnerable group. Such examples provide students, especially, with useful models of how historians interpret sources and develop arguments. At other times, however, her close reading of sources results in what appears to be a laundry list of names (e.g. pp. 113-118 where she discusses aristocratic patronage of religious houses) and some readers may lose the argument in the details.	3
Skinner's attention to the entire Italian peninsula is another strength. She clearly develops the differences between northern and southern Italy. In the South where Roman (Byzantine) influence was stronger, women were more active and visible. The more conservative Germanic tradition in the north emphasized male lineages and inheritance strategies, rendering women less visible. This trend intensified over the twelfth century and mainly ended women's political influence. The South, however, even after the establishment of a Norman monarchy, kept older patterns of aristocratic rule wherein women had power through their families. The end of the twelfth century–where the books concludes–represents the first time it is possible to see a real association between women and the private sphere, and men with the public.	4
Thus Women in Medieval Italian Society makes a real contribution for students and teachers. Whereas medieval Italy tends to be comparatively less well known than, say, England or France, and whereas gender still needs to be more vigorously integrated into the curriculum, Patricia Skinner has provided an engaging orientation to this pre-modern society. Most advanced students and specialists also will benefit from its clear exposition. While it would certainly be wrong to fault this book for focusing mainly on women, these critical readers will enter into the sources Skinner presents and start to ask about how they represent gender.	5
California State University, Long Beach Lezlie Knox

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