Fifty Women

Title

Fifty Women

Description

Books from the late Middle Ages to the beginning of the twentieth century that were written, produced, owned, or inspired by women. The exhibited books present contemporary evidence of the important roles that women of all callings – saints, queens, heroines, authors, printers, artists, mothers, and daughters – have played within the history of book production and readership.

Creator

Bridwell Library Special Collections

Publisher

SMU Libraries

Date

Originally exhibited August 26–December 20, 2013

Collection Items

AFM4742
This is one of six Latin morality plays modeled on the comedies of Terence, emphasized the virtues of chastity and faith, which made them far more suitable reading material for the nuns than Terence's pagan dramas. Edited by Celtis, this first…

BRMS 4
In 1496 the Poor Clares at the Convento di Santa Chiara Novella in Florence commissioned the Florentine humanist Ugolino Verino to write this Life of St. Clare in Italian, so that those sisters who lacked Latin education could read of their founder's…

06881
St Bridget's account of her experiences of "celestial revelations" of Christ's life, the Last Judgment, her own "mystical marriage" to Christ, and divine instructions to found the Brigittine Order. This is a reprint from the 1492 Lübeck edition.

06219
This Venetian edition, the first complete collection of St. Catherine's Letters to be published, features a striking woodcut portrayal of the saint with symbols of her purity, faith, and love.

BRA2124
This 1612 biography of Jeanne d'Arc was compiled by Jean Hordal, a descendant of her brother. Although this work exaggerates Jeanne's military heroics, the engraved title page accurately reproduces the design of the civic monument that was erected in…

Prothro B-212
The Missal contains all of the prayers, hymns, and biblical passages read by the priest during the celebration of the Latin Mass throughout the year. There is musical notation in black ink on red four-line staves and illumination throughout. The…

AFH9023
This biography presents Suor Domenica da Paradiso as a model for monastic behavior in order to promote her case for saintly canonization. The book's engraved frontispiece offers a lively (albeit imaginary) portrayal of this monastic founder and…

BRB0078
This commentary on St. Teresa's "seven dwelling places" from The Interior Castle is illustrated with fifteen allegorical engravings. The first of these images portrays St. Teresa and the seven dwelling places: the lowest room is where the sinner…

BRB0114
One of 25 pamphlets bound together in this Sammelband. This letter was written by the first published female Protestant author in protest of the arrest of a Lutheran student at the University of Ingolstadt.

BRA0373
One of the few laypersons to publish polemical works during the early years of the Protestant Reformation, Argula von Grumbach went on to publish eight pamphlets, including this letter in which she admonished all believers to fulfill their duty as…

BRA2051
Publication by Joachim von der Heiden urging Katharina von Bora to repent and return to her monastic seclusion. This came after she escaped from her convent in 1523 and married Martin Luther in 1525.

BRA2052
Johann Hasenberg attacked Katharina von Bora in this publication addressed to Martin Luther. Included are woodcuts that depict Martin Luther and his wife proceeding to the gates of hell.

00927
During Anne Askew's imprisonment and torture at the Tower of London for distributing banned Protestant literature she wrote letters and a detailed account of her interrogration. The texts of Askew's legal examination and letters appeared in this 1563…

07041
Among the first women known to have been directly involved in the production of printed books were the Dominican nuns at the Convent of San Jacopo di Ripoli in Florence. The exhibited book, the first vernacular edition of this early Latin biography…

AFW8257
This 1523 Book of Hours, printed on vellum, was one of Yolande Bonhomme's earliest independent productions.

BRB0456
Although Yolande Bonhomme soon began to sign her editions with her own name, she continued to utilize her husband's trademark. The final page of this French devotional volume features the large metalcut that Thielmann Kerver had used to identify his…

BRA0808
This portable 1551 edition of the Latin Bible was one of Yolande Bonhomme's later publications. Again she utilized her husband's "unicorn" trademark to signal the continuity of his press.

31305
The exhibited volume comes from Guillard's edition of the ten-volume complete works of St. Augustine. Guillard's woodcut device on the title page of volume one features her initials and the trademark of her successful printing shop at the sign of the…

BRB0616
A Lutheran liturgical book printed by Katharina Gerlach which contains two titles (in translation): "Christian Admonition, to Worship every Sunday before the Sermon and Communion" and "Collects, and Hymns for Baptisms and Weddings."

06406
Foresti da Bergamo's biography of "Famous Women," the first book printed with authentic portraits of living women. This biography included fifty-six portraits.

AER4308
A chivalric romance based on Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto (1474–1534). Written by famous poet and writer Laura Terracina.

00573
First printed in 1569 for Elizabeth I, and known as "Queen Elizabeth's Prayer Book," this compilation of daily devotions was reissued for general use in 1578. Its striking woodcut frontispiece depicts the kneeling Queen as she looks steadfastly…

BRA2125
This volume contains the collected Hebrew, Latin, Greek, and French writings of Anna Maria van Schurman, who is believed to be the first woman enrolled as a student in a European university.

AER4418
A heroic poem on the theme of the biblical King David. Dedicated to Maria Maddalena de' Medici, the Archduchess of Austria and Grand Duchess of Tuscany, the poem also included flattering allusions to contemporary Florentine nobles.

02725
A compilation of poems by famed poet Katherine Philips who often signed her work as "Orinda", a classical pseudonym.
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