Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index
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Record Number:
5436
Author(s)/Creator(s):
Contributor(s):
Title:
Some Parallels in the Education of Medieval Jewish Women and Christian Women [An abstract precedes this essay in the journal.]
Source:
Jewish History 5, 1 (Spring 1991): Pages 41 - 51.
Description:
Article Type:
Journal Article
Subject
(See Also)
:
Acculturation
Ashkenazim
Bourgeoisie
Cities and Towns
Cross Cultural Approach
Domesticity
Girls
Handbooks
Households
Housework
Jews
Learning and Scholarship
Literacy
Private Sphere and Public Sphere
Religious Education
Social History
Social Roles
Women in
Award Note:
Geographic Area:
General
Century:
General
Primary Evidence:
Illustrations:
Table:
Abstract:
Limited information about the education of Ashkenazic Jewish women during the Middle Ages may be enhanced by comparisons based on our broader knowledge about the education of urban bourgeois Christian women. Preparation of a girl for adulthood was strikingly similar among both groups, and parallels include attitudes about what a woman should be taught, the desirability of limited religious training, and the acquisition of skills necessary to run a household and participate in family economic activities. Didactic writings directed at women from both traditions are remarkably similar. Learned women existed but were so rare among Jews and Christians as to be regarded as anomalous and the stuff of legend. Such Jewish women, generally daughters of the learned elite, led women's prayer groups, taught other women, and assisted their husbands. Learned Christian women were more likely to be single, and wither in the convent or closely connected with the nobility.
Related Resources:
Author's Affiliation:
Conference Info:
- , -
Year of Publication:
1991.
Language:
English
ISSN/ISBN:
0334701X (print); 15728579 (electronic)