Week 24
In the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century, the definition of a good life for a woman changed. The Renaissance produced a whole new idea about what was the right role for a woman. Spain produced one of the most remarkable women of the age: Queen Isabella of Castile. Isabella was an extraordinary woman ruler. She brought the warring factions of Castile together and with the help of her husband Ferdinand from Aragon, she united all of Spain. But her achievement was only more extraordinary when you realize that her daughters learned what their mother taught them and they too went on to important roles in various European courts.
RECOMMENDED READING:
J. R. Hale, The Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance. This study of the whole Renaissance period in all of Europe was the final masterpiece of one of the greatest historians of the Early Modern period. John Hale was working on this book when he suffered a debilitating stroke. But his wife, Sheila Hale, and other scholars finished the book for publication and we are all enriched by its availability. It is in print, but you might also look at used copies of the original quality paperback. This book will serve us for the whole year-long course. It is especially useful for Winter and Spring Quarters.
The Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance,
Scribner, Reprint edition (June 1, 1995),
ISBN 0684803526
RECOMMENDED READING:
This is a beautiful book which covers the whole of the Renaissance in every field and every country. Margaret King is one of the greatest American scholars of the Renaissance, and she has written a very useful general book on the subject. What is especially attractive, is all the extra material: the charts, the maps, the photos, all of which make this a great study of the Renaissance. It would be a useful "textbook" for our whole year on the Renaissance. It was, of course, designed as a college textbook for a course on the Renaissance. If you buy a new copy, it is 35$ but there are many used copies listed on Amazon.
Margaret L. King, is Professor Emerita of history at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She is the author of several books on women, humanism, and Venice in the Renaissance, and is currently editor-in-chief of the Renaissance and Reformation online bibliography published by Oxford Bibliographies.
