Università Roma Tre

Women and faith in the Middle Ages: protagonism or submission?

The lectures, which take place in seminar format, focuses on the relationship between women and religion with particular attention to the medieval period. Does the role of women within a religious dimension allow or not a greater female protagonism, with respect to marriage and motherhood, or is it a further form of domestication and subjugation of female freedom within the sacred precincts of monasteries or in the individual enclosure of female recluses? And what are the forms through which women approach the supernatural, between spiritual visions, penitential use of the body, direct contact with the figures of the sacred, without male mediation? During the lectures, an attempt will be made to answer these and other questions, investigating not only general issues but also the history of individual women, from Clare of Assisi to Catherine of Siena, to Francesca Romana or Bridget of Sweden, just to mention a few of the most prestigious female figures.


- The exam also includes the written composition of a paper on a figure or theme related to the course, chosen by the students according to their interests or inclinations but to be agreed with the lecturer.
- The text for the exam [Bartolomei Romagnoli, Santità e mistica femminile] can be obtained by requesting it online, and referring to the lectures, at a steep discount agreed with the publisher. Simply write to: trabalza@cisam.org

A. BARTOLOMEI ROMAGNOLI, Santità e mistica femminile nel medioevo, CISAM, Spoleto 2013