Women of the Romance Countries (Illustrated)

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Effinger John Robert. Women of the Romance Countries (Illustrated)

PREFACE

PART FIRST. ITALIAN WOMEN

CHAPTER I. THE AGE OF THE COUNTESS MATILDA OF TUSCANY

CHAPTER II. THE NEAPOLITAN COURT IN THE TIME OF QUEEN JOANNA

CHAPTER III. WOMEN AND THE CHURCH

CHAPTER IV. THE WOMEN OF THE MIDI

CHAPTER V. INFLUENCE OF WOMEN IN EARLY LITERATURE

CHAPTER VI. WOMEN IN THE EARLY RENAISSANCE

CHAPTER VII. WOMEN IN THE LATER RENAISSANCE

CHAPTER VIII. THE BORGIAS AND THE BAD WOMEN OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

CHAPTER IX. THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

CHAPTER X. THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES

CHAPTER XI. ITALIAN WOMEN IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

PART SECOND. SPANISH WOMEN

CHAPTER XII. THE CONDITION OF SPAIN BEFORE THE MOORISH INVASION

CHAPTER XIII. WOMEN AMONG THE MOORS

CHAPTER XIV. THE WOMEN OF THE LITTLE MONARCHIES

CHAPTER XV. WOMEN IN EARLY POLITICAL LIFE

CHAPTER XVI. THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CENTURIES

CHAPTER XVII. THE AGE OF ISABELLA-SPANISH UNITY

CHAPTER XVIII. THE WOMEN OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

CHAPTER XIX. THE SLOW DECAY OF SPANISH POWER

CHAPTER XX. THE WOMEN OF MODERN SPAIN

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The eleventh century, which culminated in the religious fervor of the First Crusade, must not on that account be considered as an age of unexampled piety and devotion. Good men there were and true, and women of great intellectual and moral force, but it cannot be said that the time was characterized by any deep and sincere religious feeling which showed itself in the general conduct of society. Europe was just emerging from that gloom which had settled down so closely upon the older civilizations after the downfall of the glory that was Rome, and the light of the new day sifted but fitfully through the dark curtains of that restless time. Liberty had not as yet become the shibboleth of the people, superstition was in the very air, the knowledge of the wisest scholars was as naught, compared with what we know to-day; everywhere, might made right.

In a time like this, in spite of the illustrious example of the Countess Matilda, it cannot be supposed that women were in a very exalted position. It is even recorded that in several instances, men, as superior beings, debated as to whether or not women were possessed of souls. While this momentous question was never settled in a conclusive fashion, it may be remarked that in the heat of the discussion there were some who called women angels of light, while there were others who had no hesitation in declaring that they were devils incarnate, though in neither case were they willing to grant them the same rights and privileges which they themselves possessed. Though many other facts of the same kind might be adduced, the mere existence of such discussion is enough to prove to the most undiscerning that woman's place in society was not clearly recognized, and that there were many difficulties to be overcome before she could consider herself free from her primitive state of bondage.

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The ordinary rules of conduct which were prescribed for the inmates of the nunneries resemble in many ways those which were laid down for the men; and those first followed are ascribed to Scholastica, a sister of the great Saint Benedict, who established the order of Benedictines at Monte Cassino about 529; according to popular tradition, this holy woman was esteemed as the foundress of nunneries in Europe. For the regulation of the women's orders Saint Augustine formulated twenty-four rules, which he prescribed should be read every week, and later Saint Benedict revised them and extended them so that there were finally seventy-two rules in addition to the Ten Commandments. The nuns were to obey their superior implicitly, silence and humility were enjoined upon them, head and eyes were to be kept lowered at all times, the hours for going to bed and for rising were fixed, and there were minute regulations regarding prayers, watches, and devotions. Furthermore, they were rarely allowed to go out of their convents, they were to possess nothing of their own, mirrors were not tolerated, being conducive to personal vanity, and the luxury of a bath was granted only in case of sickness.

As with the ordinary rules of conduct, so the ordinary routine of daily life in a nunnery corresponded to that of a monastery. Hour by hour, there was the same periodical rotation of work and religious service, with short intervals at fixed times for rest or food. The usual occupation in the earliest times had to do with the carding and spinning of wool, and Saint Jerome, with his characteristic earnestness, advises the nuns to have the wool ever in their hands. Saint Augustine gives us the picture of a party of nuns standing at the door of their convent and handing out the woollen garments which they have made for the old monks who are standing there waiting to receive them, with food to give to the nuns in exchange. The simplicity of this scene recalls the epitaph which is said to have been written in honor of a Roman housewife who lived in the simple days of the Republic: "She stayed at home and spun wool!" Somewhat later the nuns were called upon to furnish the elegantly embroidered altar cloths which were used in the churches, and, still later, in some places girls' schools were established in the convents.

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