The common denominator of the texts collected in this volume is the (Art) History of the pre-modern period and gender perspective; to a certain degree the Czech milieu also, although not all the contributions focus on local issues. The book is divided into four parts, based on area of interest, time frame and research perspective. The first part sheds light on the state of research in the field of women's history and implementation of the concept of gender and highlights a certain paradigmatic conservatism of Czech (Art) historiography. The second section gathers contributions which analyze visual sources of Czech origin. The third part of the collection is reserved for texts that analyze gender issues on the level of literary representation. In the final part of the book, two case studies arising from an analysis of the pre-modern West European source base are presented. The volume cannot be regarded as exhaustive in any sense, however. It is a representative collection presenting current Czech research in pre-modern History and Art history that uses gender as a tool of analysis. It is innovative in the way it introduces this specific segment of Central European (Art) history addressing a broader audience and global academia.
Michaela Antonin Malanikova is assistant professor of medieval history at Palacky University Olomouc. Daniela Rywikova is assistant professor of art history at the University of Ostrava.
List of Figures Part I: Women and Gender in Czech Medieval History Foreword: Gender Trouble in Czech Medieval History Scholarship Milena Bartlova Introduction: Premodern History and Art through the Prism of Gender Michaela Antonin Malanikova and Daniela Rywikova Chapter 1: Women's History and Gender History as Part of Czech Medieval Studies Michaela Antonin Malanikova Part II: Gender Identity through the Prism of Visual Arts Chapter 2: Medieval Art in the Czech Lands through the Prism of Gender: The Visual Culture of Royal Nunneries in Medieval Bohemia and Moravia Daniela Rywikova Chapter 3: Kunigunde - ' Bartered Bride' and 'Bride of Christ' Jennifer Vlcek Shurr Chapter 4: Gender in Czech Secular Art of the Late Middle Ages Jan Dienstbier Part III: Gendering the Medieval Literature Chapter 5: Women as Men and Men as Women? Gender Roles in Anglo-Saxon Literature Reversed Tereza Kalouskova Chapter 6: Gendered Body Politics and the Construction of Czech Historical Memory Vera Soukupova Chapter 7: Reading About Men and for Men: Daughters Against Fathers, Violence and Wisdom in One Medieval Manuscript Martin Sorm Part IV: Midwives and Lovers: Two Pre-modern Case Studies Chapter 8: Why Do We Not Hear the Praise of Skilful Women Who Are Writing Books About It?" Early Modern Obstetric Manuals from the German Speaking Regions from a Gender Perspective Hana Jadrna Matejkova Chapter 9: Benedetta Carlini, Catalina Erauso, and Catharina Margareta Linck: Stories of Love between Women from the Sixteenth Century to the Early Eighteenth Century Dasa Francikova Bibliography About the Contributors
