Handbook for William

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR: Carol Neel is associate professor of history at Colorado College.

"Makes Dhuoda's work accessible to students of all levels. Undergraduates in history, women's studies, and theology--as well as educated and interested persons generally--can now enter fully into the mind and world of a Carolingian woman who lived in dramatic times and struggled with painful challenges. . . . As they see Dhuoda plumb the resources of religious and wordly wisdom available to her, they will better understand the worldview that pervaded Carolingian society and, with various permutations, endured for subsequent centuries. Her reflections on worldly status, ruminated against the horizon of eternal realities; her understanding of the moral conflicts inherent in the layers of feudal authority; her concern for justice, mercy, and generosity within a military society--all of this will challenge the facile generalizations about the Middle Ages still too widely held by the general public, and even among scholars."--Speculum "A handy translation of a work which has come into prominence only recently, not least as a result of feminist approaches. . . . The translation is clearly set out and the notes include biblical references and brief explanations with reference to P. Riche's standard edition."--The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies "Among the vast body of literature thrown up by the Carolingian Renaissance, few texts have the charm of this book of advice written by a mother to her son in the confused political situation which followed the death of Louis the Pious in 840. . . . Texts written by women are uncommon in this period, as are those by members of the laity; having been written by a laywoman, Dhuoda's Handbook is of outstanding interest in various ways. . . . Neel has done a fine job. . . . The book effectively presents a text which is interesting in many ways, and deserves a wide readership."--Parergon, Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies "A remarkable, if not absolutely unique example of an early medieval woman's efforts in literary creativity. . . . Neel's first English translation of Dhuoda's Latin has already been confirmed to be concise and adequate. She presents a straightforward text which proves to be clear and understandable and beautifully illustrates the author's original stylistic, rhetorical, and organizational skills in writing her text. . . ."--Mediaevistik