Publisher's description:

Throughout her career as a medieval historian, Eileen Power was engaged on a book on women in the Middle Ages. She did not live to write the book but some of the material she collected found its way into her popular lectures on medieval women. These lectures are now brought together, edited by M. M. Postan, and reveal the world in which women lived, were educated, worked, and worshipped. Power gives a vivid account of the worlds of the lady, the peasant, the townswoman, and the nun. The result is a historical yet intimate picture of a period gone by yet with resonances for today. For this edition, Maxine Berg is also included, offering an intimate portrait of the writer and social historian.
• An accessible and clear snapshot of the life and work of women in medieval times from the nunnery to the town to the castle • Provides lively narratives on special women representative of the period • Contains numerous illustrations from the period • Introductory chapter on Eileen Power by leading medieval historian, Maxine Berg
Reviews:
‘A delightful book, beautifully illustrated with over 40 illustrations. It provides insights into some of the historical contingencies that have been responsible for moulding subsequent images of women.’ The Times Educational Supplement
‘Agreeably written, but formidably incisive.’ New Statesman & Society
‘The book, elegantly produced and lavishly illustrated, may be warmly commended to the historian and general reader alike.’ British Book News.

Contents:
Foreword: Eileen Power, 1889–1940, Maxine Berg
Preface
1. Medieval ideas about women
2. The lady
3. The working woman in town and country
4. The education of women
5. Nunneries
Notes
List of illustrations
Bibliography
Index.