An Anthology of Neo-Latin Literature Written by Women

Stephen Harrison, Gesine Manuwald

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781350551091
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Ancient Languages
• Index: History

This anthology showcases Neo-Latin texts produced by women across Europe between circa 1400 and 1800, highlighting their contributions in both poetry and prose. Each chapter offers excerpts alongside accessible translations, with introductions and notes that contextualise the texts within their authors' careers and the intellectual climate of their time. The selected works reflect a range of genres and themes, providing insights into women's lives and their participation in literary culture during the early modern period. Examples include letters by Battista Malatesta da Montefeltro and poems by Anna Maria van Schurman.

Featuring works from various European countries, including Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Britain, the anthology is organised chronologically, allowing readers to appreciate the evolution of female voices in Neo-Latin literature. The texts presented reflect the diversity of women's literary contributions and demonstrate the importance of considering a broad spectrum of voices in understanding early modern literary culture.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle page
• Series page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• Contributors
• Preface
• Introduction Neo-Latin Literature Written by Women
• 1 Scholarly Shepherd(ess) An Eclogue by Angela Nogarola (c. 1375–1447) on Milanese Politics
• 2 A Sisterly Exchange Two Latin Letters between Anna and Battista Malatesta da Montefeltro (d. 1434 and 1448)
• 3 Costanza da Varano (1428–47) Politics and Poetry
• 4 The Lüne Letter Books (1460–1550) A Letter by Elizabeth Schack
• 5 A Female Writer and Her Husband Margarete Welser (1481–1552), Ad Christophorum Fratrem Epistola
• 6 A Celebration of Victory Veronica Gambara (1485–1550), Auspicata Victoria Caesaris
• 7 A Vision of the Future Luisa Sigea (1522–60), Syntra
• 8 Elegies to Poets by Camille de More l(1547–?1611)
• 9 ‘To Have Learned the Latin Language Will Do Me Absolutely No Harm’ Johanna Otho (c. 1549–c. 1621), De Studio Virginitatis
• 10 Two Latin Poetic Praises of the Carmelite Monastery of Santa Cruz Bernarda Ferreira de Lacerda (1595–1644), Soledades de Buçaco, fol. 114r–116r
• 11 A Poetess at the Counter-Reformation Martha Marchina (1600–46), Musa Posthuma
• 12 Royalist Panegyric Rachel Jevon (bapt. 1627–after 1662), on the Restoration of the Monarchy under Charles II
• 13 Elegies of a Learned Woman Poems by Anna Maria van Schurman (1607–78)
• 14 The Life and Learning of Anne Margrete Bredal (1655–1729)
• 15 Elisabeth Koolaart-Hoofman (1664–1736) In Imitation of Horace’s Odes and Ovid’s Heroides
• 16 Pastoral Inter Arcades Caterina Imperiale Pallavicina (fl. 1721), De Aranea in Lauro, Epigrammata (I–III)
• 17 A Girl Prodigy in Enlightened Milan Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718–99), Propositiones Philosophicae
• Index