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St Darerca and Her Sister Scholars: Women and Education in Medieval Ireland
Author(s) -
Callan Maeve B.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
gender and history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.153
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1468-0424
pISSN - 0953-5233
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0424.00288
Subject(s) - irish , admiration , affection , sister , fifteenth , agency (philosophy) , gender studies , power (physics) , history , classics , sociology , literature , art , social science , psychology , anthropology , philosophy , social psychology , linguistics , physics , quantum mechanics
This article examines largely neglected evidence for women's education in Irish saints’ Lives and integrates it with findings from other medieval Irish texts, such as chronicles, devotional works and poetry. The sources attest that education was available to at least some girls and women under male and female teachers in mixed and single–sex schools from the earliest days of the Irish church until the mid–fifteenth century. Their history points to the power, agency and authority open to medieval Irish women and the respect, affection, and admiration their brothers felt for them.