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IMC 2005: Sessions

Session 113: Women of a Certain Age in Late Medieval Italy

Monday 11 July 2005, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:Department of Medieval History, Trinity College, Dublin
Organiser:Christine E. Meek, School of Histories & Humanities, Trinity College, Dublin
Moderator/Chair:Edward Coleman, Department of History,
Paper 113-a'As if She Were a Woman of Thirty': How Old Was a Woman in the Italian Renaissance?
(Language: English)
Catherine Lawless, Department of History, University of Limerick
Index terms: Art History - Painting, Mentalities, Social History, Women's Studies
Paper 113-bBonds of Support and Family for Older Women in Late Medieval Bologna
(Language: English)
Shona Kelly Wray, Department of History, University of Missouri, Kansas City
Index terms: Daily Life, Religious Life, Social History, Women's Studies
Paper 113-cA Career for Grannie?: Active Roles for Older Women in Late Medieval Lucca
(Language: English)
Christine E. Meek, School of Histories & Humanities, Trinity College, Dublin
Index terms: Daily Life, Law, Social History, Women's Studies
Abstract

This session examines the position of older women in theory and practice in late medieval Italy. The first paper looks at how older women were regarded and depicted in the literary and artistic sources of the period. The second looks at the economic position of older women and the support they could count on from relatives and friends. The third paper looks at more active roles for older women as guardians or carers for grandchildren or in hospitals and third orders.