Art & Art History ETDs
Publication Date
Fall 11-9-2024
Abstract
Late medieval views of women in Western European culture, specifically in fifteenth-century France, were predicated on the ideologies of "other." According to normative sociocultural attitudes of this period, women were immoral, lascivious, and indulged in frivolity. Their culturally acceptable and, therefore, natural roles were delineated solely as that of wife and mother. Although the origin of these views is obscured by time, there are scores of textual and visual examples of this cultural labeling. This thesis focuses on how the ideologies of feminine sociocultural roles developed and matured during the late Middle Ages. By comparatively analyzing copies of the visual imagery of figural dress, gestures, and the depiction of gendered spaces contained within the miniatures in three medieval manuscripts, Giovanni Boccaccio's Des cleres et nobles femmes (1403) and Christine de Pizan's The Book of the City of Ladies (1405) and The Treasure of the City of Ladies (1405), this study examines how the visual representations of women depicted in these objects influenced the creation of subsequent feminine imagery, established and enforced sociocultural standards of behavior, and functioned as catalysts for the formulation of feminine self-identity while tangentially reinforcing patriarchal social structures.
Language
English
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Art History
Level of Degree
Masters
Department Name
UNM Department of Art and Art History
First Committee Member (Chair)
Dr. Justine M. Andrews
Second Committee Member
Dr. Susanne Anderson-Riedel
Third Committee Member
Dr. Margaret A. Jackson
Keywords
medieval dress, figural gestures, gendered spaces, late medieval feminine identity, late medieval France; late medieval literature
Recommended Citation
Snyder, Karli R.. "SPECULUM FEMINARUM: FEMININE REPRESENTATION AND IDENTITY IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY FRANCE." (2024). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/arth_etds/233
Included in
Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture Commons, Feminist Philosophy Commons, French and Francophone Literature Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Theory and Criticism Commons, Women's Studies Commons
