and critique one another. This becomes increasingly unsettling in that one cannot help but notice that these coalitions form among mostly-privileged, exclusively white women, most of them Anglophones; by my count, an overwhelming fifty-nine out of the seventy-three women included are from either the United States or the British Isles. As a point of contrast, the entire land mass of Latin America is represented by only one person, Maria Rosa Lida de Malkiel (1910-1962), from Argentina (not Spain, as Chance unfortunately states in her introduction). Chance does admit that "women from non-English- speaking countries are indeed a minority in this volume," yet she does not explain that editorial choice (xxxiv), To faithfully portray the impact of women upon the foundation of the academy and correct that male- dominated history, we surely have to broaden our outlook. As this wonderful collection underscores the many difficult professional and personal choices women have had, and still have, to make if we want to survive and thrive in academia, it also serves to remind us how few of our stories have been told. Z ennia Hancock St. Bonaventure University 87 Erin L. Jordan. Women, Power, and Religious Patronage in the Middle Ages. (The New Middle Ages.) Palgrave MacMillan, 2006. Pp. 193. E rin Jordan's slim volume (a revision of her 2000 Univ. ofIowa dissertation) bears an ambitious title, one that implies a broad study of the imbrications of medieval gender, power and religious patronage. In fact, although the study does consider important aspects of the relationships between those terms, it does so within a very specific context: that of the reigns of Jeanne and Marguerite, countesses of Flanders in the thirteenth century. The book would have been better served with a title that limited its scope to that century, and to those two sisters. The volume is divided into four chapters and an introduction, plus two appendices (a list of the monastic and religious foundations in Flanders and Hainaut in the thirteenth century and a genealogy of the counts of Flanders), the bibliography, and index. The chapters fall neatly into two halves: the first two discuss, in mostly chronological order, the political trajectories of the two countesses. Chapter
Transcript
and critique one another. Thisbecomes increasingly unsettlingin that one cannot help but noticethat these coalitions form amongmostly-privileged, exclusivelywhite women, most of themAnglophones; by my count, anoverwhelming fifty-nine out ofthe seventy-three women includedare from either the United Statesor the British Isles. As a pointof contrast, the entire land massof Latin America is representedby only one person, Maria RosaLida de Malkiel (1910-1962),from Argentina (not Spain, asChance unfortunately states in herintroduction). Chance does admitthat "women from non-Englishspeaking countries are indeed aminority in this volume," yet shedoes not explain that editorialchoice (xxxiv), To faithfullyportray the impact of womenupon the foundation of theacademy and correct that maledominated history, we surely haveto broaden our outlook. As thiswonderful collection underscoresthe many difficult professional andpersonal choices women have had,and still have, to make ifwe wantto survive and thrive in academia,it also serves to remind us howfew of our stories have been told.
Z ennia HancockSt. Bonaventure University
87
Erin L. Jordan. Women,Power, and ReligiousPatronage in the MiddleAges. (The New MiddleAges.) Palgrave MacMillan,2006. Pp. 193.
Erin Jordan's slim volume(a revision of her 2000Univ. ofIowa dissertation)
bears an ambitious title, onethat implies a broad study of theimbrications of medieval gender,power and religious patronage.In fact, although the study doesconsider important aspects of therelationships between those terms,it does so within a very specificcontext: that of the reigns ofJeanne and Marguerite, countessesof Flanders in the thirteenthcentury. The book would havebeen better served with a title thatlimited its scope to that century,and to those two sisters.
The volume is divided into fourchapters and an introduction,plus two appendices (a list ofthe monastic and religiousfoundations in Flanders andHainaut in the thirteenth centuryand a genealogy of the counts ofFlanders), the bibliography, andindex. The chapters fall neatlyinto two halves: the first twodiscuss, in mostly chronologicalorder, the political trajectoriesof the two countesses. Chapter
1, "Accessing Authority: 12061214" examines the early days ofJeanne's reign, from her minorityand wardship under PhilipAugustus until the aftermath ofthe battle of Bouvines when sheeffectively became the sole rulerof Flanders. Chapter 2, "WieldingPower: 1214-1280" concentrateson Jeanne's and Marguerite'snegotiation of the difficultmoments of their respectivereigns, including the episode ofthe false Baldwin and the quarrelof the Dampierres and Avesnes.The second half concentrateson the religious patronage ofthe two countesses. Chapter3, "Securing Power throughReligious Patronage" considers thepolitical implications of the sisters'religious patronage, arguing thatthey used that patronage in orderto consolidate their politicalposition. Chapter 4, "TranslatingSecular Power into SpiritualGains" examines the obverse ofthe coin, how the sisters' politicalposition allowed them to reapspiritual benefits.
and Marguerite, demonstratinghow the two countesses usedthe tools at their disposal,particularly but not exclusively,religious patronage, to rule ascountesses of Flanders in theirown right despite the constraintson female lordship imposed bypatriarchal feudal society. Asthe introduction and title makeclear (although one suspectsthe title was imposed by thepublisher), Jordan seeks to drawlarger conclusions about femalelordship from her study of thesetwo countesses. In order to do so,she begins with an interesting anduseful discussion of the differencesbetween power and authority;the countesses' status as heiressesprovided them with authoritybut actual power to rule onlycame as a result of their actions.She also discusses the ways inwhich primogeniture could proveadvantageous to women, as wellas disenfranchising; noting ina pithy and well-turned phrasethat for the sisters "statusultimately trumped gender" (11).Throughout this part of her
Jordan states in her introduction study, Jordan argues persuasivelythat her study "seeks to situate that women occupying positions[...] women more firmly within of power during the Middlethe wider political context of Ages "can neither be dismissedthirteenth-century France and to as anomalous nor acceptedidentify the social conditions that without reservation as havingconferred authority and power on as much agency as men" (24),individuals" (5). In this she mostly and this nuanced approach issucceeds, although again within one of the strong points of herthe context of the reigns ofJeanne book. However, where Jordan's
88
the countesses' patronage, whereasChapter 3 focuses on the typesof interactions they had. HereJordan uncovers some extremelyinteresting patterns in the sisters'patronage, noting for example thatthey had a pred ilection for housesand orders that followed th e vitaapostolica, whether Cistercians orlater, after their development inthe Low Countries, mendicants.Of potentially even moreinterest is the assertion of thecountesses' preference for femalereligious institutions, "Jeanneand Marguerite seem to havefavored commun ities of womengenerally with similar intensity [astheir preference for commun itiesfollowing the vita apostolica]'exhibiting a particular propensityto orchestrate the foundationof Cisterc ian convents" (91). Iwould have liked to have seensome statistics about the sisters'patronage; as it stands, thechapter demonstrates that thesisters gave generously to fema lereligious institutions-femaleCistercian monasteries andbeguinages in part icular-butdoes not provide the datanecessary to support any furtherclaims. As in several other places,the brevity of the study does thearg ument a real disservice.
Overall, Jordan provides aninteresting, very readable, glimpseof the political and religiouslives of}eanne and Marguerite
89
discussion of power and authorityis insightful and potentially useful,the consideration of the rolesof women in medieval societythat follows it (in Chapter 1)suffers from an over dependenceon Georges Duby. Not that sheagrees with Duby, far from it;rather her analysis is so focusedon refuting Duby's positions thather own argument loses cogencyand im pact. This is a pity becausea stronger analysis of wome n'spositionfs) would have addedconsiderably to her argument.
T he meat of Jordan's originalresearch clearly resides in herexamination of the chartersrecording Jeanne's andMarguerite's relationships withthe religious houses of Flanders.While all of Chapter 3 containsfascinating material pertainingto the sisters' patronage, thekey section comes not at theend of the chapter where onemight expect it, but rather inthe middle, where Jordan aptlydemonstrates how many aspects ofreligious patronage- from set tl ingdisputes between monasteriesto interceding on behalf of newcommunities that encounteredresistance from exist ing ordersor houses- allowed both Jeanneand Marguerite to demonstratetheir authority through theirsuccessful interventions. Chapter4 looks in more detail at whatkinds of religious houses received
of Flanders. There are momentsof real insight, as well asarguments that have significantpotential for our examinationsof other medieval female rulersand our analysis of the largerrole of women in positions ofauthority in the Middle Ages.It is only unfortunate that thereis not more-more pages, morestatistics, more ofJordan's ownanalysis, more of the countesses'lives-for the brevity of the studykeeps it from attaining the depthand breadth announced in the titleand clearly aimed at by the author.
