The Llibre de les Dones (Book of Women) is a book that was possibly written between 1387 and 1392 by
Francesc Eiximenis in
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
in
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
and dedicated to
Sanxa Ximenes d'Arenós, countess of
Prades.
Date
Regarding its date of composition, there has been some discrepancy, since other scholars, such as
Martí de Barcelona, OFM Cap, date this work towards 1396. Nonetheless,
Curt Wittlin
Curt Wittlin (13 April 1941 – 23 September 2019) was a Swiss philologist and an expert of medieval Catalan language and literature.
Biography
Wittlin studied romance philology in Basel with Germà Colon, and later in Paris, Florence and Barcel ...
considers that the date of composition should be between 1387 and 1392 because of two reasons. First of all, this book deals in an abridged way with some matters that should have been treated in other not written books of
Lo Crestià
''Lo Crestià'' ( en, The Christian) was an encyclopaedia written in Catalan, that was sponsored by the king Peter IV of Aragon and written by Francesc Eiximenis . We can think then that he used this prepared materials for this book. Secondly, in this book there are many references to
angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
s. As professor Wittlin has quite shrewdly pointed out, this fact can only been explained because Eiximenis very probably bore in mind the composition of his next book, the ''
Llibre dels àngels'' (Book of angels), that dealt with this matter and that was written in 1392.
Structure and content
The book has three hundred ninety-six chapters, which are divided into five parts, after a general introduction. These five parts correspond to the different conditions of women: child,
maiden, married,
widow and
nun.
Education of women according to medieval guidelines
In its initial chapters, this books aims to be a kind of manual for the instruction of women, similar to the ones that were used during this time. It seems to have influence of other books of this sort, such as the one of the
Dominican Vincent de Beauvais
Vincent of Beauvais ( la, Vincentius Bellovacensis or ''Vincentius Burgundus''; c. 1264) was a Dominican friar at the Cistercian monastery of Royaumont Abbey, France. He is known mostly for his ''Speculum Maius'' (''Great mirror''), a major work ...
' ''De eruditione filiorum nobilium'' (On the Erudition of the Sons of the Nobles) (''circa'' 1250), that influenced a lot the whole
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
as to the basic guidelines for feminine education.
Not written volumes of Lo Crestià
Nevertheless, the final part, the one dedicated to nuns, which is the longest one, is a short treatise on theology. In this part Eiximenis gathers many of the materials (even though they are explained in a basic and schematic way), that were going to be used in the unwritten volumes of
Lo Crestià
''Lo Crestià'' ( en, The Christian) was an encyclopaedia written in Catalan, that was sponsored by the king Peter IV of Aragon and written by Francesc Eiximenis . So this part deals with the
theological virtues
Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God. Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally they have ...
(and the ''Cinquè'', or fifth volume should have dealt with them), the
cardinal virtues
The cardinal virtues are four virtues of mind and character in both classical philosophy and Christian theology. They are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. They form a virtue theory of ethics. The term ''cardinal'' comes from the ...
(and the ''Sisè'', or sixth volume should have dealt with them), and about the
ten commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
(and the ''Setè'', or seventh volume should have dealt with them).
Other matters that are scattered through the book, correspond to matters that other unwritten volumes of
Lo Crestià
''Lo Crestià'' ( en, The Christian) was an encyclopaedia written in Catalan, that was sponsored by the king Peter IV of Aragon and written by Francesc Eiximenis should have dealt with. They speak for instance about marriage and
penance
Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...
(and the ''Desè'', or tenth volume, should have dealt with
sacraments
A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the real ...
),
religious vows
Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views.
In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...
and
contemplation
In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation.
Etymology
The word ''contemplation'' is derived from the Latin word '' ...
(and the ''Onzè'', or eleventh volume, should have dealt with clergy) or about the final chapters, that deal with
eschatological (and the ''Tretzè'', or thirteenth volume, should have dealt with
Eschatology
Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negati ...
and the
end of the world, and the reward or punishment that people will then receive, according to medieval mentality.
Moreover, Eiximenis deals again in an abridged way with matters that appear in the ''Terç'' (third volume of
Lo Crestià
''Lo Crestià'' ( en, The Christian) was an encyclopaedia written in Catalan, that was sponsored by the king Peter IV of Aragon and written by Francesc Eiximenis ), such as the
seven deadly sins and the five
sense
A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the cen ...
s.
Translations into Spanish
Several translations of this book were made into Spanish, and this Spanish version was even used for the education of the four daughters of the
Catholic Monarchs.
There was as well an adaptation by an unknown author with some changes, also in Spanish, that was published in 1542, and that is known as ''Carro de las Donas''.
Digital editions
Incunabula
Edition in the ''Biblioteca Digital Hispánica'' (Hispanic Digital Library) of the
incunabula
In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...
edition printed by Joan Rosembach (
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, 8 May 1495).
[This edition is also available in the ''Memòria Digital de Catalunya'' (Digital Memory of Cataloni]
and in the ''Biblioteca Virtual Joan Lluís Vives'' (Virtual Library Joan Lluís Vives
/ref>
Old editions
Edition in ''Somni'' (Digitalized collection of the old books of the University of Valencia) of the edition of the ''Carro de las Donas'' printed by Juan de Villaquigrán in Valladolid
Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...
in 1542.
Modern editions
Edition of the ''Llibre de les dones'' (Barcelona. Curial Edicions Catalanes. 1981. XXXVII+620. Introduction by Curt Wittlin
Curt Wittlin (13 April 1941 – 23 September 2019) was a Swiss philologist and an expert of medieval Catalan language and literature.
Biography
Wittlin studied romance philology in Basel with Germà Colon, and later in Paris, Florence and Barcel ...
). Franck Naccarato's doctoral dissertation submitted to Joan Coromines (University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, 1965).
The ''Llibre de les Dones'' inside Eiximenis' complete works
Francesc Eiximenis' complete works (in Catalan and in Latin)
References
{{Authority control
Incunabula
Women and education
Francesc Eiximenis
Spanish encyclopedias
Catalan-language encyclopedias
Medieval Catalan literature
Medieval European encyclopedias