"Contributed by ten distinguished scholars, [...] the essays in this volume address medieval constructions in gender and identity. Sharing an interest in women and identity formation, these essays range through time, covering the period from the tenth through the fifteenth century, and across languages, discussing sources in Latin, Italian, French, Occitan, English, and Hebrew. They range also through a variety of cultural settings: from nunneries in Germany, Italy, France, and England to a Jewish community in France; from the Provence of the troubadours and the England of Chaucer to the Florentine scribal circles in which Dante's 'Vita nuova' was copied. Joan M. Ferrante's pioneering contribution to the history of women and their representation is a connecting thread through this volume of essays commissioned in her honor." --