Sister Prudence Allen, RSM, is a retired professor of philosophy at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, Denver, Colorado and professor emeritus of Concordia University, Montreal. She is the author of The Concept of Woman, published in three volumes: The Aristotelian Revolution, 750 B.C.-A.D. 1250; The Early Humanist Reformation, 1250-1500; The Search for Communion of Persons, 1500-2015.
Jean Bethke Elshtain
-- University of Chicago Divinity School
"Sister Prudence Allen's monumental work continues with this
remarkable volume. There is no work to compare with hers in its
systematicness, intellectual rigor, and scholarly integrity."
Catholic Historical Review
"This comprehensive volume comes as close to being an exhaustive
treatment of what philosophers and theologians in the High Middle
Ages of Christian Europe had to say about women as we are ever
likely to get. . . An invaluable guide to all the philosophical
thinking on gender difference in Christian Europe from 1250-1500."
Francis Martin, S.S.D.
-- author of The Feminist Question
"Sister Prudence Allen's second volume of The Concept of Woman is
an extremely important contribution in the effort to move from a
rights-based feminism to one that is person-centered and addresses
the question, 'Who is a woman?' Relying on primary sources, some of
which are not often consulted, this study traces the emerging
understanding of woman on the part of both women and men (often in
dialogue) during the period from 1250 to 1500. While not ignoring
the dark side of these centuries, this work in the history of
philosophy follows the emerging consciousness of woman's identity
as part of the increasing humanist awareness of the person's inner
space. . . A careful and brilliant study." W. Norris Clarke,
S.J.
-- Fordham University
"This carefully researched new volume is even more interesting and
substantial than the first. It is of special importance because it
lays out in rich detail the crucial turning point in the West from
the dominance of the Aristotelian 'gender-polarity' concept of
woman (the inferiority of woman to man both biologically and
psychologically) to the emergence of the new
'gender-complementarity with equality' concept that developed in
the newly arisen humanist schools of the Renaissance. . . The
leading philosophers of the high Middle Ages, such as Thomas
Aquinas and Duns Scotus, are treated here with admirable insight
and fairness. This volume will now become the essential reference
work for understanding this important chapter in our Western
culture." Diana Robin
-- University of New Mexico
"An original and brilliant work of scholarship. Charting the
emergence of a new ideology of sex/gender in early modern Europe,
this book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of
the history of sexuality. Considering the 'woman question' and
early gender theory as rooted in the rise of European humanism,
Sister Prudence Allen analyzes the concept of woman in such
important women writers as Mechtild of Magdeburg, Bridget of
Sweden, Catherine of Siena, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe,
Christine de Pizan, Isotta Nogarola, Laura Cereta, and their
canonical male contemporaries. The broad sweep and range of works,
writers, and in-depth textual analyses make Sister Prudence's book
essential reading for scholars in comparative European studies,
women's history, and feminist theory."
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