The Letters of the Rozmberk Sisters

With an Introduction, Interpretive Essay and Bibliography
THE LETTERS OF PERCHTA AND ANEZKA offer an illuminating insight into how two aristocratic women in fifteenth-century Bohemia saw themselves and their lives. The central topic of this collection is Perchta's expression, in letters to her father, of her deep unhappiness at his choice of husband for her, in which her expectations of respect and companionship in marriage clearly emerge. This rare discussion on paper of a situation that must have faced many women in the middle ages is valuable for its illustration of how much a woman might do to influence plans made for her, made all the more interesting by the vigorous personalities of the two sisters and the incidental illumination of family and castle life.

John M. Klassen, Eva Dolezalová, Lynn Szabo

At once domestic and political, private and public... should prove of great interest to medievalsits and students of women's history. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW Excellent addition to series... open(s) a remarkable window into the conditions, beliefs, and expectations that shaped the lives of late medieval noblewomen... Fine introduction. MEDIEVAL FEMINIST FORUM A highly welcome addition to the canon of medieval women's literature. Whereas most scholars continue to study well-known mystical literature, and reproduce women's visionary texts, the Library of Medieval Women series pursues the goal of making available a wider range of medieval women's literature in English translation. MEDIAEVISTIK