Dear Sister Medieval Women and the Epistolary Genre

Dear Sister: Medieval Women and the Epistolary Genre explores women's contributions to letter writing in Western Europe from the sixth to the sixteenth centuries. The essays represent the first attempt to chart medieval women's achievements in epistolarity, and the contributors to this volume situate the women writers in a solidly historical context and employ a variety of feminist approaches. Both religious and secular writers are discussed, including Radegund, Hildegard of Bingen, Heloise, Catherine of Siena, the women of the Paston family, Christine de Pizan, and Maria de Hout.