Drawing their members from the highest levels of society, women's monasteries provided an outlet for the energy and ambition of strong-willed women, as well as positions of considerable authority. From these beginnings, women's monasteries increased rapidly in both number and in­ fluence both on the continent and in Anglo-Saxon England.



edited by Mary Ellen Waithe Series: HISTORY OF WOMEN PHILOSOPHERS volume: 2 The second volume in this series surveys women philosophers from the medieval through enlightenment periods. Like their male counterparts, women philosophers addressed scientific, political, moral and religious issues. Often they were also playwriters, novelists, poets, composers or politicians. Although each was famous in her day, few, other than Heloise and Teresa of Avila, are known as philosophers. They, together with Gertrude the Great, Roswitha of Gandershem and Margaret More Roper are considered only briefly in this volume. Chapters discussing Catherine of Siena's ethics, Oliva Sabuco de Nantes Barrera's philosophy of medicine, Marie le Jars de Gournay's feminism, Hildegard's metaphysics and cosmology, Julian of Norwich's epistemology, Shikibu Murasaki's Shinto ethics, Christine de Pisan's moral philosophy, and the mysticism of Hadewych of Antwerp, Beatrijs of Nazareth, and Mechtild of Magdeburg document the scope of pre-17th century women's interests in philosophy.