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The prevailing scholarly opinion concerning women in the 16 th century was largely the continuati... more The prevailing scholarly opinion concerning women in the 16 th century was largely the continuation of misogynistic thought rooted in the ancient Hebrew, Greek and Roman cultures from which Christianity emerged. 1 Perpetuated by several secular and religious authors and thinkers, a relatively negative view of women in comparison to men was propagated through philosophical and theological treaties, poetry, law, romances and prescriptive literature. 2 By the early 15 th century, however, consensus on the dignity of women would be broken as Christine de Pizan raised her literary voice in opposition to the misogyny of her contemporaries, initiating a debate that has been remembered as la querelle des femmes. 3 De Pizan's efforts to vindicate the rights women would not be in vain, for several humanists would add their voices to hers later in the early modern period. One such voice was the voice of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (1486-1535), 4 who would become an important contributor la querelle des femmes with his famous work entitled Declamation on the Nobility and Pre-eminence of the Female Sex, 5 first published in the form of a lecture before the University of Dole in 1509, and later published as a formal work of applied theology in 1529. 6
The Vita Sanctae Brigidae of Cogitosus (fl. c. 650)an obscure Irish monk of Kildare about whom th... more The Vita Sanctae Brigidae of Cogitosus (fl. c. 650)an obscure Irish monk of Kildare about whom the exact date of birth or death is unknown 1is the oldest extant primary source on the life of St. Brigid 2 of Kildare (c. 451-525). 3 It is the cornerstone of St. Brigid's hagiography, establishing her sanctity through a multi-varied selection of miracles. Lacking in essential information such as dates of birth, consecration or death for his subject, Cogitosus' Vita S. Brigidae does not qualify as a sound biographic work for the first female Christian saint of Ireland. Although the panegyrical hagiography does not reveal much information about the human aspect of St. Brigid, Cogitosus' narration of her thaumaturgy, the particularity of some miracles, and his insistence on the primacy of Kildare as a monastic model makes this seminal 7 th century Hiberno-Latin work particularly significant to the literature and historiography of the early medieval period in Ireland. The Vita S. Brigidae of Cogitosus is significant not only because it is the earliest demonstrable source from this period, but because it reveals several complexities about the person of St. Brigid, and the importance of Kildare to early Irish Christianity and monasticism. 4 In his prologue to the Vita S. Brigidae, Cogitosus introduces himself to the reader as a humble Christian of limited capacity, but does not fail to praise his monastery highly. Cogitosus The inalienable fact of St. Brigid's sex is interestingly harmonizedor perhaps extenuatedby Cogitosus by marrying her saintly authority by virtue of her virginal piety with the dignity of the episcopal office, a decidedly male endowment given the male-restricted membership of Christian bishops. So as to avoid undermining the greatness of saintly character because she was a woman, Cogitosus often alludes to St. Brigid being in perfect harmony her male superiors, placing St. Brigid in a unique position of being the active agent acting through a passive male bishop. 9 Furthermore, it is particularly interesting to note an alternative to Cogitosus' story about St. Brigid's consecration as a nun, wherein, in addition to having received the nun's veil she also received the episcopal order. 10 Regardless of its virtual impossibility given the fact that women are incapable of receiving the sacrament of the episcopal order, the fluid depictions of St. Brigid's role in the early church of Ireland informs the gender of her person. Indeed, the first passage of the Vita S. Brigidae after the prologue reads: "The holy Brigid, whom God knew beforehand and whom he predestined to be moulded in his image…," reinforcing the fluidity of her gender in relation to male authority and fullness of power in the Christian religious paradigm. 11
French into two camps: the Catholics, and the Protestant Huguenots. Because of this polarization,... more French into two camps: the Catholics, and the Protestant Huguenots. Because of this polarization, fellow countrymen were pitted one against the other, creating the ideal circumstances for the Wars of Religion (1562-1598). While the French Reformation changed how the French would interact with each other, it also changed how they would engage with the state through social protest. With the Reformation, the French were exposed to new ways of thinking. They found new sources of legitimacy for their social grievances, discovered new ways of thinking about governance, and challenged the hierarchical system promoted by the Church authorities over the centuries.
Conference Presentations by Denis Y Boulet
Presented at the Atlantic Universities Undergraduate History and Classics Conference, Fredericton... more Presented at the Atlantic Universities Undergraduate History and Classics Conference, Fredericton, New Brunswick, March 16, 2013.
The prevailing scholarly opinion concerning women in the 16 th century was largely the continuati... more The prevailing scholarly opinion concerning women in the 16 th century was largely the continuation of misogynistic thought rooted in the ancient Hebrew, Greek and Roman cultures from which Christianity emerged. 1 Perpetuated by several secular and religious authors and thinkers, a relatively negative view of women in comparison to men was propagated through philosophical and theological treaties, poetry, law, romances and prescriptive literature. 2 By the early 15 th century, however, consensus on the dignity of women would be broken as Christine de Pizan raised her literary voice in opposition to the misogyny of her contemporaries, initiating a debate that has been remembered as la querelle des femmes. 3 De Pizan's efforts to vindicate the rights women would not be in vain, for several humanists would add their voices to hers later in the early modern period. One such voice was the voice of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (1486-1535), 4 who would become an important contributor la querelle des femmes with his famous work entitled Declamation on the Nobility and Pre-eminence of the Female Sex, 5 first published in the form of a lecture before the University of Dole in 1509, and later published as a formal work of applied theology in 1529. 6
The Vita Sanctae Brigidae of Cogitosus (fl. c. 650)an obscure Irish monk of Kildare about whom th... more The Vita Sanctae Brigidae of Cogitosus (fl. c. 650)an obscure Irish monk of Kildare about whom the exact date of birth or death is unknown 1is the oldest extant primary source on the life of St. Brigid 2 of Kildare (c. 451-525). 3 It is the cornerstone of St. Brigid's hagiography, establishing her sanctity through a multi-varied selection of miracles. Lacking in essential information such as dates of birth, consecration or death for his subject, Cogitosus' Vita S. Brigidae does not qualify as a sound biographic work for the first female Christian saint of Ireland. Although the panegyrical hagiography does not reveal much information about the human aspect of St. Brigid, Cogitosus' narration of her thaumaturgy, the particularity of some miracles, and his insistence on the primacy of Kildare as a monastic model makes this seminal 7 th century Hiberno-Latin work particularly significant to the literature and historiography of the early medieval period in Ireland. The Vita S. Brigidae of Cogitosus is significant not only because it is the earliest demonstrable source from this period, but because it reveals several complexities about the person of St. Brigid, and the importance of Kildare to early Irish Christianity and monasticism. 4 In his prologue to the Vita S. Brigidae, Cogitosus introduces himself to the reader as a humble Christian of limited capacity, but does not fail to praise his monastery highly. Cogitosus The inalienable fact of St. Brigid's sex is interestingly harmonizedor perhaps extenuatedby Cogitosus by marrying her saintly authority by virtue of her virginal piety with the dignity of the episcopal office, a decidedly male endowment given the male-restricted membership of Christian bishops. So as to avoid undermining the greatness of saintly character because she was a woman, Cogitosus often alludes to St. Brigid being in perfect harmony her male superiors, placing St. Brigid in a unique position of being the active agent acting through a passive male bishop. 9 Furthermore, it is particularly interesting to note an alternative to Cogitosus' story about St. Brigid's consecration as a nun, wherein, in addition to having received the nun's veil she also received the episcopal order. 10 Regardless of its virtual impossibility given the fact that women are incapable of receiving the sacrament of the episcopal order, the fluid depictions of St. Brigid's role in the early church of Ireland informs the gender of her person. Indeed, the first passage of the Vita S. Brigidae after the prologue reads: "The holy Brigid, whom God knew beforehand and whom he predestined to be moulded in his image…," reinforcing the fluidity of her gender in relation to male authority and fullness of power in the Christian religious paradigm. 11
French into two camps: the Catholics, and the Protestant Huguenots. Because of this polarization,... more French into two camps: the Catholics, and the Protestant Huguenots. Because of this polarization, fellow countrymen were pitted one against the other, creating the ideal circumstances for the Wars of Religion (1562-1598). While the French Reformation changed how the French would interact with each other, it also changed how they would engage with the state through social protest. With the Reformation, the French were exposed to new ways of thinking. They found new sources of legitimacy for their social grievances, discovered new ways of thinking about governance, and challenged the hierarchical system promoted by the Church authorities over the centuries.
Presented at the Atlantic Universities Undergraduate History and Classics Conference, Fredericton... more Presented at the Atlantic Universities Undergraduate History and Classics Conference, Fredericton, New Brunswick, March 16, 2013.