Declamation on the Nobility & Preeminence of the Female Sex (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series) - Hardcover

Agrippa, Henricus Cornel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226010589 ISBN 13: 9780226010588

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1996

Synopsis

Originally published in 1529, this work argues that women are more than equal to men in all things that really matter, including the public spheres from which they have long been excluded. Rather than directly refuting prevailing wisdom, Agrippa uses women's superiority as a rhetorical device and overturns the misogynistic interpretations of the female body in Greek medicine, the Bible, Roman and canon law, theology, moral philosophy and politics. He raised the question of why women were excluded and provided answers based not on sex but on social conditioning, education and the prejudices of their more powerful oppressors. His declamation, disseminated through the printing press, illustrated the power of that new medium, soon to be used to generate a larger reformation of religion.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Originally published in 1529, the Declamation of the Nobility and Preeminence of the Female Sex argues that women are more than equal to men in all things that really matter, including the public spheres from which they had long been excluded. Rather than directly refuting prevailing wisdom, Agrippa uses women's superiority as a rhetorical device and overturns the misogynistic interpretations of the female body in Greek medicine, in the Bible, in Roman and canon law, in theology and moral philosophy, and in politics. He raises the question of why women were excluded and provides answers based not on sex but on social conditioning, education, and the prejudices of their more powerful oppressors. His declamation, disseminated through the printing press, illustrates the power of that new medium, soon to be used to generate a larger reformation of religion.

About the Author:

Margaret L. King and Albert Rabil Jr.edit the Other Voice in Early Modern Europe series for the University of Chicago Press.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0226010589
• ISBN 13: 9780226010588
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 142