The topic of this course is "Women of the Middle Ages" This is a subject of lively interest, especially provocative to our modern assumptions. In this area we must be extra careful to lay aside our feelings and values and listen to another age. The topic is excellent for developing imaginative research skills and becoming familiar with the kinds of sources available for studying women. Numerous primary sources are becoming available in English translations --works written by medieval women and works in which medieval women are described (such as law codes, trial proceedings, and saints' lives). Finally, an aim of the course is to develope a sensitivity to the historical context in which a work was written. In the lectures I will sensitize you to asking of each work such questions as: who wrote it? when? why? what popularity did it have? among whom? when and where? Also in the lectures I will talk to you about a variety of subjects related to the historical context of the books we will be reading --sometimes this will be filling you in on general history (for which you have Claster, The Medieval "Experience 300-1400 as a basic textbook), sometimes discussing a particular theme, such as monasticism, canon law, witchcraft, heresy, etc.