Women’s Education During the Renaissance

Elizabeth Kidney

University of South Florida

EUH 3142

Prof. G. Benadusi

October 27, 2021

During the Italian Renaissance following the aftermath of the black plague the communes of Italy saw fundamental changes in their societies especially regarding women and their social positions in Italy and in the workforce. Contrary to popular opinion, the women of Italy did indeed experience their own separate Renaissance and they were able to craft new positions for themselves in society and earn the respect of their peers and cohorts during the Humanist revolution. During this period women began to step into academia and contributed to the movement of Humanism and the broadening of intellectualism in Renaissance Italy.

An example of women’s development during the Renaissance comes in the form of women entering the world of academia via the study and development of humanism. Humanism progressed during the Renaissance in response to the established social paradigms and education that had long been withstanding in Italy. Humanism favored new religious and educational programs that were practical and began to turn the focus of society and education towards a broader spectrum of human achievement and began to recognize the world and development of humanity beyond that of the Catholic Church (Lecture Week 9). In the letter “Letter to Lady Baptista Malatesta” from 1405 by Leonard Bruni, we can see the established conventions of women’s education and how they were perceived by men. This helps us understand the social restrictions and conditions that were placed upon women’s education and the male perspective of female education. Bruni writes that the proper education for a women should revolve around Christian writers, theology and history and anything that her father or husband would have deemed appropriate.

In contrast to Bruni’s ideology there were female humanists who forcefully advocated for the advancement of women’s education in all areas of study. Women such as Laura Cereta was a humanist during the Renaissance and is famous for her works addressing the defense of women’s learning during the Renaissance and the development of humanities in education and especially in the liberal instruction of women. Her letter “Letter to Bibulus Sempronius: A Defense of the Liberal Instruction of Women,” is imperative to our understanding of the position of women in the Renaissance and the development of humanism and Humanist education in the 15th century. In a second letter Cereta also provides us with the social attitudes towards learned women during the Renaissance. “Letter to Lucilia Vernacula: Against Women Who Disparage Learned Women,” focuses on the prejudices exhibited by women who were not educated and following the growing humanist movement, against women who were “…attaining the possession of the human arts…” (Laura Cereta, Letter to Lucilia Vernacula). These letters are instrumental to our understanding of the humanist movement and the growing and shifting position of women during the Renaissance. It was women like Cereta who helped expand the sphere of women’s instruction and education in Italy and Europe during the 15th century.

The women who began to take their own initiatives towards education during the Humanist movement were incredibly instrumental to the overall development of women’s education and the advocacy for women’s instruction in Italy and Europe. After reading the letters and primary documents in class I have been able to gain a deeper understanding of not only the humanist movement but women’s roles and education during the Renaissance which ostensibly led to the overall propagation of education and improvement of women’s social standing in Italian society during the Renaissance. The writings of Cereta, Bruni and others have changed by perception of the Renaissance from an art centered period of history to one that was fundamental to the establishment of women’s education.

© 2022 Elizabeth Kidney, All Rights Reserved

Works Cited

Benadusi, G. “Lecture 9: Humanism, Education,” (2021) EUH 3142: Italy during the Renaissance, University of South Florida

Laura Cereta, “Letters” (1488), courtesy of the University of South Florida

Leonardo Bruni, “Letter to Lady Baptista Malatesta,” (ca. 1405), courtesy of the University of South Florida