The Sixteenth Century in 100 Women: Book Review

After digging into historical archives, Author Amy License has found multiple women from the 1500s who impacted history. Previously, men wielded the pen and wrote about women based on their perspective. Men were the stars. And often, women are merely appendages who continued dynasties. Even the Medusa painting by Caravaggio actually features his face. This book attempts to tell the women’s stories from their view.

And the author includes plenty of clarifying notes when a story infuses a man’s view. As she notes, with a few exceptions, female power was more usually a gift given by men to women of their choice. Women achieved a degree of success through association with their male relatives. Patriarchal society could indulge its favored women. But when those women felt secure, they could end up losing everything based on a man’s whim. Typically, women gained only an illusion of power. 

I felt disappointed that most of the women have ties to royalty. I wanted more stories about everyday women. But the author does include some of these characters, including prostitutes who serviced the Pope and his clergy, midwives who worked despite gender restrictions, and a pirate, astronomer, and court jester. And this book includes women from Europe, Asia and Russia.

As I read, I realized that all women impact history. Maybe my name won’t make it into history books, but my life impacts society today. 

I was also struck by how little people have changed in the last centuries. Then as now, dysfunctional people remain stuck in obtaining power by any means possible. 

Even today, women too often reinforce patriarchal constraints as we judge and shame other women for breaking taboos or following their hearts. It’s time to break that mold.

Some interesting trivia: 

*Women’s lives became a legitimate area of study in the 1920s thanks to Eileen Power and her work focusing on social rather than political history. 

*Renowned for her beauty, Elizabeth of York’s face is reputed to have been used for the image of the Queen of Hearts on a traditional deck of cards.

*Lisa del Giocondo, aka Lisa Gherardini of Florence, Italy, shared her most famous smile in the world.

*Anti-Semitism was one of the deep-rooted undercurrents of sixteenth-century life.

*Catherine de’ Medici may have retained power thanks to a secret band of seductresses, referred to after 1695 as the Flying Squadron.

*Weyn Ockers was accused of defacing a church even though her role was minor. 

*Elena or Eleno de Céspedes who may have been transgender, intersex or lesbian. Despite his attempts to share his truth, few people listened or respected him. 

*Isabella Cortese wrote several books about cosmetics.
*Hungarian countess Elizabeth Bathory was accused of murdering and torturing hundreds of girls and women, but these claims may have been fabricated by folks who were jealous of her power, influence and property. 

*Pickpocket Mary Frith also worked as a pimp, dressed as a man, smoked a pipe, and otherwise challenged gender and social norms of the day. 

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