To browse Academia. This paper explores evidence for female authorship terminology in extant poetic texts written in Latin by women. It thus argues for the importance of analyzing authorship terminology in Latin literature through the lens of gender. Keywords: author β authorship β women β Sulpicia β Proba β auctor β vates β poeta.
The notion and construction of authorship has been reinterpreted and shaped throughout history. The establishment of decrees within the sixteenth-century book trade reshaped it by making it compulsory to register on the work certain bibliographical details.
The turn of the seven- teenth century, furthermore, witnessed a rapid commercialization of the literary product β despite remaining rooted in a system of patronage, literary production began to give way to the active role of printer-publishers and booksellers.
Writing for publication was a complex venture for most aspiring authors, to be sure. Nevertheless, literary careers continue to be qualified, chiefly upon gender grounds. This essay, therefore, reflects on the role of gender in early constructions of female au- thorship within Iberian book history, using a critical stance on Christine de Pizan and Teresa de Cartagena, informed by new approaches to the field.
The aim is to vindicate the early role of women as authors within the Iberian literary field. Five case studies of twelfth-century writing partnerships in Latin are investigated, in which sensitive questions surrounding authority, synergy and gender take a prominent place. The aim is to contribute to and challenge the predominant historical and literary paradigms by which medieval authorship are studied, and allow to formulate new cultural-historical questions.
