Analysis Of The Renaissance Italian City Of Women Education Status

As a transitional period bridging the Middle Ages and the modern time of Europe, and a revolutionary movement towards new ideas and new cultures in both ideology, science and technology, the Renaissance was conducive to transforming the educational ideas of the Middle Ages into the modern ones. Italy in the14th century boasted of the most developed cities, whose citizens lived more and more enriched lives. Traditionally, women had been playing a very important part only in marital and familial life, thanks to the belief in the supreme power of God. The advent of the Renaissance brought women into social economy, turning them into social workers. However, there still existed unreasonable division of labor, which, resulted in discrimination, and resulted from the educational system then. With the brisk spread of humanism in the Renaissance, public opinion started to pay more heed to women’ s education. Italian cities became centers of ideas and culture, which enhanced greatly the development of education, covering not only men, but more and more women, who had been originally marginalized. Education is a vital important element of culture, and the key contributor to a booming economy. More and more women from different walks of life get involved in social production and economic activities, playing an indispensable role in civic and commercial life. The status quo of women’ s education not only reflects directly the mainstream view of women, but also comprehends other information related to their ideas, economic situation, political and cultural activities.Taking the women in Italian cities in the Renaissance as the main target of research, this thesis probes into the urban development, the specific contents and form of women’s education, with the aim to show the general condition of women’ s education at that time, and furthermore, to make known women’s great contributions to the social and urban development with the benefit of their education.