XO32 Alphabetum Malarum Mulierum

Alphabetum Malarum Mulierum, Italy, circa 15th century

Penn Libraries, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Ms. Codex 762

The Alphabetum Malarum Mulierum (The Alphabet of Evil Women) is part of a manuscript written in Italy in the 15th century, containing other moralizing texts (the Pseudo-Aristotelian Liber de bona fortuna, and the Psalmi Poenitentiales attributed to Petrarch). As the title suggests, the Alphabetum enlists in alphabetical order examples of women's evilness. These consist of biblical and classical quotations, including Aristotle. Aristotle never authored an Alphabetum, but he deemed women inferior to men because their nature was associated with the passive, material principle. Aristotle thus perceived women as men who had not reached their perfection. It follows that in Aristotelian texts, women were generally characterized as not completely rational, cowardly, and overall weak, an overview reflected in their political and social relegation to child-bearers and housekeepers.

Nicola Guida