"Female theme" in the Italian medieval sermon

Abstract

The article analyses the evolution of the «female theme» in the medieval sermon starting from its origins to its prosperity and at the same time its completion. By considering the works of the two best-known preachers, Giordano da Pisa and Bernardino da Siena, it is shown how an abstract and superficial attitude towards a woman, dictated by stereo types of the epoch, gives way to a more specific and profound analysis of females problems.