Hi, I'm Peter Adamson, and you're listening to the History of Philosophy podcast brought to you with the support of the Philosophy Department at King's College London and the LMU in Munich, online at Historyofilosovie.net.

Today's episode, perhaps not wrong, Cornelius Agrippa.

We saw last time how Marie Dancie and Arbula von Grumbach were inspired by the spirit of the Reformation to speak out on religious matters.

Ironically enough, in doing so they would not have had the support of the leading reformers.

As I mentioned in the earlier episode on him, Luther himself taught that women are best off staying home and keeping their mouths shut.

But at this same time, some men were arguing in favor of women's emancipation.

One of them was Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Netesheim.

Early in the 16th century, he made his contribution to the long-running dispute over the virtues of women, often called by its French title, the Kered Daphon.

We'll be returning to the general topic in a future installment, but since it is an early work by Agrippa and does him so much credit,

I thought we might begin our survey of his multifaceted and rather puzzling career by examining his declamation on the nobility and preeminence of the female sex.

Agrippa delivered it as a speech in 1509 at the University of Dull. It was dedicated to the titular president of the University, Margaret of Austria.

Though the work did not secure him patronage from Margaret or the faculty position he coveted at Dull, it was a huge success by other measures.

Just in the 16th century, the Latin original would be translated into French no fewer than five times, alongside two versions in each of three other languages, German, Italian and English.

Its eager reception was not thanks to its originality.

Like other contributors to this genre, Agrippa is indebted to the Italian poet Bocaccio, who wrote in praise of women back in the 14th century.

He also makes extensive use of the triumph of women, a treatise composed in about 1440 by Juan Rodriguez de Badrón.

And one of the most striking passages in Agrippa's declamation is closely parallel to remarks made several years earlier in Maria Equicola's on women.

Agrippa repeats her complaint that women are subjected to the tyranny of their husbands, legally disenfranchised and kept out of public life with nothing to occupy them, but needle and thread.

Indeed, one of the more interesting points made by Agrippa concerns the legal status of women. He points out that Roman law was more generous in its dealings with women than the law of his own time.

Agrippa says that they could pass on their names to their children, hide control over their dowry, and own property, including slaves.

This shows Agrippa's awareness of the way that customs and attitudes change over time.

He thinks they should change again, now in favour of women.

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