Libri prodotti, libri rubati: donne e cultura manoscritta tra lavoro, malavita e devozione nella Bologna dei secoli XIII-XV

Focusing on late Middle Ages Bologna, this study explores the presence of women in the production, circulation, and use of manuscripts through notarial records and criminal proceedings. Moving beyond the traditional focus on aristocratic, monastic or sanctified figures, attention is given to women who were not confined to courts or monastic cloisters, whose traces emerge sporadically in judicial and notarial sources. The research reveals a spectrum of female engagement with the written word – as readers, scribes, producers, and patrons.