Laura Cereta | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 1469 |
| Died | 1499 (aged 29–30) |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Known for | Humanist and feminist writing |
Laura Cereta (September 1469 – 1499) was one of the most notable humanist and feminist writers of fifteenth-century Italy. Cereta was the first to put women’s issues and her friendships with women front and center in her work. Cereta wrote in Brescia, Verona, and Venice in 1488–92, known for her writing in the form of letters to other intellectuals.[1] Her letters contained her personal matters and childhood memories, and discussed themes such as women’s education, war, and marriage.[2] Like the first great humanist Petrarch, Cereta claimed to seek fame and immortality through her writing. It appeared that her letters were intended for a general audience.[3]
- ^ Cereta, Laura, and Diana Maury Robin. Collected letters of a Renaissance feminist. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997), 3.
- ^ Cereta, Laura. "Letter to Augustinus Aemilius, Curse against the Ornamentation of Women" (PDF).
- ^ King, Margaret L. (1 September 2005). "Petrarch, the Self-Conscious Self, and the First Women Humanists". Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. 35 (3): 537–558. doi:10.1215/10829636-35-3-537.