Wise mothers, muses and singing nuns: musical transmission and female education in the middle ages

Abstract

Right from beginning of time, since early childhood mothers have introduced the sound of humming into society. Even mythology provides powerful and symbolic examples of women transmitting music as an art. In traditional societies music was always a predominantly female practice, until its shift to academies (typical of a patriarchy), relieved women of their duty. Nevertheless, during the old regime one is able to reconstruct various musical transmission links. Of the various enviroments where this is apparent Y shall concentrate on the monastic, especially on the figure of the female singer, a job which involved the interpretation as well as the teaching of music.