Francisca de Lebrija
Francisca de Lebrija was a 16th-century lecturer at the University of Alcalá de Henares in Spain.[1]
Francisca lived in a time when it was very uncommon for educated women to teach and lecture in a university.[2] Spain was one of the few places where women were able to succeed.[2] A part of the reason for this was Queen Isabella who herself was a very well educated woman that encouraged “the love of study by personal example.”[2] In addition to this, women like Francisca were oftentimes able to succeed because their fathers were already in that field and able to help open doors.[3]
Francisca de Lebrija was born to scholar Antonio de Nebrija and Doña Isabel Montesinos de Solis.[1] She was able to successfully lecture in rhetoric to such an extent that it was said to have been done to applause.[2] In addition to this, some sources point to her having assisted her father with his research and writings however, none of her personal work has survived.[1]
References
- Pérez, Janet (2002). The Feminist Encyclopedia of Spanish Literature: N-Z. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 438. ISBN 0-313-32445-X.
- Horst, Robert Ter (1986). "Aspects of Love and Learning in El amor médico". Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispánicos. 10 (2): 296. JSTOR 27762432.
- Cannon, Mary Agnes (1916). The education of women during the renaissance. Washington, D.C.: National capital press, inc. p. 88.