An excellent introduction to some of the most fascinating women of the high Middle Ages. The women chosen represent well the great variety of religious creativity found during this period: Gertrude, living the traditional Benedictine monastic life but influenced by the new spirit of romanticism introduced by Bernard of Clairvaux; Angela, the wife and mother who became a Franciscan tertiary; Birgitta, noblewoman and foundress of a new mixed community of men and women; and Julian, the recluse who produced a remarkable work of theology.