A Library of Lost Works: Non-Extant Books as Evidence of Female Reader Networks

Abstract

This paper explores the non-extant manuscripts from Gabrielle de la Tour d’Auvergne’s library as evidence of a coherent collecting strategy. Through its demonstration that Gabrielle deliberately acquired works originating with or distributed by the courts of Bourbonnais, Burgundy, Orléans, and the French crown, this paper will uncover the multi-layered literary networks connecting the women of the medieval French aristocracy and demonstrate the necessity of taking non-extant books into account in discussions of women’s libraries and their roles in literary and cultural transmission.