Isotta Nogarola was a great one of the great female humanists of the Renaissance.
Born to a wealthy family in Verona, Nogarola was trained in the humanist arts – as was the custom for aristocratic men and women of the day.
Women, however, were expected to do little with their training but be personally enriched to that they may later similarly enrich their own children.
Nogarola, however, sought to further enrich the humanist field by entering into scholarly correspondence with some of the leading humanists in Italy.
Her letters drew scorn from the greater public. There is a long history in the Western world of women being excluded from the public sphere; of being silenced and branded as unclean if they dare speak up.
Nogarola was no exception – rumors spread that she was a prostitute, and that she had engaged in incest.
The reasoning for these rumors?
An eloquent women is never chaste.