The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 2, Winter 2019 | Page 42

The Saber
ried learned women of the noble class
that encountered hostility. Therefore,
as an unmarried learned noblewoman
in Northern Italy in the quattrocento,
seeking to join the male-dominated
realm of humanism, Isotta was ostracized
by her society, despite praise from
prominent male humanists and being
just as accomplished in humanist studies
as men.
Even though there was social
opprobrium against Isotta in Verona
for being an unmarried learned woman,
she was bolstered with Guarino’s
praise of her and moved to Venice in
1438, where she tried to establish herself
as a humanist scholar with Venetian
male humanists and other elite men in
Renaissance society. However, nine
months later, Isotta received a threatening
message that would alter the course
of the rest of her life. On June 1, 1439,
she came under attack by an anonymous
Venetian writer who called himself
“Pliny.” He made several accusations
against Isotta, specifically, sexual
promiscuity, homosexuality, and incest:
Let us cease to wonder at all these
things, when that second unmarried
sister, who has won such
praise for her eloquence, does
things which little befit her erudition
and reputation—although
the saying of many wise men I
hold to be true: that an eloquent
woman is never chaste; and the
behavior of many learned women
also confirms its truth .... But
lest you approve even slightly
this excessively foul and obscene
crime, let me explain that
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