Sylwetki kobiet w traktacie "O narodzinach i zgonach świętych ojców" Izydora z Sewilli

Isidore’s treatise De ortu et obitu patrum (On the Lifes and Deathes of the Fathers) contains biographies of outstanding biblical figures from Adam to Titus. Among them there are four women, to which the bishop of Seville dedicates spe­cial chapters. These are Esther, Judith, John Baptist’s mother Elisabeth and Mary, Mother of Jesus. He also mentions 26 women while presenting famous biblical patriarchs, judges, kings and prophets. Mothers and grandmothers, sisters and daughters, wives and widows participate in different important biblical events, support men on their way to salvation, as well as lead them to the moral fall and suffer because of it. Except four above mentioned heroins, Isidore describes bibli­cal women very superficially, giving only those details of their lifes and characters that help him to introduce his male heroes. Although the erudite bishop admires the virtue both in men as well as in women and hates the sin regardless of the sin­ner’s sex, it seems that he considers the history of Salvation to be the history of relations between God and mankind represented first of all by a man. In Isidore’s feeling it is the latter who is responsible before the Lord not only for himself, but for the whole world and for a woman as well.