Medieval Friendships: No Girls Allowed

What is friendship for? In medieval Europe, elite male writers saw it as an intense bond reinforcing virtuous behavior—something only possible between two men. As medievalist Alexandra Verini writes, two very different women writers challenged this idea, insisting that friendship existed among women and expanding the view of what that friendship might achieve.

Verini notes that medieval scholars drew on ancient sources for their understanding of friendship. One important one was Cicero’s De Amicitia...