As a long-time feminist and medievalist, I was delighted with the prospect of reviewing Sybils! This CD-ROM, whose primary focus is women in Western Europe from the years 800 to 1600, is the second version of what the authors term a "work in progress" -- a project of McMasters Working Group on the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The authors, all women whose backgrounds include French, music, history, English, and women’s studies, gratefully acknowledge the financial support of McMaster University. The CD-ROM promised and, with some qualifications, proved to be a valuable resource.

The CD should work for both PCs and Macs, but I initially encountered a somewhat circular and frustrating effort in installing the product into my CD/DVD drive, and minimal installation instructions are provided on the CD-ROM’s inside jacket. With perseverance, I was finally able to load. From the main menu, we may choose to explore the Introduction, Timeline, Scriptorium, Further Pathways, Queens and Courtiers, Women and Spirituality, and Women and the Law. Users are informed in the Introduction that they are about to enter an interactive exploration of women in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. We are told that this CD-ROM has been called Sybils! "in recognition of those women of ancient times, who relayed the words of gods to humanity, gave advice, and foretold the future!" There is brief mention that this CD-ROM is the second version on Medieval/Renaissance women, focusing this time on three principal areas: "the realm of Queens and Courtiers, the area of Women and Spirituality, and the Law and its impact on the lives of medieval women."

Within "Queens and Courtiers," the CD-ROM investigates women’s lives inside castles: rulers like Matilda of Flanders, Matilda of Tuscany, Joan of Kent, Women at the Court of Edward III, as well as intellectual women, such as Christine de Pisan, who worked inside the courts. The article on Christine is solely in French, which provides a potential problem for some readers. A sub-link on the "Women at the Court of Edward III" provides a genealogical chart of influential women connected to King Edward.

"Women and Spirituality" discusses how the Church presented some women with opportunities for intellectual development, power, and influence, but also demanded significant sacrifices and expected conformity to what was for many an unattainable ideal. This link is complex and offers multiple sub-links covering topics such as the influence of the Virgin Mary as a role model for all medieval women; the opportunity to explore the lives of several devoted religious women, such as Joan of Arc, Catherine of Genoa, Isabeau of Baviere, Constance of Robastens, and Marguerite Porete; an examination of what communal life may have been like for Christian women; and a complete English translation of a heretofore unpublished Italian manuscript on the Rule of Saint Claire from the early 15th century. There are several sub-links which offer visual images of female saints, identifying their years and their feast days. An explanation of pilgrimages provides discussion on where women traveled to pay homage and what constituted a pilgrimage for them. A "Nuns and Solitaries" link provides informative streaming video presentations. However, this kind of video is choppy visually and the mismatches of facial expressions to the words are at times disconcerting.

"Medieval Law" touches on the impact of Church regulations on the landed aristocracy; the legislation which governed women’s lives in both urban and rural communities in late medieval and early modern periods; and the eleventh century’s focus on the humanity of the holy family, which encouraged the cult of mariology. There is a discussion of St. Jerome’s belief that women should be divided into three classes: virgins, wives, and widows.

"Further Pathways" indicates topics the authors intend to research and present in a future version of their product. Topics identified are Women in the Field, Life Cycle, Women and the Town, Hilegard of Bingen, Chaucer’s Women, Women and Education, Elizabeth I, and the Paston Women.

The "Scriptorium" link provides a menu offering the opportunity to view images of the Regola delle Sore di Santa Clara, c. 1446; the McMaster Book of Hours from France, late 15th century; the Nuremberg Chronicle, first published in 1493; the Middle Dutch Legendary from the low countries (which is a collection of eleven saints’ lives), c. 1480; and selected pieces of period music, both secular and religious. The music seems a splendid feature; unfortunately there are no indications of country of origin or estimated year of composition. We do not know, for example, if one selection entitled "Danse" was intended for the court or the peasantry. Hungarian folk songs collected by Bela Bartok are numbered, but no other mention is made as to the suspected history or significance of the pieces. Since we cannot assume the composers were women, do we take the pieces as indicative of the earlier era? But the sound of all selections is very electronic, which, frankly, detracts from a sense of period and authenticity.

All of the links offer users an opportunity to view images of authentic documents. Unfortunately most of these images are heavily shaded, which makes details, in some instances, extremely difficult to view. The forward and reverse icon buttons are entitled "verso" and "recto," providing viewers a touch of Latin, which seems more cutesy than authentic considering the media we are using.

Sybils! contains a wealth of research and information on a highly subjective selection of historical women. Aside from the brief sentence at the beginning of the journey, there is nothing contained within the text to tie it back to the authors’ first issue and it leaves one wondering whether this second CD-ROM is a continuation of where the first may have left off. It would be helpful to have the title of the first CD-ROM to provide a sense of continuity. The bibliographies are extensive and valuable. Obviously considerable research and effort has been expended in this second part of a proclaimed series on women. It leaves one with additional questions and a whetted appetite for their next installment. This CD-ROM is worth noting and would be a valuable purchase to scholars of Medieval/Renaissance women’s history and feminism.