De Mulieribus Claris or De Claris Mulieribus are the original names of and the Latin translations for the book title Of Famous Women. The book was written by a man, Giovanni Boccaccio, and concerns the lives of mythical women and women important during the Renaissance era, during which the book was written. Of Famous Women is the first work of Western literature discovered to be entirely about women.
In the book, there are one hundred and six biographies, each describing a different woman. Some of the women are bad, like evil goddesses, but others are good, like queens. Because the book was written in Europe, it often neglects women that are considered great today from other parts of the world, like women from Ancient Egypt or the Americas.
The book is dedicated to the Countess of Altavilla, who he considered to be the greatest woman living at the time. This dedication was not taken without great contemplation, originally, it was to be dedicated to another woman. However, he felt the Countess was the most "applicable" woman that would likely help people relate to the book.
The references for the women were not well explained, but Boccaccio does say he used the Bible and several other classical texts as reference. There are, however, direct excerpts taken from other classical works that he did not mention.
The publication of a book solely about women prompted other writers, mainly European, to start writing about the amazing feats of the gender. These writers were both male and female. Some believe that the novel helped to inspire modern day views of feminism, although this is not what the book was originally intended for.
