The 11 essays are from a 2005 academic colloquium held in conjunction with the exhibition Women of Distinction: Margaret of York and Margaret of Austria, in Mechelen, Belgium during 2005. Specialists in European culture of the 15th and 16th centuries were called to investigate the actual presence and influence of women at the Burgundian court, but the discussion spread to the gender-specific role of women in the context of the court. The three essays in English consider royal entries in Flanders 1356-1515; charity against the odds: Margaret of York and the Isle of Voorne 1477-1503; and men, women, and beasts on the backgammon board for King Ferdinand I and Queen Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)