Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic LoveUniversity of Chicago Press, Feb 15, 2009 - 308 pages Until now the advent of Western romantic love has been seen as a liberation from—or antidote to—ten centuries of misogyny. In this major contribution to gender studies, R. Howard Bloch demonstrates how similar the ubiquitous antifeminism of medieval times and the romantic idealization of woman actually are. Through analyses of a broad range of patristic and medieval texts, Bloch explores the Christian construction of gender in which the flesh is feminized, the feminine is aestheticized, and aesthetics are condemned in theological terms. Tracing the underlying theme of virginity from the Church Fathers to the courtly poets, Bloch establishes the continuity between early Christian antifeminism and the idealization of woman that emerged in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In conclusion he explains the likely social, economic, and legal causes for the seeming inversion of the terms of misogyny into those of an idealizing tradition of love that exists alongside its earlier avatar until the current era. This startling study will be of great value to students of medieval literature as well as to historians of culture and gender. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 76
Page
... Gender 37 THREE " Devil's Gateway " and " Bride of Christ " 65 FOUR The Poetics of Virginity 93 FIVE The Old French Lay and the Myriad Modes of Male Indiscretion 113 SIX The Love Lyric and the Paradox of Perfection 143 SEVEN Heiresses ...
... Gender 37 THREE " Devil's Gateway " and " Bride of Christ " 65 FOUR The Poetics of Virginity 93 FIVE The Old French Lay and the Myriad Modes of Male Indiscretion 113 SIX The Love Lyric and the Paradox of Perfection 143 SEVEN Heiresses ...
Page 4
... genders are concerned , is the necessary foundation of a dialectical , historically informed , political un ... gender difference rather than the oppressive exercise of power by either sex for the true historic cause of social ...
... genders are concerned , is the necessary foundation of a dialectical , historically informed , political un ... gender difference rather than the oppressive exercise of power by either sex for the true historic cause of social ...
Page 6
... gender are dangerous not only because they are wrong or undifferentiated but , once again , because historically they have worked to eliminate the subject from history . " Woman ' as a collective noun is as full of traps as it is conve ...
... gender are dangerous not only because they are wrong or undifferentiated but , once again , because historically they have worked to eliminate the subject from history . " Woman ' as a collective noun is as full of traps as it is conve ...
Page 8
... gender in the first centuries of the Christian era . As C. S. Lewis , Robert Briffault , Denis de Rougemont , Reto Bezzola , Irving Singer , and others maintain , the notion of romantic fascination that gov- erns what we say about love ...
... gender in the first centuries of the Christian era . As C. S. Lewis , Robert Briffault , Denis de Rougemont , Reto Bezzola , Irving Singer , and others maintain , the notion of romantic fascination that gov- erns what we say about love ...
Page 9
... gender is the subject of the first two chapters , which also seek to define the crucial role played by liter- ature and poetics in the definition of gender in the West and in the dis- semination of that definition upon the stage of ...
... gender is the subject of the first two chapters , which also seek to define the crucial role played by liter- ature and poetics in the definition of gender in the West and in the dis- semination of that definition upon the stage of ...
Contents
1 | |
ONE Molestiae Nuptiarum and the Yahwist Creation | 13 |
TWO Early Christianity and the Estheticization of Gender | 37 |
THREE Devils Gateway and Bride of Christ | 65 |
FOUR The Poetics of Virginity | 93 |
FIVE The Old French Lay and the Myriad Modes of Male Indiscretion | 113 |
Other editions - View all
Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic Love R. Howard Bloch No preview available - 1992 |
Common terms and phrases
according Adam amor Andreas Capellanus antifeminism antifeminist Art of Courtly ascetic asceticism Augustine beautiful Bernart bien Body and Society BRIDE OF CHRIST century chapter Chastelaine de Vergi chastity Chaucer church fathers cited courtly love culture Dame daughter death desire Devil's gateway discourse of misogyny dowry droit Duby early Christian example fabliau female feminine feminism femme flesh Fontevrault Guigemar husband Ibid ideal Ignauré implies Jaufré Rudel Jean Jerome John Chrysostom knight lady language Lanval Laüstic literary literature logic lover lyric Marie de France marriage medieval Middle Ages misogynistic misogyny mother nature paradox Paris patristic Physician's Tale poet poetic Poitou POWER OF WOMEN Press question relation rhetoric Robert d'Arbrissel Roman romantic love Rougemont seen sense sexual social song speak synonymous Tertullian tion topos tradition trans troubadour University virginity wife William IX woman WOMEN TO DISPOSE words writes Yahwist