Gender in Medieval Culture

Description

Using the idea of “performative essentialism,” meaning that gender in the Middle Ages was both a product of and a reaction to biology, social roles, and personal actions, Gender in Medieval Culture explores the roles men and women fulfilled in medieval Europe, while also suggesting that these functions were often surprisingly flexible. Although most facets of medieval life, including the law, literature, science, and religion, worked together to ensure that the natural state of woman was a fundamentally lesser being than man, there were exceptional situations where gender became fluid or malleable. For instance, when a woman chose a life of vowed virginity, rejecting the traditional female role of motherhood, she transcended the confines of her flesh, and performed in a rational masculine manner instead. Similarly, Christ was equally constructed as the ideal man and spouse, yet was also the ultimate model of perpetual virginity and was deemed maternal for his suffering for and nurturing of humanity. Ultimately, this volume examines the medieval world through the lens of gender and sexuality in order to create a fuller understanding of the gendered expectations we still live with today. Cover HalfTitle Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments A note on texts INTRODUCTION Gender in medieval culture CHAPTER ONE The social world: Law, medicine, and science Rape and raptus Medicine, science, gender, and sexuality Biology and reproduction Medicine + philosophy + theology Fertility control Disease and illness Conclusions CHAPTER TWO The expected ideal: Marriage and virginity Virginity Widow(er)hood Chaste marriage Marriage CHAPTER THREE The unexpected actuality: “Deviance” and transgression Prostitution Masturbation and nocturnal emission Castration Cross-dressing Homosexuality Hermaphrodites Monsters CHAPTER FOUR The gendered Christ: Sexuality and religion (Religious) masculinity (Religious) femininity The fluidity of Christ A third gender? Possibilities and conclusions CHAPTER FIVE The political sphere: Power, labor, and economics Medieval queenship Brewsters Guilds Female medical practitioners Notes Further reading Glossary Index