Medieval Virginities
Author | : Anke Bernau |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 296 |
Release | : 2003-01-01 |
ISBN-10 | : 0708317626 |
ISBN-13 | : 9780708317624 |
Rating | : 4/5 (26 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Consistently idealized in the Middle Ages, virginity features in a multitude of medieval discourses. Yet, the question What is a virgin? is unexpectedly complex. This collection explores some of the specific manifestations of virginity in late medieval culture. It looks at how a selection of medical, legal, hagiographical and historical texts treat virginity, and how the concept of virginity itself affects those texts. Amongst the topics covered are the medieval physician and the history of the hymen, mysticism and the erotic, masculinity and knighthood, chastity tests in Welsh literature, virginity in legal records, virginity and the Eucharist and the representation of Joan of Arc as virgin by English chroniclers.