Performing Virginity and Testing Chastity in the Middle Ages
Author | : Kathleen Coyne Kelly |
Publisher | : Routledge |
Total Pages | : 210 |
Release | : 2002-11-01 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781134737550 |
ISBN-13 | : 1134737556 |
Rating | : 4/5 (50 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: This book challenges the belief that female virginity can be reliably and unambiguously defined, tested and verified. Kelly analyses a variety of medieval Western European texts - including medical treatises and their Classical antecedents - and historical and legal documents. The main focus is the representation of both male and female virgins in saints' legends and romances. The author also makes a comparative study of examples from contemporary fiction, television and film in which testing virginity is a theme. Performing Virginity and Testing Chastity in the Middle Ages presents a compelling and provocative study of the parodox of bodily and spiritual integrity as both presence and absence.