Violence Against Women in Medieval Texts - by Anna Roberts (Paperback)

About the Book

This volume brings together specialists from different areas of medieval literary study to focus on the role of habits of thought in shaping attitudes toward women during the Middle Ages.

Book Synopsis

This volume brings together specialists from different areas of medieval literary study to focus on the role of habits of thought in shaping attitudes toward women during the Middle Ages. The essays range from Old English literature to the Spanish Inquisition and encompass such genres as romance, chronicles, hagiography, and legal documents.

Review Quotes

"[An] important and powerful contribution to the understanding of medieval texts and the place of women in medieval society."--Medieval Review "The contributions are valuable in . . . their teasing out of the nuances of violence in medieval writing, in particular sexual violence."--Medium Aevum "Texts are scrutinized for evidence of a code of violence against women operating beyond the boundaries of the texts themselves . . . . This is a stimulating collection, which eschews any easy, reductive conclusions. Its interest reaches far beyond the limits of gender studies."--Oxford Art Journal "The essays are . . . eminently readable, and . . . contribute, in many significant ways, to the current discourse on women and the Middle Ages."--Parergon "A useful survey."--Choice "Thought-provoking."--International Journal of the Classical Tradition "[An] excellent collection. . . . A useful and well-argued study of medieval gender constructs."--AUMLA