Medieval misogyny and the invention of Western romantic love / / R. Howard Bloch

• Autore: Bloch R. Howard
• Pubblicazione: Chicago : , : University of Chicago Press, , 1991
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (ix, 298 pages)
• Disciplina: 305.4/09/02
• Soggetto topico: Love - History; Misogyny - Europe - History; Patriarchy - Europe - History; Social history - Medieval, 500-1500; Women - History - Middle Ages, 500-1500
• Soggetto non controllato: romantic love, romance, misogyny, medieval, gender studies, feminism, women, idealization, purity, liberation, aesthetics, theology, virginity, feminine flesh, courtly, chivalry, church fathers, poets, middle ages, social history, nonfiction, literary theory, molestiae nuptiarum, yahwist creation, heiress, dowager, possessions, finance, economics, money, perfection, power, french lay, male indiscretion, infidelity, sexuality, monogamy
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-290) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Molestiae Nuptiarum and the Yahwist Creation -- 2. Early Christianity and the Estheticization ofGender -- 3. "Devil's Gateway" and "Bride ofChrist" -- 4. The Poetics of Virginity -- 5. The Old French Lay and the Myriad Modes ofMale Indiscretion -- 6. The Love Lyric and the Paradox ofPerfection -- 7. Heiresses and Dowagers: The Power ofWomen to Dispose -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index
• Sommario/riassunto: 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.
• Altri titoli varianti: Medieval misogyny & the invention of Western romantic love
• Titolo autorizzato: Medieval misogyny and the invention of Western romantic love
• ISBN: 1-282-06958-6; 9786612069581; 0-226-05990-1
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 996248054303316
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. di Salerno
• Serie: ACLS Humanities E-Book (Series)