Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
Ebook296 pages7 hours
Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic Love
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5
()
About this ebook
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.
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.
Author
R. Howard Bloch
Enter the Author Bio(s) here.
Read more from R. Howard Bloch
The Anonymous Marie de France Medieval French Literature and Law Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic Love
Related ebooks
The Anatomy of Freedom: Feminism in Four Dimensions Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5A Passion for Friends Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5History Matters: Patriarchy and the Challenge of Feminism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Suffering of Women Who Didn't Fit: 'Madness' in Britain, 1450–1950 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sexual Science: The Victorian Construction of Womanhood Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Misogyny: The Male Malady Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before and After Gender: Sexual Mythologies of Everyday Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFemale Acts in Greek Tragedy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Queer Uncanny: New Perspectives on the Gothic Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Medieval Woman's Companion: Women's Lives in the European Middle Ages Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gender and Christianity in Medieval Europe: New Perspectives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unmarriages: Women, Men, and Sexual Unions in the Middle Ages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Worth of Women: Wherein Is Clearly Revealed Their Nobility and Their Superiority to Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Collected Letters of a Renaissance Feminist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Women in Medieval Society Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fallen Bodies: Pollution, Sexuality, and Demonology in the Middle Ages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marriage and the Family in the Middle Ages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Masculine Self in Late Medieval England Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forgetful of Their Sex: Female Sanctity and Society, ca. 500-1100 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWomen and Aristocratic Culture in the Carolingian World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProving Woman: Female Spirituality and Inquisitional Culture in the Later Middle Ages Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gothic incest: Gender, sexuality and transgression Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsComplete Writings: Letterbook, Dialogue on Adam and Eve, Orations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Oldest Vocation: Christian Motherhood in the Medieval West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hellenism and Homosexuality in Victorian Oxford Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Nobility and Excellence of Women and the Defects and Vices of Men Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Education of a Christian Woman: A Sixteenth-Century Manual Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Vindication of the Rights of Woman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related podcast episodes
Fandom: A Discussion with andré carrington 0% found this document usefulMichael Moynihan On Afghanistan And Free Speech 0% found this document usefulJonathan Rauch On Dangers To Liberalism 0% found this document usefulJulie Bindel On Gender And Sex Differences 0% found this document usefulPTSF 35 (with Brian Muraresku): PTSF 35 (with Brian Muraresku) 0% found this document usefulA Dialogue with Josh Schrei of 'The Emerald' 0% found this document usefulKeisha N. Blain | On the Path to Freedom 0% found this document usefulRamzi Fawaz, "Queer Forms" (NYU Press, 2022): An interview with Ramzi Fawaz 0% found this document usefulRamzi Fawaz, "Queer Forms" (NYU Press, 2022): An interview with Ramzi Fawaz 0% found this document usefulRamzi Fawaz, "Queer Forms" (NYU Press, 2022): An interview with Ramzi Fawaz 0% found this document useful
Related articles
The Crisis of the American Elites The AtlanticArticle
The Crisis of the American Elites
Sep 23, 2018
4 min readWhy Byzantium? Studying The Art Of The Middle Ages As A Queer Latinx Literary HubArticle
Why Byzantium? Studying The Art Of The Middle Ages As A Queer Latinx
Nov 4, 2020
7 min readThe History Of queer Women All About HistoryArticle
The History Of queer Women
Jan 25, 2024
10 min read5 Books At The Intersection Of Black Feminist Thought, Culture, And Politics NPRArticle
5 Books At The Intersection Of Black Feminist Thought, Culture, And Politics
Mar 21, 2022
9 min readWake Up To Reality! The Critic MagazineArticle
Wake Up To Reality!
Oct 28, 2021
5 min readTheories Of Conspiracy Theories Fortean TimesArticle
Theories Of Conspiracy Theories
Jun 16, 2022
TO SEND REVIEW COPIES, CONTACT THE BOOK REVIEWS EDITOR AT DVBARRETT@FORTEANTIMES.COM Modern Myths, Conspiracy Theories and Pseudo-History Ronald H Fritze Reaktion Books 2022 Hb, 272pp, £20, ISBN 9781789145397 There has been growing interest in recent
3 min readTuesday New Release Day: Starring Cusk, Barry, Eltahawy, Foer, Klein, Kois, and More The MillionsArticle
Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Cusk, Barry, Eltahawy, Foer, Klein, Kois, and More
Sep 17, 2019
It's blockbuster season, which means new books from big names: Naomi Klein, Jonathan Safran Foer, Jacqueline Woodson, and Tracey Chevalier. The post Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Cusk, Barry, Eltahawy, Foer, Klein, Kois, and More appeared first o
8 min readA Brief History of Queer Language Before Queer Identity Literary HubArticle
A Brief History of Queer Language Before Queer Identity
May 13, 2019
7 min readThe Power and Politics of Hoaxes Guernica MagazineArticle
The Power and Politics of Hoaxes
Nov 13, 2017
15 min readMake Room for More Voices in Philosophy The AtlanticArticle
Make Room for More Voices in Philosophy
Apr 28, 2023
3 min readEven When Records Fall Short, Black History Must Be Told Literary HubArticle
Even When Records Fall Short, Black History Must Be Told
Aug 5, 2020
4 min readSex The OldieArticle
Sex
Jun 30, 2021
MICHEL FOUCAULT Modern Classics, 416pp, £25 For most of the last four decades or so, the obscure philosopher Michel Foucault has been a name seldom mentioned outside academic social studies departments. Now, though, he’s all the rage – blamed by cult
3 min read10 College Courses to Read Along With This Semester (From Your Couch) Literary HubArticle
10 College Courses to Read Along With This Semester (From Your Couch)
Sep 6, 2017
7 min readThe Knotty Lives of Victorian Soothsayers The MillionsArticle
The Knotty Lives of Victorian Soothsayers
Oct 7, 2022
Despite their tremendous achievements, it isn’t possible—nor advisable—to cast any of these women in a wholly heroic light. The post The Knotty Lives of Victorian Soothsayers appeared first on The Millions.
5 min readOn Robert Caro, Great Men, and the Problem of Powerful Women in Biography Literary HubArticle
On Robert Caro, Great Men, and the Problem of Powerful Women in Biography
May 16, 2019
7 min readDiving Deep Creative NonfictionArticle
Diving Deep
May 8, 2017
Serial immersionist TED CONOVER on the connections between anthropology and journalism; knowing when to resist digression; and the importance of writing “across the aisle.” TED CONOVER has spent his entire career delving into different cultural world
18 min readHeidi Andrea Restrepo Rhodes Poets & WritersArticle
Heidi Andrea Restrepo Rhodes
Dec 11, 2019
these five hundred years in our bonesstriated conquistas draggingthe letters of the harrowed tongueinto the geographyof our marrow, down—from “prayer for the children who will be born with today’s daggers in their tomorrow eyes” HOW IT BEGAN: This bo
2 min readCan Humanism Save Us? The AtlanticArticle
Can Humanism Save Us?
Apr 5, 2023
5 min readCanary In The Cultural Coalmine The Critic MagazineArticle
Canary In The Cultural Coalmine
Sep 30, 2021
IT IS FIVE YEARS SINCE THE 2003 ORANGE-PRIZE WINNING NOVELIST, Lionel Shriver, delivered a speech at the Brisbane Literary Festival in which she argued against the concept of “cultural appropriation”, an expression that in 2016 was only beginning to
9 min read“Why Do You Write Political Stories?” The Paris ReviewArticle
“Why Do You Write Political Stories?”
Oct 24, 2018
4 min readHomosexuality, the Holocaust, and Historical Fiction: An Interview with Julie Orringer The Paris ReviewArticle
Homosexuality, the Holocaust, and Historical Fiction: An Interview with Julie Orringer
May 30, 2019
8 min readThe Conspiracy Theory to Rule Them All The AtlanticArticle
The Conspiracy Theory to Rule Them All
Aug 25, 2020
5 min readLucile Scott: Mysticism and Resistance Guernica MagazineArticle
Lucile Scott: Mysticism and Resistance
Jun 25, 2021
11 min readSlang Vs Woke: The Final Judgment The Critic MagazineArticle
Slang Vs Woke: The Final Judgment
Jan 27, 2022
5 min readAngela Davis on Black Lives Matter, Palestine, and the Future of Radicalism Literary HubArticle
Angela Davis on Black Lives Matter, Palestine, and the Future of Radicalism
Sep 1, 2017
11 min readIt’s Only Human Nature The Critic MagazineArticle
It’s Only Human Nature
Feb 23, 2023
‘‘PEOPLE LIKE COLDPLAY and voted for the Nazis. You can’t trust people, Jeremy.” Super Hans, the crack-addicted dispenser of violence and wisdom in the noughties sitcom Peep Show and the Tory cleric, Jonathan Swift, might not be obvious bedfellows. T
3 min readCommentary: What Exactly Is ‘Passing’? A Film Brings To Light A Historical Conversation Deeply Buried In American Culture Chicago TribuneArticle
Commentary: What Exactly Is ‘Passing’? A Film Brings To Light A Historical Conversation Deeply Buried In American Culture
Dec 7, 2021
3 min readThe Urgency of Queer Stories in Contemporary German Fiction Literary HubArticle
The Urgency of Queer Stories in Contemporary German Fiction
Mar 1, 2017
I’m thrilled to be the curator for this year’s Festival Neue Literatur, the only US festival to showcase fiction originally written in German, happening in Manhattan and Brooklyn (starting tomorrow!) from March 2 to 5. The Festival Neue Literatur, w
4 min read13 Books You Should Read in April Literary HubArticle
13 Books You Should Read in April
Apr 1, 2020
7 min readPhilosophy’s Big Oversight The AtlanticArticle
Philosophy’s Big Oversight
Apr 17, 2023
5 min read
Related categories
Reviews for Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic Love
Rating: 3.2142857428571427 out of 5 stars
3/5
7 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic Love - R. Howard Bloch
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1