| Description |
1 online resource (xv, 338 pages) |
| Contents |
Part I. Ecclesiastical sources. Introduction -- The Church fathers -- Early Medieval England -- Theology and canon law -- Canon law and actual practice -- Beyond Medieval Christendom -- Part II. Legal sources. Introduction -- Early Medieval English law -- Early Medieval Germanic and Celtic laws -- Anglo-Norman/English law -- Cases from the secular courts -- Part III. Saints' lives, letters, chronicles, conduct books. Introduction -- Saints' lives and female religious writings -- Letters -- Chronicles -- Conduct books -- Part IV. Literary sources. Introduction -- Old English literature -- Middle English literature -- Welsh literature -- Irish literature -- Icelandic literature -- Latin literature -- Arabic literature -- French literature -- German literature -- Italian literature -- Part V. Medical writings. Introduction. Medical writings on love -- Medical writings on sex |
| Summary |
This updated edition collects an extensive range of evidence for how people in the European Middle Ages thought about the emotional state of love, the physical act of sex, and the social institution of marriage. Included are extracts from literary and theological works, medical and legal writings, conduct books, chronicles, and letters. These texts discuss married couples who are not having sex, and unmarried ones who are. We encounter marriages for creating alliances, marriages for love, and promises of marriage made in the hope of obtaining sex. Learned texts discuss the etymology of sexual terms and the medical causes of difficulties in conceiving. There are accounts of clandestine marriages, sexual violence, the madness of love-melancholy, and much more. By drawing on diverse voices and presenting less accessible material, this sourcebook provides a nuanced view of how medieval people thought about these subjects and questions the similarities and differences between their perspectives and our own. With an expanded range of texts, wider geographical scope, suggestions for further reading, and updated explanatory material to reflect changes in scholarship in over two decades, this edition is an invaluable resource for students interested in sexuality, gender, and relationships in the Middle Ages |
| Notes |
Description based upon print version of record |
| Subject |
Families -- History -- To 1500 -- Sources
|
|
Marriage -- History -- To 1500 -- Sources
|
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Sex -- History -- To 1500 -- Sources
|
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Families -- England -- History -- To 1500 -- Sources
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Families.
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Marriage.
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Sex.
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England.
|
| Genre/Form |
History.
|
|
Sources.
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| Author |
McCarthy, Conor, editor
|
| ISBN |
9781000569636 |
|
1000569632 |
|
