11th century
1200
A01=John W. Baldwin
academic
attitude
Author_John W. Baldwin
belief
body
case study
Category=JBCC9
Category=JBSF
Category=JMU
Category=NHDJ
Category=NHTB
collaborative
communication
community
cultural
customs
debate
desire
discourse
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
evidence
fabliaux
faith
france
gender
historical
history
interdisciplinary
intimacy
jean renart
language
literature
lust
medical
medieval
middle ages
morality
ovidian
physical
procreation
psychology
religion
research
romance
scholarly
sexual
sexuality
society
sociology
taboo
theological
tradition
Product details
- ISBN 9780226036144
- Weight: 454g
- Dimensions: 15 x 23mm
- Publication Date: 01 Jun 1996
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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This study brings together widely divergent discourses to fashion a comprehensive picture of sexual language and attitudes at a particular time and place in the medieval world. John Baldwin introduces five representative voices from the turn of the 12th century in northern France: Pierre the Chanter speaks for the theological doctrine of Augustine; the Prose Salernitan Questions, for the medical theories of Galen; Andre the Chaplain, for the Ovidian literature of the schools; Jean Renart, for the contemporary romances; and Jean Bodel, for the emerging voices of the fabliaux. Baldwin juxtaposes their views on a range of essential subjects, including social position, the sexual body, desire and act, and procreation. The result is a dialogue of how they agreed or disagreed with, ignored, imitated, or responded to each other at a critical moment in the development of European ideas about sexual desire, fulfillment, morality and gender. These spokesmen allow us into the discussion of sexuality inside the church and schools of the clergy, in high and popular culture of the leity.
This heterogeneous discussion also offers a glimpse into the construction of gender specific to this moment, when men and women enjoyed equal status in sexual matters, if nowhere else. Taken together, these voices extend their reach, encompass their subject, and point to a centre where social reality lies. By articulating reality at its varied depths, this study takes its place alongside groundbreaking works by James Brundage, John Boswell, and Leah Otis in extending the understanding of sexuality and sexual behaviour in the Middle Ages.
