Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic Love

R. Howard Bloch

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English

University of Chicago Press
15 January 1992

European history; Early history: c 500 to c 1450&1500; Social & cultural history; Society & Social Sciences; Cultural studies; Gender studies, gender groups

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.

By: R. Howard Bloch
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: 2nd ed.
Dimensions: Height: 23mm, Width: 16mm, Spine: 2mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780226059730
ISBN 10: 0226059731
Pages: 308
Publication Date: 15 January 1992
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

R. Howard Bloch is the Sterling Professor of French at Yale University and the author of God's Plagiarist: Being an Account of the Fabulous Industry and Irregular Commerce of the Abbé Migne, also published by the University of Chicago Press.