Incest and the Medieval Imagination
ISBN13: 9780198112099ISBN10: 0198112092
Hardback,
312 pages
Jun 2001,
In Stock
Price:
$135.00 (06)Description
Incest was a social problem in the Middle Ages, and also a popular literary theme. This wide-ranging study is the first survey of medieval incest stories in their cultural context. Did they reflect real life situations? How was incest defined in the Middle Ages? How were classical incest stories treated by medieval writers? Why was incest such a popular motif in the legendary lives of popes and saints, and why was it inserted into the stories of great heroes such as Charlemagne and Arthur?Features
- The literary study is put in a socio-historical context.
- Puts well-known material such as Arthurian legend into a new literary and historical context.
Reviews
"Elizabeth Archibald has here compiled a wealth of information and shown the materials she has collected since 1984, when she began publishing on the subject. Her work succeeds as she aspires to a literary archaeology providing her fieldwork for the interpretations of other critical writers." --Speculum
