European University Institute Library

Medieval women and war, female roles in the Old French tradition, Sophie Harwood

eng

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Medieval women and war

electronic resource

bibliographydictionaries

1178884906

Sophie Harwood

Bloomsbury eBooks.

female roles in the Old French tradition

"For the first time, Sophie Harwood uses the Old French tradition as a lens through which to examine women and warfare from the 12th to the 14th centuries. The result is a skilled analysis of gender roles in the medieval era, and a heightened awareness of how important literary texts are to our understanding of the historical period in which they circulated. Medieval Women and War examines both the text and illustrations of over 30 Old French manuscripts to highlight the ways in many of the texts differ from their traditionally assumed (usually classical) sources. Structured around five pivotal female types / women cited as causes for violence, women as victims of violence, women as ancillaries to warriors, women as warriors themselves, and women as political influences / this important book unpicks gendered boundaries to shed new light on the social, political and military structures of warfare as well as adding nuance to current debates on womanhood in the middle ages."--, Provided by publisher

List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Acknowledgements -- Notes on the Text -- List of Abbreviations and Sigils -- Introduction -- 1. Reading Texts through the Manuscript Tradition, 1150 - 1400 -- 2. Women as Reasons for War -- 3. Women as Victims of War -- 4. Women as Ancillaries in War -- 5. Women as Warriors in War -- 6. Women as Diplomats in War -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1. Catalogue of Manuscripts -- Appendix 2. Manuscript Illustrations of Women -- Bibliography -- Index