Medieval Considerations of Incest, Marriage, and Penance

by Linda Marie Rouillard

Overview

Medieval Considerations of Incest, Marriage, and Penance focuses on the incest motif as used in numerous medieval narratives. Explaining the weakness of great rulers, such as Charlemagne, or the fall of legendary heroes, such as Arthur, incest stories also reflect on changes to the sacramental regulations and practices related to marriage and penance. Such changes demonstrate the Church's increasing authority over the daily lives and relationships of the laity. Treated here are a wide variety of medieval texts, using as a central reference point Philippe de Rémi's thirteenth-century La Manekine, which presents one lay author's reflections on the role of consent in marriage, the nature of contrition and forgiveness, and even the meaning of relics. Studying a variety of genres including medieval romance, epic, miracles, and drama along with modern memoirs, films, and novels, Linda Rouillard emphasizes connections between medieval and modern social concerns. Rouillard concludes with a consideration of the legacy of the incest motif for the twenty-first century, including survivor narratives, and new incest anxieties associated with assisted reproductive technology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030356040
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	01/16/2020
Series:	The New Middle Ages
Edition description:	1st ed. 2020
Pages:	303
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Linda Marie Rouillard is Professor of French, Chair of World Languages and Cultures, University of Toledo, USA.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: Too Close for Comfort.- Chapter 2 Kinship Matters: An Immodest Proposal.- Chapter 3 Heroines, Vilains, and Barbarians in Other Medieval Incest Narratives.- Chapter 4 Medieval Marriage, Misogamy, and Misogyny.- Chapter 5 The Hand of Forgiveness.- Chapter 6 Regurgitation, Restitution, Resurrection, and Relics.- Chapter 7 Spirit and Letter: Speech Acts in Selected Medieval Texts.- Chapter 8 Conclusion: The Legacy of the Incest Motif.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This rich study offers many insights into an early version of the popular Flight from Incest motif in its thirteenth-century socio-historical context, in relation to the arisracy, the Church, the law, and the position of women. Rouillard also suggests important connections with attitudes to incest today, both in literature and in law. Her book will be of interest not only to medievalists but also to modern literary scholars, social historians, and feminists.”

—Elizabeth Archibald, Professor of English Studies, Durham University, UK

“In this fascinating, informative study, Linda Rouillard offers important insight into incest motifs in the literature of the Middle Ages and modern world. The author explores timely issues of gender and speech acts, power relationships and consent, virtue and bodily integrity, subversive female behavior, self-mutilation (the cutting off of one’s hand) as a strategy against incest, as well as medieval relics and reliquaries. Her fascinating case studies and perceptive analysis recommend this study to a wide readership.”

—Jane Schulenburg, Professor of History Emerita in Continuing Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Medieval Studies at UW-Madison, USA

Editorial Reviews

Rouillard’s book provides fascinating insight into how thirteenth-century French society negotiated with changing ideas about incest, marriage, penance, relics, and gendered speech. Her far-ranging expertise carries this work through romance, theology, law, hagiography, and conduct literature, demonstrating through sheer breadth of example how broadly narratives of incest could signify within medieval society. Rouillard’s compelling study makes valuable reading for literary scholars, social historians, and medievalists of all stripes.” (Chelsea Skalak, Speculum, Vol. 98 (1), January, 2023)

From the Publisher