Jocelyn Wogan-Browne
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198112792
- eISBN:
- 9780191707599
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198112792.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature, Women's Literature
This book argues that, in the multilingual culture of medieval England, the French of England needs to be taken into account alongside the English writings of figures such as Margery ...
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This book argues that, in the multilingual culture of medieval England, the French of England needs to be taken into account alongside the English writings of figures such as Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich. This is by considering that the francophone literary culture of medieval women in England extends the usual model by some two centuries and greatly enlarges the corpus of texts written by and for women, particularly from c. 1100-c.1300 and beyond. The book explores and demonstrates this contention by focussing on the discourses of virginity and the saints' lives composed by women, together with traditions of women's patronage and composition both as individuals and in female communities. Virginity is explored as a potential model of agency for women and the book examines the capacity of the virgin to give as well as to be given in the texts and documents of the period.
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This book argues that, in the multilingual culture of medieval England, the French of England needs to be taken into account alongside the English writings of figures such as Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich. This is by considering that the francophone literary culture of medieval women in England extends the usual model by some two centuries and greatly enlarges the corpus of texts written by and for women, particularly from c. 1100-c.1300 and beyond. The book explores and demonstrates this contention by focussing on the discourses of virginity and the saints' lives composed by women, together with traditions of women's patronage and composition both as individuals and in female communities. Virginity is explored as a potential model of agency for women and the book examines the capacity of the virgin to give as well as to be given in the texts and documents of the period.
Marie-Louise Coolahan
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199567652
- eISBN:
- 9780191722011
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567652.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature, Women's Literature
This book examines writing in English, Irish, and Spanish by women living in Ireland and by Irish women living on the continent between the years 1574 and 1676. This was a tumultuous ...
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This book examines writing in English, Irish, and Spanish by women living in Ireland and by Irish women living on the continent between the years 1574 and 1676. This was a tumultuous period of political, religious, and linguistic contestation that encompassed the key power‐struggles of early modern Ireland. This study brings to light the ways in which women contributed; they strove to be heard and to make sense of their situations, forging space for their voices in complex ways and engaging with native and new language‐traditions. The book investigates the genres in which women wrote: poetry, nuns' writing, petition‐letters, depositions, biography, and autobiography. It argues for a complex understanding of authorial agency that centres on the act of creating or composing a text, which does not necessarily equate with the physical act of writing. The Irish, English, and European contexts for women's production of texts are identified and assessed. The literary traditions and languages of the different communities living on the island are juxtaposed in order to show how identities were shaped and defined in relation to each other. The book elucidates the social, political, and economic imperatives for women's writing, examines the ways in which women characterized female composition, and describes an extensive range of cross‐cultural, multilingual activity.
Less
This book examines writing in English, Irish, and Spanish by women living in Ireland and by Irish women living on the continent between the years 1574 and 1676. This was a tumultuous period of political, religious, and linguistic contestation that encompassed the key power‐struggles of early modern Ireland. This study brings to light the ways in which women contributed; they strove to be heard and to make sense of their situations, forging space for their voices in complex ways and engaging with native and new language‐traditions. The book investigates the genres in which women wrote: poetry, nuns' writing, petition‐letters, depositions, biography, and autobiography. It argues for a complex understanding of authorial agency that centres on the act of creating or composing a text, which does not necessarily equate with the physical act of writing. The Irish, English, and European contexts for women's production of texts are identified and assessed. The literary traditions and languages of the different communities living on the island are juxtaposed in order to show how identities were shaped and defined in relation to each other. The book elucidates the social, political, and economic imperatives for women's writing, examines the ways in which women characterized female composition, and describes an extensive range of cross‐cultural, multilingual activity.
