Includes bibliographical references (pages 274-284) and index.
Contents:
84. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Knight's Tale. 2. Augustine of Hippo, The Excellence of Marriage -- 3. Augustine of Hippo, Holy Virginity -- 4. Augustine of Hippo, The Excellence of Widowhood -- 5. Augustine of Hippo, The City of God -- 6. Jerome, Against Jovinian -- 7. The Penitential of Theodore -- 8. Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People -- 9. The Law of the Northumbrian Priests -- 10. Gratian, Decretum -- 11. Peter Lombard, Sentences -- 12. Decretals of Gregory IX -- 13. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae -- 14. The Fourth Lateran Council -- 15. English Ecclesiastical Statutes -- 16. Late Medieval Marriage Vows -- 17. An Ecclesiastical Court Case from the Province of Canterbury -- 18. Two Cases from an Episcopal Visitation of Canterbury Diocese -- 19. A Rural Dean's Court -- 20. Laws of Aethelbert of Kent -- 21. Laws of Ine of Wessex -- 22. Laws of King Alfred -- 23. Laws of King Canute -- 24. Concerning the Betrothal of a Woman -- 25. Old English Marriage Agreements -- 26. Coronation Charter of Henry I -- 27. Magna Carta -- 28. Statutes of Westminster I -- 29. Statutes of Westminster II -- 30. Glanvill -- 31. Bracton -- 32. Britton -- 33. English Customary Laws -- 34. Cases from the Manorial Courts -- 35. The Case of John/Eleanor Rykener -- 36. The Life of Christina of Markyate -- 37. Jacques de Vitry, The Life of Mary of Oignies -- 38. St. Bridget (Birgitta) of Sweden, Liber Celestis -- 39. The Book of Margery Kempe -- 40. Letters of Abelard and Heloise -- 41. The Paston Letters -- 42. Chronicle of Richard of Devizes -- 43. Giraldus Cambrensis, The History and Topography of Ireland -- 44. Annals of the Friars Minor of Colmar -- 45. Jean Froissart, Chronicles -- 46. Holy Virginity (Hali Mei[delta]had) -- 47. Book of the Knight of La Tour Landry -- 48. The Menagier of Paris, Manual for his Wife -- 49. Beowulf -- 50. The Wife's Lament -- 51. The Husband's Message -- 52. Wulf and Eadwacer -- 53. Riddles 25, 44, 45 -- 54. Judith -- 55. Andreas Capellanus, De Amore -- 56. Alan of Lille, The Plaint of Nature -- 57. De Coniuge Non Ducenda -- 58. Etienne de Fougeres, Livre de Manieres -- 59. Marie de France, Yonec -- 60. Guillaume de Lorris and Jean De Meun, The Romance of the Rose -- 61. Jean Bodel, The Peasant from Bailleul -- 62. Christine de Pizan, The Tale of Griselda -- 63. The Debate on the Rose -- 64. Francois Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantagruel -- 65. Middle English Lyrics -- 66. In the Ecclesiastical Court -- 67. The Owl and the Nightingale -- 68. Cleanness -- 69. John Gower, Confessio Amantis -- 70. Geoffrey Chaucer, Portrait of the Pardoner -- 71. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Wife of Bath's Prologue -- 72. Geoffrey Chaucer, 'Envoy a Bukton' -- 73. William Langland, Piers Plowman -- 74. Ballad of the Tyrannical Husband -- 75. Thomas Hoccleve, Letter of Cupid -- 76. William Dunbar, Upon the Midsummer's Eve, Merriest of Nights -- 77. Trotula -- 78. Pseudo-Albertus Magnus, De Secretis Mulierum -- 79. Avicenna, A Treatise on Love -- 80. Constantine Africanus, Viaticum -- 81. Gerard of Berry, Glosses on the Viaticum -- 82. Peter of Spain, Questions on the Viaticum (Version A) -- 83. Bona Fortuna, Treatise on the Viaticum -- 84. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Knight's Tale.
Summary:
"The emotional state of love, the physical act of sex, and the social institution of marriage were central issues of medieval life. Conor McCarthy brings together a wide array of writings as well as informative introductions and explanations, to give a vivid impression of how love, sex and marriage were discussed at the time." "Included are extracts from literary and theological works, medical and legal writings, conduct books, chronicles and letters. They range from well-known texts such as the letters of Abelard and Heloise, Beowulf, and the Canterbury Tales to less familiar sources such as Church legislation or court proceedings. the breadth of material shows the diverse and sometimes disparate approaches to love, sex and marriage in medieval culture and brilliantly illustrates contemporary attitudes and ideologies. This is the first accessible collection of such a wide range of material, some of which is available in Modern English for the first time." "Love, Sex and Marriage in the Middle Ages is an indispensable sourcebook for students and teachers of medieval history, literature and culture."--Jacket.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.