The Medieval Art of Love: Objects and Subjects of Desire
Camille, Michael
Publisher: Harry N Abrams; Re-issue edition (October 1, 1998) Summary: There was nothing chaste or sublimated about many aspects of medieval love which moved through the various stages of looking, talking, touching, kissing, and sexual possession. All the elements of medieval romance are revealed in this magnificently illustrated volume.
The representation of love in medieval decorations, paintings, and drawings offers an intriguing glimpse into the society and philosophy of that time. Interpreting these depictions as having a specific purpose?to inspire love or eroticism?Camille (art history, Univ. of Chicago) explores what, according to the period, love meant for the medieval man and woman. As elusive as that definition is for us today, medieval art, likewise, shows scenes of love and courtship that are varied and contradictory. Camille organizes the art by various themes, trying to make sense of it all. The writing is quite detailed, with references to medieval writings and lore. Though there are numerous illustrations, a few are too small to discern the elements discussed in the text; also, the text and the illustrations could have been tied together more closely. An interesting discussion of a topic that holds fascination for all. For larger public and most academic institutions.
Medieval Love Poetry
Cherry, John
Publisher: J. Paul Getty Museum; 1 edition (February 14, 2006) Summary: John Cherry is former keeper of the Department of Prehistory and Europe in the British Museum. He is the author of Medieval Decorative Art and Goldsmiths and editor of The British Museum Book of Mythical Beasts.
The quest is the essence of medieval romance. Either the Holy Grail or the jewel of Love could be the goal, but love might also be a snare along the path. This richly illustrated book explores the two distinct but related themes of love and romance, comparing their verbal and visual display in the Middle Ages. A selection of extracts translated from the original texts of poems and chansons are prefaced by brief plot summaries and juxtaposed with contemporaneous images of medieval romances-stories of knightly adventures and quests such as Tristan and Isolde, Gawain and the Green Knight, the Roman del la Rose and La Chatelaine de Vergi. The author’s introduction explains the medieval fascination with the quest and its ideas of beauty and chivalry.
Sexuality in Medieval Europe: Doing Unto Others
Karras, Ruth Mazo
Publisher: Routledge (April 21, 2005) Summary: Ruth Mazo Karras is Professor of History and Director of the Center for Medieval Studies at the University of Minnesota, and is a co-editor of the journal Gender & History. She is the author of four books and numerous articles on various aspects of medieval social and cultural history, gender, and sexuality.
Combining research with original interpretations, and quoting sources from medieval Christian Europe, Jewish medieval culture and the Islamic world, this highly readable study provides an overview of medieval culture and how it developed sexual identities that were quite different from the identities we think of today. Using a wide collection of evidence from the late antique period up until the fifteenth century, this informative and intriguing volume illustrates how sex in medieval times was understood, and how, consequently, gender roles and identities were seen very differently from the ways in which our society defines them. Challenging the way the Middle Ages have been treated in general histories of sexuality, the author examines how views at the time were conflicted and complicated. Focusing on ‘normal’ sexual activity as well as what was seen as transgressive, the chapters cover topics such as chastity, sex within marriage, the role of the church, and non-reproductive activity. Sexuality in Medieval Europe is essential reading for all those who study medieval history, or who have an interest in the way sexuality and sexual identity have been viewed in the past.
Love, Sex and Marriage in the Middle Ages: A Sourcebook
McCarthy, Conor
Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (November 15, 2003) 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 illustrates contemporary attitudes and ideologies. The collection includes some material available in Modern English for the first time.
A Gay History of Britain: Love and Sex Between Men Since the Middle Ages
Cook, Matt
Publisher: Praeger (June 30, 2007) Summary: The first narrative history of its kind since 1970, A Gay History of Britain tells the extraordinary history of male-male sex and love in Britain, in all its diversity, from the Middle Ages to the present.
The book explores the changing ways in which male-male sex and love have been perceived and experienced from the late Anglo-Saxon period to the present. Celebrated figures, such as Richard Lionheart, whose love for Philip Augustus of France was so well-documented, Oscar Wilde, gubject of the most explosive scandal of the Victorian period, and Derek Jarman, the great artist and chronicler of the age of AIDS, are examined alongside little-known figures: Eleanor/John Rykener, a cross-dresser in Chaucer’s England, the mollies of eighteenth-century London, the habituants of underground gay bars and cafes in 1930s Manchester and Brighton, and the newly-confident gays of contemporary Britain, who marry, adopt children and command the increasingly powerful ‘pink pound’. Drawing on a fabulous wealth of research, the authors – each an expert in his field – have worked closely together to deliver a powerful, highly-readable and eye-opening history of love and desire between men in Britain.
The Medieval Art of Love: Objects and Subjects of Desire
Camille, Michael
Publisher: Harry N Abrams; Re-issue edition (October 1, 1998)
Summary:
There was nothing chaste or sublimated about many aspects of medieval love which moved through the various stages of looking, talking, touching, kissing, and sexual possession. All the elements of medieval romance are revealed in this magnificently illustrated volume.
The representation of love in medieval decorations, paintings, and drawings offers an intriguing glimpse into the society and philosophy of that time. Interpreting these depictions as having a specific purpose?to inspire love or eroticism?Camille (art history, Univ. of Chicago) explores what, according to the period, love meant for the medieval man and woman. As elusive as that definition is for us today, medieval art, likewise, shows scenes of love and courtship that are varied and contradictory. Camille organizes the art by various themes, trying to make sense of it all. The writing is quite detailed, with references to medieval writings and lore. Though there are numerous illustrations, a few are too small to discern the elements discussed in the text; also, the text and the illustrations could have been tied together more closely. An interesting discussion of a topic that holds fascination for all. For larger public and most academic institutions.
Cherry, John
Publisher: J. Paul Getty Museum; 1 edition (February 14, 2006)
Summary:
John Cherry is former keeper of the Department of Prehistory and Europe in the British Museum. He is the author of Medieval Decorative Art and Goldsmiths and editor of The British Museum Book of Mythical Beasts.
The quest is the essence of medieval romance. Either the Holy Grail or the jewel of Love could be the goal, but love might also be a snare along the path. This richly illustrated book explores the two distinct but related themes of love and romance, comparing their verbal and visual display in the Middle Ages. A selection of extracts translated from the original texts of poems and chansons are prefaced by brief plot summaries and juxtaposed with contemporaneous images of medieval romances-stories of knightly adventures and quests such as Tristan and Isolde, Gawain and the Green Knight, the Roman del la Rose and La Chatelaine de Vergi. The author’s introduction explains the medieval fascination with the quest and its ideas of beauty and chivalry.
Sexuality in Medieval Europe: Doing Unto Others
Karras, Ruth Mazo
Publisher: Routledge (April 21, 2005)
Summary:
Ruth Mazo Karras is Professor of History and Director of the Center for Medieval Studies at the University of Minnesota, and is a co-editor of the journal Gender & History. She is the author of four books and numerous articles on various aspects of medieval social and cultural history, gender, and sexuality.
McCarthy, Conor
Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (November 15, 2003)
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 illustrates contemporary attitudes and ideologies. The collection includes some material available in Modern English for the first time.
A Gay History of Britain: Love and Sex Between Men Since the Middle Ages
Cook, Matt
Publisher: Praeger (June 30, 2007)
Summary:
The first narrative history of its kind since 1970, A Gay History of Britain tells the extraordinary history of male-male sex and love in Britain, in all its diversity, from the Middle Ages to the present.
The book explores the changing ways in which male-male sex and love have been perceived and experienced from the late Anglo-Saxon period to the present. Celebrated figures, such as Richard Lionheart, whose love for Philip Augustus of France was so well-documented, Oscar Wilde, gubject of the most explosive scandal of the Victorian period, and Derek Jarman, the great artist and chronicler of the age of AIDS, are examined alongside little-known figures: Eleanor/John Rykener, a cross-dresser in Chaucer’s England, the mollies of eighteenth-century London, the habituants of underground gay bars and cafes in 1930s Manchester and Brighton, and the newly-confident gays of contemporary Britain, who marry, adopt children and command the increasingly powerful ‘pink pound’. Drawing on a fabulous wealth of research, the authors – each an expert in his field – have worked closely together to deliver a powerful, highly-readable and eye-opening history of love and desire between men in Britain.
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