Gender, Writing, and Performance: Men Defending Women in Late Medieval France (1440-1538) (Oxford Modern Languages and Literature Monographs)

This book explores the poetics of literary defences of women written by men in late-medieval and early-modern France. It fills an important lacuna in studies of this polemic in imaginative literature by bridging the gap between Christine de Pizan and a later generation of women writers and male, Neo-Platonist writers who have recently all received due critical attention. Whereas male-authored defences composed between 1440 and 1538 have previously been dismissed as "insincere" or "mere intellectual games," Swift formulates reading strategies to overcome such critical stumbling blocks and engage with the particular rhetorical and historical contexts of these works. Edited and as yet unedited texts by Martin Le Franc, Jacques Milet, Pierre Michault, and Jean Bouchet-catalogues of women, allegorical narratives, and debate poems-are brought together and analysed in detail for the first time in order to explore, for example, how such works address the misogynistic spectre of Jean de Meun's __Roman de la rose__.The book seeks to understand the contemporary popularity of the case for women (__la querelle des femmes__) as literary subject matter. It investigates the publication history across this period, from manuscript to print, of Le Franc's __Le Champion des dames__. Swift further aims to show how these texts hold interest for modern audiences. A nexus of theoretical concerns centred on performance - Judith Butler's gender performativity, Derrida's re-working of Austin's linguistic performativity through spectrality, and dramatic performance - is enlisted to articulate the interpretative engagement expected by __querelle__ writers of their audience. The reading strategies proposed foster a nuanced and enriched perspective on the question of a male author's "sincerity" when writing in defence of women.
This book explores the poetics of literary defences of women written by men in late-medieval and early-modern France. It fills an important lacuna in studies of this polemic in imaginative literature by bridging the gap between Christine de Pizan and a later generation of women writers and male, Neo-Platonist writers who have recently all received due critical attention. Whereas male-authored defences composed between 1440 and 1538 have previously been dismissed as "insincere" or "mere intellectual games," Swift formulates reading strategies to overcome such critical stumbling blocks and engage with the particular rhetorical and historical contexts of these works. Edited and as yet unedited texts by Martin Le Franc, Jacques Milet, Pierre Michault, and Jean Bouchet-catalogues of women, allegorical narratives, and debate poems-are brought together and analysed in detail for the first time in order to explore, for example, how such works address the misogynistic spectre of Jean de Meun's Roman de la rose.

The book seeks to understand the contemporary popularity of the case for women (la querelle des femmes) as literary subject matter. It investigates the publication history across this period, from manuscript to print, of Le Franc's Le Champion des dames. Swift further aims to show how these texts hold interest for modern audiences. A nexus of theoretical concerns centred on performance - Judith Butler's gender performativity, Derrida's re-working of Austin's linguistic performativity through spectrality, and dramatic performance - is enlisted to articulate the interpretative engagement expected by querelle writers of their audience. The reading strategies proposed foster a nuanced and enriched perspective on the question of a male author's "sincerity" when writing in defence of women.

Contents 10 List of Plates 12 Conventions of Transcription 14 Abbreviations 15 Introduction 18 1. Haunting Text and Paratext: Performing Intertextuality in Querelle Debates 35 Performing intertextuality: the dynamics of rewriting 39 Reading intertextuality: a 'spectropoetic' approach 50 Rewriting the Rose: negotiating with spectres 63 From critical reading to contemporary reception: text and paratext 85 Haunted images: writing against the ghost 91 Conclusion: the dynamics of intertextual performance 106 Plates 108 2. Performing Conflict: The Drama of Debate 117 Imagining debate: verbal attack and verbal display 126 Debate as dramatic dialogue: orality and actio 135 The theatre of debate: the page as stage 143 The theatre of debate: the forensic stage 148 Deferring verdicts: debating guilt and creating debate 162 Epilogue: the case for women in context 171 Plates 174 3. Representing Women in the Querelle des femmes 189 Writer and patron: presentation and representation 192 L'Opposition masculin–féminin: wearing cultural significations 211 ‘Becoming’ woman: contextualizing gender identity 234 Conclusion: representation as negotiation 238 Conclusion: A New Shelf-Life? 244 Appendix 1. Chronologies of Querelle des femmes Texts 264 A. Chronology of primary texts 264 B. Early printed editions of querelle des femmes texts 266 Appendix 2. Lists of Manuscripts, Incunables, and Early Printed Editions 268 A. Manuscripts and early printed editions of Le Champion des dames 268 B. Manuscripts and early printed editions of the French translations of Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris 269 References 272 Index 294 A 294 B 294 C 295 D 296 E 297 F 297 G 297 H 297 I 297 J 298 K 298 L 298 M 298 N 299 O 299 P 300 Q 301 R 301 S 302 T 302 V 302 W 302 Z 302 This book explores the poetics of literary defences of women written by men in late-medieval and early-modern France. Whereas male-authored defences composed between 1440 and 1538 have previously been dismissed as "insincere" or "mere intellectual games," Swift formulates reading strategies to overcome such critical stumbling blocks and engage with the particular rhetorical and historical contexts of these works. Edited and as yet unedited texts by Martin Le Franc, Jacques Milet, Pierre Michault, and Jean Bouchet-catalogues of women, allegorical narratives, and debate poems-are brought together and analysed in detail for the first time in order to explore, for example, how such works address the misogynistic spectre of Jean de Meun's Roman de la rose. The book seeks to understand the contemporary popularity of the case for women (la querelle des femmes) as literary subject matter. It investigates the publication history across this period, from manuscript to print, of Le Franc's Le Champion des dames. Swift further aims to show how these texts hold interest for modern audiences. A nexus of theoretical concerns centred on performance - Judith Butler's gender performativity, Derrida's re-working of Austin's linguistic performativity through spectrality, and dramatic performance - is enlisted to articulate the interpretative engagement expected by querelle writers of their audience. --From publisher's description "This book explores the poetics of literary defences of women written by men in late-medieval and early-modern France. It fills an important lacuna in studies of this polemic in imaginative literature by bridging the gap between Christine de Pizan and a later generation of women writers and male, Neo-Platonist writers who have recently all received due critical attention. Whereas male-authored defences composed between 1440 and 1538 have previously been dismissed as 'insincere' or 'mere intellectual games'. Swift formulates reading strategies to overcome such critical stumbling blocks and engage with the particular rhetorical and historical contexts of these works. Edited and as yet unedited texts by Martin Le Franc, Jacques Milet, Pierre Michault, and Jean Bouchet - catalogues of women, allegorical narratives, and debate poems - are brought together and analysed in detail for the first time in order to explore, for example, how such works address the misogynistic spectre of Jean de Menu's Roman de la rose."--Résumé de l'éditeur "This book explores the poetics of literary defences of women written by men in late-medieval and early-modern France. It fills an important lacuna in studies of this polemic in imaginative literature by bridging the gap between Christine de Pizan and a later generation of women writers and male, Neo-Platonist writers who have recently all received due critical attention. Whereas male-authored defences composed between 1440 and 1538 have previously been dismissed as 'insincere' or 'mere intellectual games'. Swift formulates reading strategies to overcome such critical stumbling blocks and engage with the particular rhetorical and historical contexts of these works. Edited and as yet unedited texts by Martin Le Franc, Jacques Milet, Pierre Michault, and Jean Bouchet - catalogues of women, allegorical narratives, and debate poems - are brought together and analysed in detail for the first time in order to explore, for example, how such works address the misogynistic spectre of Jean de Menu's Roman de la rose."--Jacket Helen Swift examines late-medieval and early-modern French imaginative literature written by men in defence of women of great popularity in its own time - including catalogues of virtuous women, allegorical narratives, and debate poems. - ;This book explores the poetics of literary defences of women written by men in late-medieval and early-modern France. It fills an important lacuna in studies of this polemic in imaginative literature by bridging the gap between Christine de Pizan and a later generation of women writers and male, Neo-Platonist writers who have recently all received due critic