Jean Gerson and Gender: Rhetoric and Politics in Fifteenth-Century France (Genders and Sexualities in History)

Jean Gerson and Gender examines the deployment of gendered rhetoric by the influential late medieval politically active theologian, Jean Gerson (1363-1429), as a means of understanding his reputation for political neutrality, the role played by royal women in the French royal court, and the rise of the European witch hunts. Jean Gerson and Gender reconciles the somewhat enigmatic legacy of one of the most influential late medieval intellectuals: the theologian, court preacher, university chancellor, and church reformer, Jean Gerson (d. 1429). Gerson provided foundational contributions to two historical developments: the promotion of rational and just government, and the development of the European concept of the witch. This book argues that Gerson's association of royal and ascetic women with sin and diabolical influences allowed him to maintain - against overwhelming evidence to the contrary - the appearance of centralized monarchical rule, a stable ecclesiastical hierarchy, and a reliable method for constructing communally verifiable political and religious truths Nancy Mcloughlin, University Of California, Irvine, Usa. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.