Women and Marriage in German Medieval Romance (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature, Series Number 74)

In contrast to the widespread view that the Middle Ages were a static, unchanging period in which attitudes to women were uniformly negative, D. H. Green argues that around 1200 the conventional relationship between men and women was subject to significant challenge through discussions in the vernacular literature of the period. Hitherto scholarly interest in gender relations in such literature has largely focused on French romance or on literature in English from a later period. By turning the focus on the rich material to be garnered from Germany - the romances Erec, Tristan and Parzival - Professor Green shows how some vernacular writers devised methods to debate and challenge the undoubted antifeminism of the day by presenting a Utopian model, supported by a revision of views by the Church, to contrast with contemporary practice. Half-title 3 Series-title 4 Title 5 Copyright 6 Contents 7 Preface 9 Abbreviations 10 Introduction 13 Part I The role of women 15 Introduction 17 Chapter 1 Women in the Middle Ages 18 Old Testament 20 New Testament 25 Middle Ages 29 Marriage 32 Chapter 2 Feminisation in the twelfth century 43 Religious life 46 Literature 55 Part II Marriage and love 73 Introduction 75 Chapter 3 Erec 96 Patriarchal society 96 Antifeminine attitudes 105 Questions and revisions 115 Chapter 4 Tristan 140 Patriarchal society 140 Antifeminine attitudes 152 Questions and revisions 164 Chapter 5 Parzival 184 Patriarchal society 186 Antifeminine attitudes 208 Questions and revisions 225 Conclusion 249 Bibliography 253 PRIMARY SOURCES 253 SECONDARY SOURCES 255 Index 269 D. H. Green challenges the prevailing view of the Middle Ages as a static period in which attitudes to women were uniformly negative. Focusing on the great German romances Erec, Tristan and Parzival he explores strategies used by vernacular writers to debate and challenge the undoubted antifeminism of the day. "D. H. Green shows how German romances found ways to debate and challenge the conventional antifeminism of the medieval period"--Résumé de l'éditeur