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Sue Niebrzydowski, ed.
Middle-Aged Women in the Middle Ages.
Publisher: Boydell Press.
Series: Gender in the Middle Ages.
Publication due: December 2011.
Size: 23.4 x 15.6.
Page count: 168pp.
Publisher's recommended price
Hardback ISBN 9781843842828, £0.00
Description:
The phenomenon of medieval women's middle age is a stage in the lifecycle that has been frequently overlooked in preference for the examination of female youth and old age. The essays collected here, ranging from the Anglo-Saxon to the late medieval period, and drawing variously from literary studies, history, law, art and theology, address this lacuna. Taking a variety of critical approaches, the contributors consider medieval definitions, paradigms and experiences of female middle age, analysing how the middle-aged woman perceived herself subjectively, as well as how she was perceived by others. They seek to challenge the received wisdom that in the middle ages, at forty, women were deemed "old" and, from that point onwards, their thoughts should be focused on preparing for death. On the contrary, this collection demonstrates their energy, defiance and wit.
Contributors: Jane Geddes, Clare A. Lees, Carol M. Meale, Anneke B. Mulder-Bakker, Sue Niebrzydowski, Raluca L Radulescu, Sara Elin Roberts, Corinne Saunders, Diane Watt.
Contents:
Introduction: 'Becoming bene-straw': The Middle-aged Woman in the Middle Ages
The Age of Discretion: Women at Forty and Beyond
Seeking the Middle-Aged Woman in Medieval Wales
Middle Age in Romance? Magic, Enchantment and Female Power
Age and Desire in the Old English Life of Mary of Egypt: A Queerer Time and Place?
The St Albans Psalter: Sex, Desire and the Middle-aged Woman
Speaking Volumes: the Middle Aged Woman and the Book in Medieval England
'Late hir seye what sche wyl': Older Women's Speech and the Book of Margery Kempe
Preparing for Mature Years: the Case of Margaret of Anjou and her Books
Bibliography