Medieval Studies/Gender Studies

"In a world of unnecessary collections of essays, Constructing Medieval Sexuality stands out as intense, scrupulous, far-reaching-in two words, vitally needed." Carolyn Dinshaw, University of California at Berkeley

“Constructing Medieval Sexuality raises illuminating questions about the intersection between medieval history and modern theories of sexuality. The book's highlights include chapters by Dyan Elliott on clerical sexuality, Michael Camille on representing sex in manuscripts, Jane Burns on gender and clothing, and Steven Kruger on sex, race, and religion. These challenging and scholarly essays call into question the border between the modern and the medieval-borders that it is increasingly important for both sides to deconstruct.” Peter L. Allen, Pomona College

This collection is the first to be devoted entirely to medieval sexuality informed by current theories of sexuality and gender. It brings together essays from various disciplinary perspectives to consider how the Middle Ages defined, regulated, and represented sexual practices and desires. Topics include the medieval understanding of sodomy, the historical construction of heterosexuality, and the intersections of sexuality with race, gender, and religion.

Contributors: E. Jane Burns, Joan Cadden, Michael Camille, Dyan Elliott, Louise O. Fradenburg, Mark D. Jordan, and Steven F. Kruger.

Karma Lochrie is associate professor of English at Loyola University of Chicago. She is the author of Margery Kempe and Translations of the Flesh.

Peggy McCracken is assistant professor of French at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and the author of The Romance of Adultery: Queenship and Sexual Transgression in Old French Literature (forthcoming).

James A. Schultz is professor of German and director of the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Studies Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author most recently of The Knowledge of Childhood in the German Middle Ages, 1100–1350.

University of Minnesota Press
Printed in U.S.A.