Gender, Reading, and Truth in the Twelfth Century: The Woman in the Mirror
Morgan Powell
The twelfth century witnessed the birth of modern Western European literary tradition: major narrative works appeared in both French and German, founding a culture independent Latin tradition Church Roman Antiquity. But what gave rise to sudden interest legitimization literature these “vulgar tongues"? Until now, answer has centred on somewhat nebulous role new female vernacular readers. Powell argues that different appraisal same evidence offers window onto something more momentous: not “women readers” but instead reading act conceived as lies behind polysemic identification women audience media century. This woman is at centre re-conception Christian knowing, veritable revolution mediation knowledge truth. By following this figure through detailed readings key early works, unveils surprise, poetics body meant embrace capacities audiences viewers medieval visual art.
Library Union Catalog of Bavaria, Berlin and Brandenburg (B3Kat Repository)