Allegory and Sexual Ethics in the High Middle Ages (The New Middle Ages)

231 Pages·2007·0.88 MB·English

by  Noah D. Guynn

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THE NEW MIDDLE AGES
BONNIE WHEELER, Series Editor
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For Her Good Estate: The Life of Elizabeth
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Erotic Discourse and Early English Religious On Farting: Language and Laughter in the
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Odd Bodies and Visible Ends in Medieval Allegory and Sexual Ethics in the High
Literature Middle Ages
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ALLEGORY AND SEXUAL
ETHICS IN THE HIGH
MIDDLE AGES
Noah D. Guynn
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ALLEGORYANDSEXUALETHICSINTHEHIGHMIDDLEAGES
© Noah D. Guynn, 2007.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2007 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™
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PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave
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Union and other countries.
ISBN-13: 978–1–4039–7147–0
ISBN-10: 1–4039–7147–1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Guynn, Noah D.
Allegory and sexual ethics in the High Middle Ages/Noah D. Guynn.
p. cm.—(New Middle Ages)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1–4039–7147–1 (alk. paper)
1. Enéas (Romance) 2. Alanus, de Insulis, d. 1202. De planctu naturae,
3. Jean, de Meun, d. 1305? Roman de la Rose. 4. Allegory. 5. Sexual
ethics in literature. I. Title. II. Series: New Middle Ages
(Palgrave Macmillan (Firm))
PQ1459.E353G98 2006
841(cid:2).1—dc22 2006046048
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: March 2007
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
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For Hugh
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1 Rhetoric, Evil, and Privation: From Augustine to
the “Persecuting Society” 17
2 Sodomy, Courtly Love, and the Birth of
Romance:Le Roman d’Eneas 51
3 Allegory and Perversion in Alan of
Lille’sDe Planctu Naturae 93
4 Authorship and Sexual/Allegorical Violence in
Jean de Meun’s Roman de la rose 137
Conclusion 171
Notes 175
Bibliography 199
Index 213