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Monsters, Gender and Sexuality in Medieval English Literature PDF

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spine 20.5mm P 10 May 10 IM N O M N E Monsters abound in Old and Middle English literature, from Grendel and S D his mother in Beowulf to those found in medieval romances such as Sir T Gowther. Through a close examination of the way in which their bodies IE E are sexed and gendered, and drawing from postmodern theories of gender, R V identity, and subjectivity, this book interrogates medieval notions of the S A , body and the boundaries of human identity. LG Case studies of Wonders of the East, Beowulf, Mandeville’s Travels, the Alliterative Morte Arthure and Sir Gowther reveal a shift in attitudes toward EE Monsters, NN the gendered and sexed body, and thus toward identity, between the two periods: while Old English authors and artists respond to the threat of GD the gendered, monstrous form by erasing it, Middle English writers allow LE Gender and transgressive and monstrous bodies to transform and therefore integrate IR S into society. This metamorphosis enables redemption for some monsters, HA while other monstrous bodies become dangerously flexible and invisible, N threatening the communities they infiltrate. These changing cultural L Sexuality reactions to monstrous bodies demonstrate the precarious relationship ID T between body and identity in medieval literature. ES DAnA M. OswAlD is Assistant Professor of English, University of wisconsin- RE IN MEDIEVAL Parkside. AX U ENGLISH T Cover: The Tusked Woman, as described in wonders of the East (c.1025– A U 1050), BL MS Cotton Tiberias B.v., f. 85 r (© The British Library). L LITERATURE R I ET Y Series: Gender in the Middle Ages Dana M. Oswald O s w a l d an imprint of Boydell & Brewer ltd PO Box 9, woodbridge IP12 3DF (GB) and 668 Mt Hope Ave, Rochester nY14620-2731 (Us) www.boydellandbrewer.com Gender in the Middle Ages Volume 5 MONSTERS, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY IN MEDIEVAL ENGLISH LITERATURE MonstersaboundinOldandMiddleEnglishliterature,fromGrendeland hismotherinBeowulftothosefoundinmedievalromancessuchasSir Gowther.Throughacloseexaminationofthewayinwhichtheirbodies are sexed and gendered, and drawing from postmodern theories of gender,identity,andsubjectivity,thisbookinterrogatesmedievalnotions of the body and the boundaries of human identity. Case studies of WondersoftheEast,Beowulf,Mandeville’sTravels,theAlliterativeMorte Arthure,andSirGowtherrevealashiftinattitudestowardthegendered andsexedbody,andthustowardidentity,betweenthetwoperiods:while Old English authors and artists respond to the threat of the gendered, monstrousformbyerasingit,MiddleEnglishwritersallowtransgressive andmonstrousbodiestotransformandthereforeintegrateintosociety. Thismetamorphosisenablesredemptionforsomemonsters,whileother monstrousbodiesbecomedangerouslyflexibleandinvisible,threatening the communities they infiltrate. These changing cultural reactions to monstrousbodiesdemonstratetheprecariousrelationshipbetweenbody and identity in medieval literature. DANA M. OSWALD is Assistant Professor of English, University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Gender in the Middle Ages ISSN 1742–870X Series Editors Jacqueline Murray Diane Watt Editorial Board John Aenold Clare Lees Katherine Lewis Karma Lochrie This series investigates the representation and construction of masculinity and feminity in the Middle Ages from a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives.Itaimsinparticulartoexplorethediversityofmedievalgenders,andsuch interrelatedcontextsandissuesofsexuality,socialclass,raceandethnicity,andortho- doxy and hereodoxy. Proposals or queries should be sent in the first instance to the editors or to the publisher,attheaddressesgivenbelow;allsubmissionsreceivepromptandinformed consideration. ProfessorJacquelineMurray,DepartmentofHistory,UniversityofGuelph,Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada Professor Diane Watt, Department of English, Aberystwyth University, Penglais, Aberystwyth, SY23 3DY, UK Boydell & Brewer Limited, PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK Also in this series I Gender and Medieval Drama, Katie Normington, 2004 II Gender and Petty Crime in Late Medieval England: The Local Courts in Kent, 1460–1560 , Karen Jones, 2006 III The Pastoral Care of Women in Late Medieval England, Beth Allison Bart, 2008 IV Gender,NationandConquestintheWorksofWilliamofMalmesbury,KirstenA. Fenton, 2008 MONSTERS, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY IN MEDIEVAL ENGLISH LITERATURE Dana Oswald D. S. BREWER © Dana Oswald 2010 All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner The right of Dana M. Oswald to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 First published 2010 D. S. Brewer ISBN 978–1–84384–232–3 D. S. Brewer is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA website: www.boydellandbrewer.com A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library This publication is printed on acid-free paper Typeset by Pru Harrison, Hacheston, Suffolk Printed in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne CONTENTS Acknowledgements vii List of Figures viii Introduction: Sex and the Single Monster 1 1. The Indecent Bodies of theWonders of the East 27 2. Dismemberment as Erasure: the Monstrous Body inBeowulf 66 3. Circulation and Transformation: The Monstrous Feminine in 116 Mandeville’sTravels 4. Paternity and Monstrosity in the AlliterativeMorte Arthure 159 andSir Gowther Conclusion: Transformation and the Trace of the Monster 197 Bibliography 209 Index 221 For Drew – who opened the eyes of my eyes ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Iamgratefulforthemanyintellectualcommunitiesthatsustainedmethroughout thisproject.NickHowe’sreadingsofmedievaltextsandoftheworldinformmany aspectsofmythinkinginthiswork.Icouldnothavecompletedthisbookwithout hisnotesonthepageandhisvoiceinmyhead.Iamdeeplysadthatheisnolonger heretoreadit.Iamhonoredbythecommitmentofwisdom,time,andsupport fromtheDepartmentofEnglishatTheOhioStateUniversity,particularlyfrom mygenerousadvisorsDrewJones,LisaKiser,andEthanKnapp.ThecommunityI encounteredattheUniversityofWisconsin-Parksidewascrucialtomydevelop- mentofthisproject: IextendthankstoWaltGraffin,FranKavenik,JayMcRoy, Mary Lenard, and Patrick McGuire, who supported my research with advice, coursereleases,andresearchfunding,andtoSandyMoatsandTeresaCoronado, who talked and wrote with me. I thank the manuscript curators at The British and Bodleian Libraries, who allowedmeaccesstotheiramazingmanuscriptcollections.Iaminspiredbymy colleagues in monster studies, especially Asa Mittman, Susan Kim, and Debra Strickland,andamthankfulfortheirinsightandadvice.ItisTomBredehoftwho first set me on the path of medieval studies, for which I am forever grateful. Iwouldliketothankmyreaders,firstandforemostJenniferCamden,whoread every word on every page of this book. I also received the advice of Robyn Malo-Johnston,EileenJoy,RobinNorris,TomBredehoft,MaryRamsey,Theresa Kulbaga,MelissaIanetta,SuzannaSchroeder,AmyLenegar,andmyanonymous reviewers: thanks for your many hours of work. I would also like to thank my writinggroupatOSU,especiallySusanWilliams,whosecommitmenttocollegi- ality and intellectual rigor is unparalleled. Theideasinthisbookhaveoftenbegunintheclassroom,soImustthankmy students,particularlythoseinLiteraryAnalysis,whoworkedsodiligentlywiththe textofBeowulfandthetheoriesofFreud,Lacan,Kristeva,Sedgwick,Halberstam, Rubin,andDerrida.Theirfreshideasandenthusiasmremainaninspirationfor my work. Finally,thankstomydearfriendsandfamily,wholistenedendlesslytodiscus- sionsregardingmonsters’genitals.Specialthankstomymother,whotaughtme thespiritofadventureinthepagesofabook,andtomyhusbandandbestfriend, Drew Carmichael, who has been with me for every step of this odyssey. MythanksgototheSeriesEditorofGenderintheMiddleAges,DianeWatt, andmyeditorsatBoydell&Brewer,CarolinePalmerandRohaisHaughton,who have given me endless patience and support. vii LIST OF FIGURES Image1:Blemmye,WondersoftheEast,London,theBritishLibrary,MSCotton Tiberius B.v., fol. 82r (© the British Library Board) Image2:Donestre,WondersoftheEast,London,theBritishLibrary,MSCotton Tiberius B.v., fol. 83v (© the British Library Board) Image3:Donestre,TheWondersoftheEast,London,BritishLibrary,MSCotton Vitellius A.xv., fol. 103v (© the British Library Board) Image4:Donestre,WondersoftheEast,Oxford,BodleianLibrary,MSBodley614, fol. 43r (© the Bodleian Library, the University of Oxford) Image5:Women:huntressandtuskedwoman,WondersoftheEast,London,the British Library, MS Cotton Tiberius B.v., fol. 85r (© the British Library Board) Image6:Huntress,WondersoftheEast,Oxford,BodleianLibrary,MSBodley614, fol. 44v (© the Bodleian Library, the University of Oxford) Image7:Women:huntressandtuskedwoman,TheWondersoftheEast,London, British Library, MS Cotton Vitellius A.xv., fol. 105v (© the British Library Board) Image 8: Tusked woman, Wonders of the East, Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 614, fol. 45r (© the Bodleian Library, the University of Oxford) viii INTRODUCTION Sex and the Single Monster Themindneedsmonsters.Monstersembodyallthatisdangerousand horrible in the human imagination. – David Gilmore (1) For all of the famed restrictions of Christian doctrine and medieval modesofsocialconduct,theMiddleAgeswas,perhapsparadoxically,a periodthatappearstohaveaccommodated,inwaysourliberalsociety doesnotorseemsnotto,whatwemightbroadlycalltherude,bawdyor obscene.Butthatdoesnotmeanthat,atdifferenttimesandindifferent ways,itwasnotcontentiousnorthatitwasdevoidofthepowertoshock oroffend,aswellastotitillateandexcite.–NicolaMcDonald(2) JOHANNES HARTLIEB’s 1461 portrait of Alexander the Great shows us a surprisingversionoftheGreekleader(asreprintedinPetzoldtandNeubauer 41).ThisAlexanderwearsanelaboratethree-peakedcrownandawell-cuttunic, neither unusual nor inappropriate attire. His nose is decidedly Roman and his eyebrowspinchtogetherinconsternationoverlight-coloredeyesthatlookintelli- gent.Despiteallthesignsofroyaltyandrefinement,thisAlexanderbearstwosigns ofbarbarity:slendertusksprotrudingfromhischeeksandanunkemptbeardand hair.Hisclothestellusofhiswealthandpoliticalsignificance,buthiscrudeanimal attributes interrupt and contradict this story. Hartlieb portrays Alexander as a manovertakenbythemysteriousEasthehopedtoconquer.Justasthelandsthat heconqueredwereknownasbarbaroustomedievalreadersandviewers,sotoo doesAlexander’sphysicalforminthisimagereflecttheperceivedqualitiesofthese lands.ContactwiththesavagelandsoftheEasthaschangedaleaderofcivilization intothemonsterasrepresentedbyHartlieb.Thoughdressedintheproperattire and still obviously human in his facial features, this Alexander cannot hide his corruption.Itpeeksthroughintousledhair,anuntidybeard,and,moststrikingly, those intractable tusks. ThisfifteenthcenturyGermanpaintingoffersoneperspectiveofthemonstrous human body in medieval culture. The image suggests that congress with the dangerouslandsoftheEastvisiblycontaminatesthehumanbodyofAlexander– andindeed,inmuchearlymedievalliterature,themonstrousexistsonlyindistant placeslikethemarvel-filledEast.Astheimagealsoimplies,humanslikeAlexander desire contact with the monstrous and find its very liminality fascinating and 1

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Monsters abound in Old and Middle English literature, from Grendel and his mother in Beowulf to those found in medieval romances such as Sir Gowther. Through a close examination of the way in which their bodies are sexed and gendered, and drawing from postmodern theories of gender, identity, and sub
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