The Erotic in the Literature of Medieval Britain [Paperback]

This volume examines the erotic in the literature of medieval Britain, primarily in Middle English, but also in Latin, Welsh and Old French. Seeking to discover the nature of the erotic and how it differs from modern erotics, the contributors address topics such as the Wife of Bath's opinions on marital eroticism, the role of clothing and nudity, the tension between eroticism and transgression, the interplay between religion and the erotic, and the hedonistic horrors of the cannibalistic Giant of Mont St Michel. Amanda Hopkins teaches in the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies and the department of French at the University of Warwick. Cory James Rushton is in the Department of English at St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada. Contributors: Anthony Bale, Jane Bliss, Michael Cichon, Thomas H. Crofts III, Alex Davis, Kristina Hildebrand, Amanda Hopkins, Simon Meecham-Jones, Sue Niebrzydowski, Margaret Robson, Robert Rouse, Cory James Rushton, Corinne Saunders.An examination of the erotic in medieval literature which includes articles on the role of clothing and nudity, the tension between eroticism and transgression and religion and the erotic.Introduction`So wel koude he me glose': The Wife of Bath and the Eroticism of Touch - Sue NiebrzydowskiThe Lady's Man: Gawain as a Lover in Middle English Literature - Cory RushtonErotic Magic: The Enchantress in Middle English Romance - Corinne Saunders`wordy vnthur wede': Clothing, Nakedness and the Erotic in some Romances of Medieval Britain - Amanda Hopkins`Some Like it Hot': The Medieval Eroticism of Heat - Robert RouseHow's Your Father? Sex and the Adolescent Girl in Sir Degarr? - Margaret RobsonThe Female `Jewish' Libido in Medieval Culture - Anthony BaleEros and Error: Gross Sexual Transgression in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi - Michael CichonPerverse and Contrary Deeds: The Giant of Mont Saint Michel and the Alliterative Morte Arthure - Thomas Howard CroftsHer Desire and His: Letters ls-