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The Subaltern Female Struggle for Power in Courtly Love France and Medieval Spain

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Date Issued:
2008
Abstract/Description:
In medieval France, much of the written literature was dominated by the system of courtly love, in which the married noble woman held the position of authority over her lover or knight. Yet this courtly system was entirely literary and did not change women's subjugated position in feudal society, and even propagated misogynistic ideals. In John Beverly's theory of Subalternity, the struggle for power within different systems is shown as having two main groups, the elite and the subaltern; the former having control over the representation of the latter, and therefore control over how the subaltern shapes its selfimage. In medieval, courtly love France, those who manufacture the literary representations of women are male, and those texts that aided in the re-affirming of feudal society; though some women, like Christine de Pizan, resisted those representations. Conversely, in medieval Spain, courtly love does not take hold as a literary phenomenon due to the different cultural and social environment of Spanish noble women.
Title: The Subaltern Female Struggle for Power in Courtly Love France and Medieval Spain.
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Name(s): Macbeth, Verna Michelle
Gamboa, Yolanda, Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2008
Date Issued: 2008
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 118 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: In medieval France, much of the written literature was dominated by the system of courtly love, in which the married noble woman held the position of authority over her lover or knight. Yet this courtly system was entirely literary and did not change women's subjugated position in feudal society, and even propagated misogynistic ideals. In John Beverly's theory of Subalternity, the struggle for power within different systems is shown as having two main groups, the elite and the subaltern; the former having control over the representation of the latter, and therefore control over how the subaltern shapes its selfimage. In medieval, courtly love France, those who manufacture the literary representations of women are male, and those texts that aided in the re-affirming of feudal society; though some women, like Christine de Pizan, resisted those representations. Conversely, in medieval Spain, courtly love does not take hold as a literary phenomenon due to the different cultural and social environment of Spanish noble women.
Identifier: FA00000936 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Subject(s): Marginality, Social--France--To 1500
Marginality, Social--Spain--To 1500
Feminism and literature--Europe--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500
Women--Europe--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500
Man-woman relationships in literature
Literature, Medieval--Criticism and interpretation
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000936
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
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Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.