From Boys to Men: Formations of Masculinity in Late Medieval Europe

Book Review:

Growing Up Male in Late Medieval Europe

Ruth Mazo Karras’ From Boys to Men: Formations of Masculinity in Late Medieval Europe focuses on medieval masculinity during a crucial period of male development, which Karras calls “young manhood” (15). As she explores the social discourses amongst varying groups within the hierarchy of late medieval Europe, she compares and contrasts them, deconstructing the oversimplified notion that masculinity is merely the opposition of femininity. Asserting that masculine identity was acquired, she outlines the criteria that young men had to fulfill in order to be considered an adult male in their respective social backgrounds.

In Chapter 2, she focuses on the concept of knighthood in the aristocratic courts. There young men demonstrated their military prowess, and gentility as a sign of their masculinity. In Chapter 3, she focuses on the university scholars. There men were trained in rationality and moderation, as their masculinity stood in opposition to beastliness. In Chapter 4, she focuses on the towns craftsmen. There masculinity depended upon financial success and independence.

While the means by which men earned their masculine identities varied greatly, Karras points out that there were overarching themes that were present. Of these themes, she notes that masculine identity was formed through the acquisition of power that was gained through competition with other men. In the courts, knights proved their prowess through physical combat, as well as their ability to attract women. In the universities, scholars proved their prowess through verbal disputations, in which men verbally sparred with each other about various questions of debate. Lastly, town craftsmen proved their prowess through their ability to dominate other craftsmen economically by becoming the masters of their own trades.

Yet, despite the competition within each social group, Karras, also, notes that masculine identity could be reinforced through masculine bonds as well. Confraternities existed within each social group, in which young men bonded through activities, and assisted each other so they could achieve their goals. Amongst knights, brotherhoods were formed. Amongst scholars, men formed bonds through social events such as feasting, drinking, and gambling. Amongst craftsmen, masters, journeymen, and apprentices joined guilds and socialized with each other in taverns. Through these masculine bonds, men were able to both assert their masculine identity as well as empower themselves.

Karras presents an excellent overview of the formation of masculine identity in late medieval Europe. She gives both the prescriptive ideals of the time period, as well as the reality of the situation within each social group, demonstrating that there is no monolithic view of masculinity. Thus, she emphasizes that there are multiple discourses that compete with each other, creating tensions in what it means to be a man during the late medieval period. However, as she clearly notes and understands, the knights, university scholars, and craftsmen did not form the majority of the population in Medieval Europe, and she does not discuss the clergymen, or the rural peasantry in much detail.

Her work is similar to that Brent Shaw's work because it helps us examine the male role in pieces, such as "The Passion of the Perpetua." As Karras points out, this study of masculinity is a necessity, “we cannot understand women’s lives without understanding men as men” (19). With the absence of women from each of these male domains, as well as the dominance and commodification of women, it is only through a firm grasp of masculinity that we can gain an understanding of the role that women played. In moving forward, it is important that we examine the power plays that drive male-male and male-female relationships in the literature of the time.

Works Cited

Karras, Ruth Mazo. From Boys to Men: Formations of Masculinity in Late Medieval Europe. Philadephia: U of Pennsylvania P, 2003.

Doubts.

Today was just one of those days when I have severe doubts about whether I am really doing something I want to do.

Of course, this leads to a 15-minute Google search session, and a perusal of all the "wonderful' websites that hope to deter you from pursuing such a path. Very encouraging material, indeed. 

On the other hand, I think I will do some reading, (or rather, I will do some more reading) on:

Peters, Robert L. Getting What You Came For: A Smart Student's Guide to Earning a Master's or a Ph.D. New York: Noonday, 1997. 

I could use some advice, but my sub-par human communication skills are a major deterrent to actually asking a real person. 

P.S. We, English majors, are quite pretentious with our vocabulary. Every writer has their favorite "smart" words, Nancy Partner's word of the article: "polemical". My post-colonial professor's: "nuanced." Mine: I think I'll try "liminal," it should work well with my Derridian tendencies. 

 

Title Unknown.

It always starts with a "simple idea." Topic: Medieval classical reception of fire imagery in The Life of Christina of Markyate. I start researching. I find a great article: Nadia, Margolis. "Flamma, Furor and Fol'Amors: Fire and Feminine Madness from The Aeneid to the Roman D'eneas." I have a bad research day: I hate sitting in the Rose Main Reading Room (which I insists smells like feet), and finding out that all my articles are useless. I mention my idea to my professor, she mentions The Letters of Abelard and Heloise. Now, I have jumbled mess of ideas in my head, and way more research than I even want to attempt. 

Good fire imagery. Bad fire imagery. Madness (Roman, medieval, and of course, my own). Christina of Markyate. Abelard and Heloise. Plato. Plato's Cave. Light. Truth. Christianity. Marriage. Bride of Christ. Plato's Symposium. Love. Reproduction (of babies, and ideas) as path to immortality. Diotima. 

I hate having a good idea that I need to connect together. I hate the connecting. Yet, it feels so good when it all connects. 

I hate Plato. Yet, it always goes back to Plato. Always. I swear the bloke haunts me. Ugh. Note to self from my Medieval professor: You're a couple hundred years too early for Plato. The people of Middle Age Europe liked Aristotle, Ovid, NOT PLATO. Time to pursue alternative philosophies. Especially in republicanism. ;D

Prospectus for Research Essay:

Primary Source:

The Life of Christina of Markyate: A Twelfth Century Recluse. Trans. C.H. Talbot. New York: Oxford UP, 1987. Print.

Secondary Sources:Brown, Peter. “Bodies and Minds: Sexuality and Renunciation in Early Christianity.” Before Sexuality: The Construction of Erotic Experience in the Ancient World. Ed. David M. Halperin, et al. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1990. 479-93. Print.

Carson, Anne. “Putting Her in Her Place: Woman, Dirt, and Desire.” Before Sexuality: The Construction of Erotic Experience in the Ancient World. Ed. David M. Halperin, et al. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1990. 135-70. Print.

Elliott, Dyan. “Alternative Intimacies: Men, Women and Spiritual Direction in the Twelfth Century.” Christina of Markyate: A Twelfth-century Holy Woman. Ed. Samuel Fanous and Herietta Leyser. London: Routledge, 2004. 160-83. Print.

---. The Bride of Christ Goes to Hell: Metaphor and Embodiment in the Lives of Pious Women. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P. 2012. Print.

---. Spiritual Marriage. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1993. Print.

Heller, Sarah-Grace. “Light as Glamour: The Luminescent Ideal of Beauty in the Roman de la Rose.” Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies: 76.4 (2001 Oct): 934-59.

Hersch, Karen K. The Roman Wedding: Ritual and Meaning in Antiquity. New York: Cambridge UP, 2010. Print.

Margolis, Nadia. "Flamma, Furor, and Fol'amors: Fire and Feminine Madness from the Aeneid to the Roman d'Enéas". Romanic Review: 78.2 (1987 Mar.). 131-147. Print.

McGuire, Brian Patrick. Friendship and Community: The Monastic Experience, 350-1250. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 2011. Print.

Dictionaries Being Consulted:

Oxford Latin Dictionary

Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources

Three Questions:

1. Fire is both a productive and destructive force. How is the versatility of the fire imagery utilized in The Life of Christina of Markyate?

2. How is the fire imagery of marriage from Classical Antiquity reworked into the descriptions of relationships in the Middle Ages?

3. Christina’s relationship with Roger is described in terms of fire, while Christina’s relationship with Christ is described in terms of light. What do these descriptions indicate about each relationship?

Expected scope of topic:

            The focus of my essay will be on the reworking of fire imagery from Classical Antiquity into the Middle Ages and the manner in which it is utilized to described the relationships between Christina and Roger, and Christina and Christ. While Peter Brown focuses on the changes that take place with the introduction of Christianity, I argue that the while there is a shift from marriage to sexual renunciation, the symbolic torch of the Roman marriage is carried into the Middle Ages. Nadia Margolis’s article clearly demonstrates this in the secular tradition of courtly love. However, I focus on the symbolic fire in The Life of Christina of Markyate, a hagiographical text. While the main focus of the essay will be on fire imagery, I will also touch upon the light imagery that is prevalent within the Middle Ages, elaborating on the significance of the use of light imagery instead of fire imagery in Christina’s relationship with Christ. Ultimately, my argument is that while the importance of marriage is more heavily emphasized in Roman times, a bond between a man and a woman in either time periods can become a sanctifying force in society even a within a religious community. In my research, I will be working primarily with the English translation by C. H. Talbot, but I will also utilize the Latin texts on the opposite pages. 

I love having a solidified topic! ;D