Constructions of motherhood in medieval French and English romance

Abstract

This thesis focuses on how constructions of motherhood in French and English medieval romance of the twelfth to fourteenth centuries intervene in contemporary social, cultural, legal, and medical debates on motherhood and its place in society and family. In particular, I analyse how activities associated with motherhood were performed in specific spaces and places in medieval romance, such as birthing rooms, royal courts, and at sea, and how female characters built and contributed to those locations and, through those spaces, to the wider community. Looking at mothers and motherhood through the places and spaces that they interact with highlights not only the connections between mothers and society, but how the role of mother can be formed and performed. I examine different representations of mothers as builders in these texts, from the lineages and relationships that they create and build upon to acts of physical construction, presenting a model in which motherhood in romance is central to the construction of not just lineage, but of alliances, communities, cities, and nations.

More information

Identifiers

ORCID for Kirsty, Ann Skene Bolton: orcid.org/0000-0001-7302-9232

Catalogue record

Export record