Versions of Virginity in Late Medieval England

by Sarah Salih

Medieval virginity theory explored through study of martyrs, nuns and Margery Kempe.

This study looks at the question of what it meant to be a virgin in the Middle Ages, and the forms which female virginity took. It begins with the assumptions that there is more to virginity than sexual inexperience, and that virginity may be considered as a gendered identity, a role which is performed rather than biologically determined. The author explores versions of virginity as they appear in medieval saints' lives, in the institutional chastity of nuns, and as shown in the book of Margery Kempe, showing how it can be active, contested, vulnerable but also recoverable.

SARAH SALIH teaches in the Department of English at King's College London.

Genres: Medieval History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: Not to be confused with Sara Salih, a theorist of race and Caribbean studies.

Sarah Salih is an academic specialising in late medieval English literary culture. She is a Senior Lecturer in English at King's College London.

Reviews

[Highlyeccentric · Rating 5 out of 5]

- not read in toto. Chapter on katherine group vr interesting.