Monsters, the Feminine, and the Diabolical in Medieval Culture
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Date
2021-11-23
Authors
Steiner, Rachel
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
In the Middle Ages, it was believed that women were inferior to men intellectually, spiritually, and physically to the point where they were seen as a dangerous threat to men. Texts such as De Secretis Mulierum, the Decretum of Burchard of Worms, the legend of the fairy bride Mélusine, and the Malleus Maleficarum illustrate this point, showing that women were viewed as potential monsters. Through this study, I will show how these texts illustrate medieval anxieties about women that painted them as monstrous and inhuman, an attitude that helped create the late medieval and Early Modern witchcraft moral panic. By comparing the accusations made in these texts to female monsters of the Middle Ages, I will show how medieval popular culture thought of women as a monstrous group that was threatening to men.
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Keywords
fairy, medieval, monsters, witch, women