Alice Otto
Weibliche Religiosität – weibliches Erzählen
Zur Konstruktion von Geschlechtsidentität in den galego-portugiesischen ›Cancioneiros‹ des Mittelalters
1. Edition 2012
259 pages
ISBN 978-3-89971-833-1
V&R unipress
Nova Mediaevalia -
plus S&H
Book
Religious motives can often be found in medieval Galician-Portuguese 'Cancioneiros', but in research little attention has hitherto been paid to them. This volume focuses for the first time on the aspect of female religiosity, in this way gaining new insights into female identity in the 'Cantigas'.
Following Hannah Arendt, women's religiosity is regarded, like female narrative, as a political discourse that enables women to participate in the public sphere. While devotion is increasingly put to question by love discourse, narrative gains significance. This study focuses on the correlation between female devotional practice, love discourse and the resituation of female narrative. By means of these three aspects, gender relations are realigned, signifying for the protagonists of the 'Cantigas' a loss of societal agency and a changed access to space.
