John Benjamins Publishing Company
Magnum oculum et parvum os
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to show the relationship established between women and silence during the Late Middle Ages. Silence itself was valued as a virtue for all the faithful; however it was demanded of every woman as the necessary condition to show honesty and devotion. Moreover, loquacity was considered a natural attribute of women, who, according to moralists, used the word in many negative ways, especially to criticize other women or to convince men to behave wrongly. As a result, the imposition of silence and therefore the restriction of the word – spoken or written – became tools aimed to exercise control over women and to perpetuate the prevailing models of imbalance and inequality between men and women at a time precisely in which female voices were gaining greater authority within some intellectual circles. To this end, we analysed the sermons of one of the most remarkable preachers at the time, saint Vicent Ferrer, since preaching was an effective way of propagation of role models. In addition to this, we studied images such as paintings or book illuminations, which contributed also to spread the ideal of the silent woman, following the example of the Virgin Mary, who barely spoke in the New Testament. Nevertheless, the Holy Mother and other female saints were often represented reading the Bible, which encouraged some women to read and possess Books of Hours or other Prayer Books.
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to show the relationship established between women and silence during the Late Middle Ages. Silence itself was valued as a virtue for all the faithful; however it was demanded of every woman as the necessary condition to show honesty and devotion. Moreover, loquacity was considered a natural attribute of women, who, according to moralists, used the word in many negative ways, especially to criticize other women or to convince men to behave wrongly. As a result, the imposition of silence and therefore the restriction of the word – spoken or written – became tools aimed to exercise control over women and to perpetuate the prevailing models of imbalance and inequality between men and women at a time precisely in which female voices were gaining greater authority within some intellectual circles. To this end, we analysed the sermons of one of the most remarkable preachers at the time, saint Vicent Ferrer, since preaching was an effective way of propagation of role models. In addition to this, we studied images such as paintings or book illuminations, which contributed also to spread the ideal of the silent woman, following the example of the Virgin Mary, who barely spoke in the New Testament. Nevertheless, the Holy Mother and other female saints were often represented reading the Bible, which encouraged some women to read and possess Books of Hours or other Prayer Books.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Invisible biographies 1
- Magnum oculum et parvum os 11
- Vida quotidiana i marginalitat femenina a la València del segle XV 25
- Brujas y conversas 41
- Violence against women in Pere Joan Porcar’s Dietari (16th–17th centuries) 57
- Women and carnal abstinence 73
- Humble but courageous 91
- Bandolers, execucions i cobles populars, arran d’uns fets ocorreguts a la Conca d’Òdena (1573) 105
- Els processos criminals del segle XVI, espill lingüístic de la vida social 129
- Anatomy of a murder 155
- Carlo Gesualdo, principe di Venosa 171
- The mystery of obedience 183
- The treatment of homosexuality in Valencian diaristic literature throughout the late 15th and early 16th centuries 193
- The inquisition against Friar Miquel de Morales, Trinitarian of Sant Bernat Monastery in Alzira (1574) 211
- Aspetti della marginalità sessuale in alcuni romanzi medievali 225
- Pain and faith 233
- Als marges de la història de l’art 243
- Nota sobre Hernando Cabrera, carceller de la Inquisició de València (1515–1541) 255
- Uses of TEI-XML for editions of ancient texts dealing with marginal and queer lives 261
- Index 275
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Invisible biographies 1
- Magnum oculum et parvum os 11
- Vida quotidiana i marginalitat femenina a la València del segle XV 25
- Brujas y conversas 41
- Violence against women in Pere Joan Porcar’s Dietari (16th–17th centuries) 57
- Women and carnal abstinence 73
- Humble but courageous 91
- Bandolers, execucions i cobles populars, arran d’uns fets ocorreguts a la Conca d’Òdena (1573) 105
- Els processos criminals del segle XVI, espill lingüístic de la vida social 129
- Anatomy of a murder 155
- Carlo Gesualdo, principe di Venosa 171
- The mystery of obedience 183
- The treatment of homosexuality in Valencian diaristic literature throughout the late 15th and early 16th centuries 193
- The inquisition against Friar Miquel de Morales, Trinitarian of Sant Bernat Monastery in Alzira (1574) 211
- Aspetti della marginalità sessuale in alcuni romanzi medievali 225
- Pain and faith 233
- Als marges de la història de l’art 243
- Nota sobre Hernando Cabrera, carceller de la Inquisició de València (1515–1541) 255
- Uses of TEI-XML for editions of ancient texts dealing with marginal and queer lives 261
- Index 275
