Synopses & Reviews
What did it mean to be a man in medieval England? Most would answer this question by alluding to the power and status men enjoyed in a patriarchal society, or they might refer to iconic images of chivalrous knights. While these popular ideas do have their roots in the history of the aristocracy, the experience of ordinary men was far more complicated.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Marshalling a wide array of colorful evidenceand#8212;including legal records, letters, medical sources, and the literature of the periodand#8212;Derek G. Neal here plumbs the social and cultural significance of masculinity during the generations born between the Black Death and the Protestant Reformation. He discovers that social relations between men, founded on the ideals of honesty and self-restraint, were at least as important as their domination and control of women in defining their identities. By carefully exploring the social, physical, and psychological aspects of masculinity, The Masculine Self in Late Medieval England offers a uniquely comprehensive account of the exterior and interior lives of medieval men.
Review
"The tale of Nicholas the 'incomplete husband' is just one of the many extraordinary stories uncovered in Derek Neal's exhilarating study of masculinity in England between the Black Death and the Reformation. For all the fascination of the individual case studies, however, it is the ordinary experiences of masculinity in the period with which Neal is ultimately concerned."
Review
and#8220;
The Masculine Self in Late Medieval Englandand#160;is an unusual and compelling bookand#8212;a combination of wide and careful research with subtle style. The book will provide many students and scholars with their first taste of the study of medieval masculinity and his work is a landmark in the field, a book that is by turns charming and provocative but always fascinating. This is partly because of how well and bravely he links archival research to social history and psychological history to literature, playing out connections few scholars are brave enough to develop. In revealing the contours of medieval masculinity, Neal reveals much about what made men tick and made the later medieval era distinctive.and#8221;
Review
"Neal uses his gifted powers of synthesis and storytelling to write a clear, direct, humane, and accessible (but fully scholarly) book about the social identities of men in England in the late medieval and early modern periods. . . . Refreshing and unfreighted with anxieties of critical performance, The Masculine Self is a fantastic tool and great event in recent scholarly history. The book will, obviously serve social historians and gender studies scholars and will powerfully undergird the work of literary critics seeking to continue interdisciplinary studies on men. I cannot imagine talking or writing about men in medieval texts again without having it open on my desk."
Review
and#8220;A splendid study of the complexities of being a man in late medieval England. Nealand#8217;s vision of masculine subjectivity and identity is by far the most sophisticated, nuanced, and deep available on this period and will find a place on the must-read list of every historian of men and masculinity as well as sex and gender more broadly.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Derek Neal keeps the focus on men and masculinity without forgetting the centrality of women to medieval culture and the importance of feminist theory to the study of gender.and#160;The fascinating stories he draws from a wide range of sources give depth and texture to his account of what it meant to be a man in one particular time and place. Ideas of masculinity that involved honesty, moderation, responsibility, and benignity were in tensionand#8212;sometimes within the same individualand#8212;with ideas that involved dominance and aggression.and#160;Neal discusses both the outer or social self that men projected to the world and the inner self of wishes and desires.and#160;Anyone interested in the possibility of studying past human behavior within its cultural context will learn much about methodology from this bookand#8217;s fine example.and#8221;
Review
"These stories are told well, in a prose style characterized by an admirable clarity and care. . . . Whether relating a court case or describing the field of gender studies, Neal's style is accessible, engaging, and gently conversational."
Review
"Not so much an empirical study as a well-documented exxtensive essay recasting categories of gender historical analysis, the work is thought-provoking."
Review
"[Neal] deserves real credit for being willing to think across disciplinary divisions as well as to synthesize disparate historical accounts of masculinity. This integrative hermeneutic is one of the great strengths of Neal's fine book, which deserves the attention of medieval historians, literary scholars, and anyone interested in the history of identity, subjectivity, sex, and gender. Written with erudition, clarity, conviction, and occasional sly humor, The Masculine Self in Late Medieval England may well prove a landmark in the field of masculine studies."
About the Author
Derek G. Neal is assistant professor of history at Nipissing University in Ontario, Canada.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgmentsand#160;
Note on Primary Sources
and#160;
Introductionand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
Chapter 1 False Thieves and True Men
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Masculine Identity Formation in a Society of Stresses
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Unknown Majority
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Manhood in the Towns
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Livelihood, Reputation, and Conflict
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; False Thieves
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Language of the Common Voice (and Fame)
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; True Men
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Ideal and Reality
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Legal Rhetoric of Masculinity
and#160;
Chapter 2 Husbands and Priests
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Husbandry (I): Pollers, Extorcioners, and Adulterers
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Substance
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Pollers and Extorcioners
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Polling, Cutting, and Loss of Substance
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Adulterers
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Husbandry (II): The Household from Inside
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Adulteresses
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Wives and Servants
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Priests versus Husbands, Priests as Husbands
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Clergy in English Society
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Conflict
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Social Meaning of Celibacy
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Rector and the Bailiff
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Clergymen and the Household
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Blaming the Friars
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Celibacy and Gender Identity: What Was the Real Problem?
Chapter 3 Sex and Gender: The Meanings of the Male Body
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; From Physiology to Personality
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Medieval Maleness: Form and Meaning
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Manliness and Attractiveness
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; From Phallus to Penis (or Vice Versa?)
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Husbandly Sexuality
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; An Incomplete Husband
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Male Body in Action
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Uses of Misrule
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Dress
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Dangers of the Tongue
and#160;
Chapter 4 Toward the Private Self: Desire, Masculinity, and Middle English Romance
History, Fiction, and Literature
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Literary Subject
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Romance of Masculinity
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; All Her Fault
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Dangers of Desire
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Narcissistic Masculinity and the Rape of Melior
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Mothers
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Lovers Invisible and Unspeakable
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Fathers Unknown and Forbidden
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Father Unknown: Bevis of Hampton
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Better the Nightmare You Know: Lybeaus Desconus
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Father Forbidden, Father Created: Of Arthour and of Merlin
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Emplotted Desire: Sir Perceval of Galles
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Desire and Dread: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Beyond Narcissism? Ywain and Gawain
and#160;
Conclusion
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; What Has This Historian Done with Masculinity?
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Chronology
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Other Half
and#160;
Notes
Bibliography
Index