Synopses & Reviews
Queer Love in the Middle Ages points out queer themes in the works of the French canon, including
Perceval,
Romance of the Rose, and
Roman d'Eneas. It brings out less known works that prominently feature same-sex themes: Yde and Olive, a romance with a cross-dressed heroine who marries a princess; and many others. The book combines an interest in contemporary French theory (Kristeva, Barthes, psychoanalysis) with a close reading of medieval texts. It discusses important recent publications in pre-modern queer studies in the US. It is the first major contribution to queer studies in medieval French literature.
Review
"Anna Roberts argues persuasively that 'same-sex preference seems a rather pervasive interest' in Old French literature, and that we should begin to reread the corpus in this light. She reads one male homosexual figure, the Fisher King; one lesbian couple,
Yde et Olive; and a tradition of other texts that depict same-sex preference openly. She finds novel evidence and makes novel arguments. This daring book opens new views of medieval French literature and the history of sexuality."--William D. Paden, Chair, Department of French and Italian, Northwestern University
Synopsis
Studying Old French literature reveals some degree of openness towards same-sex relationships, both in the well and lesser-known works. From a cross-dressing heroine who marries a princess to the figure of Perceval in the Grail Legend, Anna Klosowska explores same-sex friendships, bonds, loyalties, respect and love in a variety of literary forms: Arthurian romances, Grail narratives, fictions, allegories, legends and Latin manuscript translations. What she reveals is that medieval writers used the literary genre as a secure place to explore same-sex relationships and to flirt with the idea of homoeroticism, demonstrating a pervasive interest in a subject which was smuggled into canonical workd in recognizable ways'.
About the Author
Anna Klosowska is Associate Professor of French at Miami University.
Table of Contents
Introduction: History of Desire, Desire for History * Grail Narratives * Dissection and Desire * Troy and Theater * Conclusion