This paper will examine the representation of women within William of Malmesbury’s Historia Nov... more This paper will examine the representation of women within William of Malmesbury’s Historia Novella. Using both K.R. Potter’s 1955 edition of the text as well as Edmund King’s more recent 1998 edition, I will briefly discuss the various extant copies of the manuscript, William’s monastic career, and the circumstances which led to the production of the Historia Novella (referred to hereafter as HN). I have chosen to use both editions of the text, as at times they vary in their translations which I believe has significant implications for the analysis of the original text. I will then proceed to examine the various ways in which female figures are written by Malmesbury, at times noting how this contrasts with feminine images constructed by the anonymous author of the Gesta Stephani.
The Gesta Stephani chronicles the turbulent reign of King Stephen (1135-1154), the last of the No... more The Gesta Stephani chronicles the turbulent reign of King Stephen (1135-1154), the last of the Norman kings. Although it is anonymously written and an incomplete manuscript, it provides important insight into the chaos and turmoil that led England to become ‘a home of perversity, a haunt of strife, a training-ground of disorder, and a teacher of every kind of rebellion.’
The primary goal of this paper is to pinpoint and examine Anglo-Norman female stereotypes and gender constructions through a close reading of the text, using the Gesta Stephani as a case study. The Gesta is split into two books and I will examine the women in each independently, and then conclude with general thoughts and impressions on the text as a whole.
As a study of the Vita Sanctae Margaretae Scotorum Reginae and the Miracula Sancte Margarite Scot... more As a study of the Vita Sanctae Margaretae Scotorum Reginae and the Miracula Sancte Margarite Scotorum Regine, this paper will examine the juxtaposition of the roles of queen and mother that characterized the life of St Margaret of Scotalnd, and discuss them in relation to the factors that led to her canonization in 1249.
In Chapter One, I will focus on the biographical information relating to Margaret’s early life, before her marriage to Malcolm III of Scotland in 1069/1070. In doing so, I will endeavor to show that Margaret’s ideas of queenship and management of the royal household were greatly influenced by the time she spent growing up at the Anglo-Saxon court of Edward the Confessor and his queen, Edith. Both Pauline Stafford and Christine Fell have made significant contributions to the study of Anglo-Saxon women in England, and in using their work as a foundation, I will examine how Anglo-Saxon ideas of the public and private roles of the queen paralleled ecclesiastical reforms of the time.
Chapter Two will look at Margaret’s life after her marriage to Malcolm III and focus on her establishment of the royal household. I will discuss the changes Margaret brought to the Scottish court and examine her role as Malcolm’s queen. English chroniclers perceived her as having a ‘civilizing’ influence on the Scottish court, and evidence for this can also be found in the Vita. I will explore the extent and limits of Margaret’s political power, which was grounded in the successful management of the household and within a harmonious partnership with Malcolm.
Chapter Three will focus on Margaret’s role as a mother, and discuss the ways in which she came to personify the concept of the saintly mother. By examining medieval ideas of motherhood and the groundwork laid by Pauline Stafford, Derek Baker, and Lois Huneycutt in this area, I will demonstrate that marriage could increase the status of a woman, but it was only as a mother that she could exercise power of her own. In examining the work of Marina Warner and Jane Tibbets Schulenburg, I will also show how this ideal was grounded in religious reform of the Tenth-Century and amplified with the development of the cult of the Virgin Mary. A close examination of Margaret’s relationship with her own children is key to this section, as well as looking at the ways in which she acted as a symbolic mother to her subjects, through her many charitable activities.
In Chapter Four, I will look at the work previously done by Derek Baker on the idea of the ‘nursery of saints’ created by Margaret. This section will examine Margaret’s religious and cultural influences upon her children, and show how the family relationships established within the royal Scottish household proved to have the greatest effects on the younger children, David and Edith/Matilda.
This paper will examine the representation of women within William of Malmesbury’s Historia Nov... more This paper will examine the representation of women within William of Malmesbury’s Historia Novella. Using both K.R. Potter’s 1955 edition of the text as well as Edmund King’s more recent 1998 edition, I will briefly discuss the various extant copies of the manuscript, William’s monastic career, and the circumstances which led to the production of the Historia Novella (referred to hereafter as HN). I have chosen to use both editions of the text, as at times they vary in their translations which I believe has significant implications for the analysis of the original text. I will then proceed to examine the various ways in which female figures are written by Malmesbury, at times noting how this contrasts with feminine images constructed by the anonymous author of the Gesta Stephani.
The Gesta Stephani chronicles the turbulent reign of King Stephen (1135-1154), the last of the No... more The Gesta Stephani chronicles the turbulent reign of King Stephen (1135-1154), the last of the Norman kings. Although it is anonymously written and an incomplete manuscript, it provides important insight into the chaos and turmoil that led England to become ‘a home of perversity, a haunt of strife, a training-ground of disorder, and a teacher of every kind of rebellion.’
The primary goal of this paper is to pinpoint and examine Anglo-Norman female stereotypes and gender constructions through a close reading of the text, using the Gesta Stephani as a case study. The Gesta is split into two books and I will examine the women in each independently, and then conclude with general thoughts and impressions on the text as a whole.
As a study of the Vita Sanctae Margaretae Scotorum Reginae and the Miracula Sancte Margarite Scot... more As a study of the Vita Sanctae Margaretae Scotorum Reginae and the Miracula Sancte Margarite Scotorum Regine, this paper will examine the juxtaposition of the roles of queen and mother that characterized the life of St Margaret of Scotalnd, and discuss them in relation to the factors that led to her canonization in 1249.
In Chapter One, I will focus on the biographical information relating to Margaret’s early life, before her marriage to Malcolm III of Scotland in 1069/1070. In doing so, I will endeavor to show that Margaret’s ideas of queenship and management of the royal household were greatly influenced by the time she spent growing up at the Anglo-Saxon court of Edward the Confessor and his queen, Edith. Both Pauline Stafford and Christine Fell have made significant contributions to the study of Anglo-Saxon women in England, and in using their work as a foundation, I will examine how Anglo-Saxon ideas of the public and private roles of the queen paralleled ecclesiastical reforms of the time.
Chapter Two will look at Margaret’s life after her marriage to Malcolm III and focus on her establishment of the royal household. I will discuss the changes Margaret brought to the Scottish court and examine her role as Malcolm’s queen. English chroniclers perceived her as having a ‘civilizing’ influence on the Scottish court, and evidence for this can also be found in the Vita. I will explore the extent and limits of Margaret’s political power, which was grounded in the successful management of the household and within a harmonious partnership with Malcolm.
Chapter Three will focus on Margaret’s role as a mother, and discuss the ways in which she came to personify the concept of the saintly mother. By examining medieval ideas of motherhood and the groundwork laid by Pauline Stafford, Derek Baker, and Lois Huneycutt in this area, I will demonstrate that marriage could increase the status of a woman, but it was only as a mother that she could exercise power of her own. In examining the work of Marina Warner and Jane Tibbets Schulenburg, I will also show how this ideal was grounded in religious reform of the Tenth-Century and amplified with the development of the cult of the Virgin Mary. A close examination of Margaret’s relationship with her own children is key to this section, as well as looking at the ways in which she acted as a symbolic mother to her subjects, through her many charitable activities.
In Chapter Four, I will look at the work previously done by Derek Baker on the idea of the ‘nursery of saints’ created by Margaret. This section will examine Margaret’s religious and cultural influences upon her children, and show how the family relationships established within the royal Scottish household proved to have the greatest effects on the younger children, David and Edith/Matilda.
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Papers by Sarah Williams Clausen
The primary goal of this paper is to pinpoint and examine Anglo-Norman female stereotypes and gender constructions through a close reading of the text, using the Gesta Stephani as a case study. The Gesta is split into two books and I will examine the women in each independently, and then conclude with general thoughts and impressions on the text as a whole.
In Chapter One, I will focus on the biographical information relating to Margaret’s early life, before her marriage to Malcolm III of Scotland in 1069/1070. In doing so, I will endeavor to show that Margaret’s ideas of queenship and management of the royal household were greatly influenced by the time she spent growing up at the Anglo-Saxon court of Edward the Confessor and his queen, Edith. Both Pauline Stafford and Christine Fell have made significant contributions to the study of Anglo-Saxon women in England, and in using their work as a foundation, I will examine how Anglo-Saxon ideas of the public and private roles of the queen paralleled ecclesiastical reforms of the time.
Chapter Two will look at Margaret’s life after her marriage to Malcolm III and focus on her establishment of the royal household. I will discuss the changes Margaret brought to the Scottish court and examine her role as Malcolm’s queen. English chroniclers perceived her as having a ‘civilizing’ influence on the Scottish court, and evidence for this can also be found in the Vita. I will explore the extent and limits of Margaret’s political power, which was grounded in the successful management of the household and within a harmonious partnership with Malcolm.
Chapter Three will focus on Margaret’s role as a mother, and discuss the ways in which she came to personify the concept of the saintly mother. By examining medieval ideas of motherhood and the groundwork laid by Pauline Stafford, Derek Baker, and Lois Huneycutt in this area, I will demonstrate that marriage could increase the status of a woman, but it was only as a mother that she could exercise power of her own. In examining the work of Marina Warner and Jane Tibbets Schulenburg, I will also show how this ideal was grounded in religious reform of the Tenth-Century and amplified with the development of the cult of the Virgin Mary. A close examination of Margaret’s relationship with her own children is key to this section, as well as looking at the ways in which she acted as a symbolic mother to her subjects, through her many charitable activities.
In Chapter Four, I will look at the work previously done by Derek Baker on the idea of the ‘nursery of saints’ created by Margaret. This section will examine Margaret’s religious and cultural influences upon her children, and show how the family relationships established within the royal Scottish household proved to have the greatest effects on the younger children, David and Edith/Matilda.
The primary goal of this paper is to pinpoint and examine Anglo-Norman female stereotypes and gender constructions through a close reading of the text, using the Gesta Stephani as a case study. The Gesta is split into two books and I will examine the women in each independently, and then conclude with general thoughts and impressions on the text as a whole.
In Chapter One, I will focus on the biographical information relating to Margaret’s early life, before her marriage to Malcolm III of Scotland in 1069/1070. In doing so, I will endeavor to show that Margaret’s ideas of queenship and management of the royal household were greatly influenced by the time she spent growing up at the Anglo-Saxon court of Edward the Confessor and his queen, Edith. Both Pauline Stafford and Christine Fell have made significant contributions to the study of Anglo-Saxon women in England, and in using their work as a foundation, I will examine how Anglo-Saxon ideas of the public and private roles of the queen paralleled ecclesiastical reforms of the time.
Chapter Two will look at Margaret’s life after her marriage to Malcolm III and focus on her establishment of the royal household. I will discuss the changes Margaret brought to the Scottish court and examine her role as Malcolm’s queen. English chroniclers perceived her as having a ‘civilizing’ influence on the Scottish court, and evidence for this can also be found in the Vita. I will explore the extent and limits of Margaret’s political power, which was grounded in the successful management of the household and within a harmonious partnership with Malcolm.
Chapter Three will focus on Margaret’s role as a mother, and discuss the ways in which she came to personify the concept of the saintly mother. By examining medieval ideas of motherhood and the groundwork laid by Pauline Stafford, Derek Baker, and Lois Huneycutt in this area, I will demonstrate that marriage could increase the status of a woman, but it was only as a mother that she could exercise power of her own. In examining the work of Marina Warner and Jane Tibbets Schulenburg, I will also show how this ideal was grounded in religious reform of the Tenth-Century and amplified with the development of the cult of the Virgin Mary. A close examination of Margaret’s relationship with her own children is key to this section, as well as looking at the ways in which she acted as a symbolic mother to her subjects, through her many charitable activities.
In Chapter Four, I will look at the work previously done by Derek Baker on the idea of the ‘nursery of saints’ created by Margaret. This section will examine Margaret’s religious and cultural influences upon her children, and show how the family relationships established within the royal Scottish household proved to have the greatest effects on the younger children, David and Edith/Matilda.