Venomous tongues : speech and gender in late medieval England /

"The unique contribution of Venomous Tongues lies in its interdisciplinary approach and the way it situates scolding within a broader range of issues specific to the legal and social history of the period."--Leaf R. Poos, The Catholic University of America

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Bibliographic Details
Online Access: Full text (MCPHS users only)
Main Author: Bardsley, Sandy (Author)
Format: Electronic eBook
Language:English
Published: Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006
Series:Middle Ages series.
Subjects:
Local Note:ProQuest Ebook Central
Table of Contents:
  • Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Contents; Introduction: Speech, Gender, and Power in Late Medieval England; The Status of Late Medieval English Women: ''Golden Age'' vs. ''Patriarchal Equilibrium''; Scholarship on Speech and Scolding; How We Know about Illicit Speech; 1. ''Sins of the Tongue'' and Social Change; ''Sins of the Tongue'' and the State; The Popularization of the ''Sins of the Tongue''; Common Associations among ''Sins of the Tongue''; 2. The Sins of Women's Tongues in Literature and Art; Women's Voices in Prescriptive Literature and Art.
  • Women's Voices in Narrative Art and LiteratureWomen and Good Speech; 3. Women's Voices and the Law; Hues and Cries; Defamation; The Emergence of Scolding as a Legal Category; Scolding as a Female Crime; 4. Men's Voices; Men's Voices and the Risk of Effeminacy; Swearwords as Deeds; Male Speech as Deeds in the Courts; Male Scolds; 5. Communities and Scolding; Definitions of Scolding and Elements of the Crime; Jurisdictional Variation; Sensitive Officials; Geographic and Administrative Connections; 6. Who Was a Scold?; Scolding and Marital Status; Scolding and Socioeconomic Status.
  • Scolding and Other CrimesConclusion: Consequences of the Feminization of Deviant Speech; Consequences for Individuals: The Punishment of Scolds; Broader Consequences: Women's Voices and Women's Power; Why Illicit Speech Was Feminized; Notes; Bibliography; Index; Acknowledgments.