E-Thesis 206 views 96 downloads
Gender, Authority, and the Mouth in Western Medieval Culture, 1100-1500 / Geraldine Gnych
Swansea University Author: Geraldine Gnych
DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.67439
Abstract
This thesis explores the importance of the human mouth in defining humanity, upholding and subverting authority, and how gendering plays a key role in how the human mouth is both described and used to denote authorial power. Throughout this thesis the paradox of the mouth is key. The mouth plays an...
| Published: |
Swansea, Wales, UK
2024
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | Kalas, Laura ; Turner, David ; Skinner, Trish |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67439 |
| Abstract: |
This thesis explores the importance of the human mouth in defining humanity, upholding and subverting authority, and how gendering plays a key role in how the human mouth is both described and used to denote authorial power. Throughout this thesis the paradox of the mouth is key. The mouth plays an important role in the definition and maintenance of human authority and power, but it is also well-placed to subvert and undermine that same authority it helps to define. The primary source material is situated in Western Europe between approximately 1100 and 1500, and includes religious and medical discourse, literature, encyclopaedic texts, travel literature, and visual imagery. The chapters explore five ways in which the mouth is a conduit for transformation, connection and communication, focussing on speech, beauty, monstrous mouths, healing and singing. The thesis ultimately argues that the human mouth is a powerful mechanism for defining and ultimately subverting authority, evidenced in medieval written and visual source material through both implicit and explicit gendering. Therefore, the human mouth is important as a tool for the understanding of human experience in medieval culture. |
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| Keywords: |
Gender, Mouth, Authority, Medicine, Medieval, Monstrosity, Speech, Singing, Beauty, Hell, Life Cycle, Kiss |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |