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Title Chaste passions : medieval English virgin martyr legends / edited and translated by Karen A. Winstead
Published Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2000

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Description 1 online resource (201 pages) : illustrations
Contents Saint Juliana / Anonymous, ca. 1200 -- Saints Agatha, Lucy, Justine, and Barbara / The South English Legendary -- Saint Anastasia / The North English Legendary -- Saint Cecilia / Geoffrey Chaucer -- Saint Christine / William Paris -- Saint Eugenia / The Scottish Legendary -- Saint Winifred / John Mirk -- Saints Margaret and Petronilla / John Lydgate -- Saints Agnes and Dorothy / Osbern Bokenham -- Saint Katherine / Anonymous, ca. 1420 -- Saint Ursula and the eleven thousand virgins / Anonymous, ca. 1485
Summary Virgin martyrs make up one of the largest categories of medieval saints. To judge by their frequent appearances in art and literature, they also figure among the most venerated. The legends of virgin martyrs, retold in various ways through the centuries, illuminate trends in popular piety, values, and literary tastes. Chaste Passions contains sixteen English virgin martyr legends, each of a different saint and each translated into colloquial, modern English prose. Faithful in tone and meaning to the originals, Karen Winstead's lively translations allow contemporary readers to appreciate why virgin martyr legends thrived for hundreds of years. Winstead presents the tales in chronological order, tracing the effects of the composition and tastes of the audience on the development of the genre. The virgin martyr, Winstead tells us, escapes the confining female stereotypes-demure maiden or disruptive shrew-prevalent in writings of the period. Because nearly all of the texts were written by men but addressed to women, they exhibit a fascinating interplay between male views of so-called women's literature and the demands of their intended audience. Familiarity with this widely read genre is essential to a full understanding of medieval culture, and Chaste Passions is an excellent introduction to these often racy, sometimes comic, tales
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references
Notes Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL
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Subject Christian women saints -- Legends
Christian women martyrs -- Legends
Virginity -- Religious aspects -- Christianity -- Legends
Christian legends -- England
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Religious.
RELIGION -- Christian Church -- History.
RELIGION -- Christianity -- History.
LITERARY CRITICISM -- Medieval.
Christian legends
Christian women martyrs
Christian women saints
Virginity -- Religious aspects -- Christianity
Legende
Anthologie
Igreja (história)
Mulheres (aspectos religiosos)
Santos (biografia histórica)
Cristianismo (história)
England
England
Genre/Form legends (literary genre)
Legends
Legends.
Légendes.
Form Electronic book
Author Winstead, Karen A. (Karen Anne), 1960- editor, translator.
ISBN 9781501711589
150171158X