Kvinder, Køn & Forskning (Oct 1997)

Køn, krop og ånd i middelalderen

  • Else Marie Wiberg Pedersen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.7146/kkf.v0i3.28482
Journal volume & issue
no. 3

Abstract

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Very often, the medieval view on "gender" and "body" is depicted either unequivocally negative or just equivocal. According to this simplistic picture, a number of medieval men and women have been portrayed as alternately extremely misogynist and extremely submissive and self-suppressing. With the examples of Bernard of Clairvaux, Beatrice of Nazareth, Mechtild of Hackeborn, and Gertrud of Helfta, this article tries to differentiate more subtly the perception of the concepts "woman/female" and "man/male" by pointing to their function as symbols within the Christian tradition. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the view on body/soul is not an expression of simple dualism.