Virgin Martyrs: Legends of Sainthood in Late Medieval England

Description: Divides Middle English saints' lives about virgin martyrs (ca. 1200-1450) into three subgroups and examines how each reflects the cultural conditions of its reception.; Addressed to monastic audiences, the earliest are dominated by didacticism and devotional concerns; the Katherine group is a primary example.; The second group focuses on the disruptive power of the martyrs, reflecting the social concerns of Chaucer, William Paris, Margery Kempe, and others.; The third group returned to the earlier monastic style, satisfying bourgeois conservatism and the desire for a politically safe religion found in Osbern Bokenham, John Lydgate, and versions of the life of Queen Katherine of Alexandria. Assesses how SNT, like the fabliau dynamics of WBP, relies upon invective to challenge authority.

Chaucer Subjects: Background and General Criticism.; Second Nun and Her Tale.; Wife of Bath and Her Tale.