The Masculine Self in Late Medieval England

Author / Editor
Neal, Derek G.

Title
The Masculine Self in Late Medieval England

Published
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Physical Description
xiii, 303 pp.

Description
Examines frames of cultural reference (legal, domestic, physical, and literary--especially romance), arguing that "two versions of masculinity defined the socially performed lives of men in late medieval England." The first version was normative and stabilizing, based on trust and honesty among males.
The other--more "rebellious, aggressive, sensual"--coexisted with the first, creating tension between exterior social performance and internal desire. Neal discusses several Middle English romances and refers at times to Chaucer's RvT, Pardoner, and Parson.

Chaucer Subjects
Reeve and His Tale
Pardoner and His Tale
Parson and His Tale