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BestsellerE-book
Author Winstead, Karen A. (Karen Anne), 1960-

Title Virgin martyrs : legends of sainthood in late medieval England / Karen A. Winstead.

Publication Info. Ithaca, N.Y. : Cornell University Press, 1997.

Item Status

Description 1 online resource (x, 201 pages) : illustrations
Physical Medium polychrome
Description text file
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-195) and index.
Contents 1. Martyrdom, Marriage, and Religious Communities, 1100-1250 -- 2. Unruly Virgins and the Laity, 1250-1400 -- 3. Decorous Lives: Saints and Consumers, 1400-1450 -- 4. The Politics of Reading.
Summary "Stories of the torture and execution of beautiful Christian women first appeared in late antiquity and proliferated during the early Middle Ages, and virgin martyrs were still the most popular female saints in the late medieval period. Their legends, in countless retellings through the centuries, preserved a standard plot - the heroine resists a pagan suitor, endures cruelties inflicted by her rejected lover or outraged family, works miracles, and dies for Christ. That sequence was embellished by incidents emblematic of the specific saint: Juliana's battle with the devil, Barbara's immurement in the tower, Katherine's encounter with spiked wheels." "Karen A. Winstead examines this seemingly static story form and discovers subtle shifts in the representation of the virgin martyrs, as their legends were adapted for changing audiences in late medieval England. The saints' portrayals participated in and were shaped by the cultural debates and contests for authority that marked an era of political instability, rapid social change, and increasing religious dissent."--Jacket.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Subject Christian women saints -- Biography -- History and criticism.
Christian women saints -- Biography.
Christian women martyrs -- Biography -- History and criticism.
Christian women martyrs -- Biography.
Christian women martyrs.
Virginity -- Religious aspects -- Christianity -- History of doctrines -- Middle Ages, 600-1500.
Christian hagiography -- History -- To 1500.
Christian hagiography.
History.
Chronological Term To 1500
Subject Christian legends -- England.
Christian legends.
England.
England -- Church history -- 1066-1485.
Church history.
Chronological Term 1066-1485
Subject England -- Religious life and customs.
England -- Church history -- 1066-1485.
England -- Religious life and customs.
Genre/Form Church history.
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
History.
Electronic books.
Subject Virginity.
Other Form: Print version: Winstead, Karen A. (Karen Anne), 1960- Virgin martyrs. Ithaca, N.Y. : Cornell University Press, 1997 0801433339 (DLC) 97009318 (OCoLC)36556976
ISBN 9781501711572 (electronic book)
1501711571 (electronic book)
0801433339
9780801433337