Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Record Number: 9532
  • Author(s)/Creator(s): Johnston , D. R.
  • Contributor(s):
  • Title: The Erotic Poetry of the "Cywyddwyr" The author examines sexually explicit poems written by medieval Welsh poets. Some poets borrow heavily from Continental sources (such as Jean de Meun’s "Roman de la Rose" and the French pastorelle genre), but others employ distinctively Welsh literary genres (like the "llatai," a poem that features a male speaker who sends a messenger to seek the female’s favor, or the "cywydd gofyn," a poem that requests a gift). While some of the poems fulfill male desires by presenting women as sexually voracious or by suggesting that mutual enjoyment of sexual intercourse legitimates male acts of rape or violence, other poems explore what happens when the male’s desires are thwarted. Title note supplied by Feminae.].
  • Source: Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 21, (Winter 1991): Pages 63 - 94.
  • Description:
  • Article Type: Journal Article
  • Subject (See Also): Cywyddwyr, Welsh Poets Eroticism Literature- Verse Love in Literature Obscenity Rape in Literature Violence in Literature Welsh Literature
  • Award Note:
  • Geographic Area: British Isles
  • Century: 14- 15
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  • Table:
  • Abstract:
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  • Author's Affiliation: University of Wales, College of Cardiff
  • Conference Info: - , -
  • Year of Publication: 1991.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN/ISBN: 02605600