Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Record Number: 2866
  • Author(s)/Creator(s): Boureau , Alain.
  • Contributor(s):
  • Title: L'Imene e l'ulivo. La Verginità femminile nel discorso della chiesa nel XIII secolo [Christian theology emphasized the spiritual element in virginity, dedication to a chaste life, not purely physical integrity; by the thirteenth century this quality tended to be identified with celibate clergy and monastics; this development parallels the flourishing cult of the Virgin Mary, who pardoned sinners and shared human woes, offering a mediating presence; this intermediary role was further developed in the identification of Mary with the Church].
  • Source: Quaderni Storici , 3 (dicembre 1990): Pages 791 - 803.
  • Description:
  • Article Type: Journal Article
  • Subject (See Also): Mary, Virgin, Saint Theology Virginity Women in Religion
  • Award Note:
  • Geographic Area: General
  • Century: 13
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  • Abstract: The author tackles the problem of the interference between the dogmatic scheme of Christian virginity and the model of feminine virtue commensurated to family honour by examining theological texts of the thirteenth century. In the normative texts of the Church, virginity is a spiritual construction: it is not defined by physical integrity but coincides with the notion of functional celibacy. The teaching of the Church of the thirteenth century reveals a surprising reticence in questions of everyday ethics and this autonomy in the ecclesiastical construction of virginity appears even stronger if one considers the veneration of Mary as "Queen of the Virgins". Thirteenth century theology traces an equivalence between Mary and the Church, and virginity, in the teaching of the Church, is primarily a metaphor.
  • Related Resources:
  • Author's Affiliation: Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris
  • Conference Info: - , -
  • Year of Publication: 1990.
  • Language: Italian
  • ISSN/ISBN: 03016307