Cornelius Agrippa of Nettesheim

     Hello everyone. One part of the reading for this week that I found intriguing and that did not come up in discussion yet is Merry Wiesner-Hanks mention of German humanist Cornelius Agrippa and his early 16th century view of women. In 1529, Agrippa published his opinion about the equality of men and women but did a 180 degree turn away from his contemporaries and argued not that women are equal but that they are superior to men. (Wait a minute, a guy in the Middle Ages said this?!) Yes he did, and I imagine it would have been revolutionary, not to mention upsetting to more than a few men.
     After reading sections of the Malleus Maleficarum describing why women were more likely to be witches because of their inherent wickedness, I was surprised that Agrippa published such a "taboo" book less than 50 years after the hammer of witches was also published in Germany. This shows demonstrates that not all men were witch hunting women haters as is often the stereotype of men in this time period. Wiesner-Hanks gives several examples of men with positive views of women in this time period on pages 25 and 26. Was anyone else as surprised as I was to learn about Agrippa's views on women?

Below is a woodcut of Agrippa and a reprint of his book in English.

The Writer and the Soldier

(This image arguably shows Christine de Pizan talking with her contemporary Joan of Arc, although a meeting like this was never recorded, Christine did in fact write a poem about Joan of Arc and her abilities as a soldier of God.)

Christine de Pizan while the first true female writer in European history recognized the abilities of her contemporaries. Notably she wrote a poem on July 31^st, 1429 concerning none other than the Maid, Joan of Arc. The reason for this connection other than Christine’s focus on writing about powerful women comes from her connection to her adopted nation, France. Christine grew up in the French royal court under Charles V because her father worked as a court astrologer. This gave her the opportunity not only to an education but also to the elites of the French nation. Understandably, Christine revered Joan of Arc and the power she returned to the failing French in the time of the Hundred Years War.

Instead of being an epic tale of the brilliance of Joan as a soldier, this poem offers more an overview of the resurgence of France against the English. She wrote most of the poem concerning the renewed power of the French monarchy and Charles VII. Yet there are verses that specifically deal with Joan or the Maid as Christine refers to her. In her poem verses 11, 13, 14, and 21-36 all cover Joan of Arc and the tremendous ability she had to the lead the French nation against the detestable English forces. With God on her side, this virgin accomplished what military men could not. She not only relieved the siege of Orleans she managed to get the king to his official coronation at Reims. Christine wrote this for the benefit of the elites in France as well as the rest of the continent to hear the story of Joan of Arc and her battles against the English.

Location of the full poem (in translated version):

http://www.indiana.edu/~dmdhist/joan.htm

Courtly Love Literature & Views of Women

Tiamat, Eve, and Pandora, three iconic female figures, all have one thing in common regardless of their distinctive origins: being portrayed in a negative light, essentially evil in some way. Although such a viewpoint of women, in varying degrees, has been taken up throughout history, there are moments in which patriarchy itself endorses a different version of women. If for instance, Tiamat, Eve or Pandora had been depicted within the courtly love tradition that arose in the Middle Ages, their stories and images may have been very different indeed. Courtly love literature emphasized the ideal of a chivalrous knight, a loyal and doting admirer who does everything in his power to both pursue and “win” a lady’s love (Wiesner-Hanks, 23). In this way, women were placed on a pedestal, honored for being “pure and virtuous” (Wiesner-Hanks, 23). Therefore, at the least, the courtly love tradition disrupted patterns of description, as women were attributed positive characteristics. In addition, such ideas were conveyed through culture, making them widespread, although we cannot assume widely put into practice. In fact, the literature’s ideal may not have held up in reality. For example, writers even published “cynical satires mocking chivalric conventions and bitterly criticizing women” towards the end of courtly love tradition’s heyday (Wiesner-Hanks, 23-24). Thus, the medium through which views on women appeared to improve actually was utilized to the very opposite aim. Such satires reveal an underlying distinction to the literature overall: it was reaching for an ideal, not exactly pushing for a lasting change in opinion. However, it did importantly, for the most part, give a different and persuasive story of women, offsetting the negative versions that had come before.

Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe. New York: Cambridge. University Press, 2008.

 

In this portrayal of courtly love, one can see the chivalry-like principles espoused in courtly love literature in relation to women. The knight is kneeling before the woman who is literally raised above him, receiving his adoration.

 

Image: http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl513/courtly/images.htm

Tiamet

In the creation story of Enuma Elish that we had discussed in class on Monday, the depictions of Tiamat as a large dragon-like creature and Marduk as that of a strong bulky man made me wonder if there were alternate depictions of the two in any ancient art work.  To my dismay, I have not found any.  The common image of Tiamat is depicted as having a dragon-like frame with large wings.  This image not only comes from ancient art, but also in modern pop-culture.  I was surprised to find that many recent images of Tiamat also viewed here as a monstrous creature. 

This particular image portrays Tiamat as the stereotypical dragon in which most images do.  The title of this art work is referred to as Mushussu and was once a symbol that resided above a gateway in Babylon.  The figure in this image is a somewhat mystical and devilish looking creature.  As is explained in the Enuma Elish,  Tiamat was slain by Marduk and the body was cut up in order to create the heavens and earth.  According to the creation story, Tiamat was a fierce women and portrayed as having a very intimidating nature.  Is this a stereotype of ancient women? If so, was it meant to depict the nature of women themselves or depict Marduk as a masculine hero in order to discuss the nature of men?  These questions could be argued by various analyses of the Enuma Elish.  However, one point does stand true; the nature of at least one women godess is being portrayed through the image of Tiamat.

The picture here is a modern work that depicts Tiamet in much the same fashion as its ancient counterparts.  This suggests that pop-culture can be influenced by ancient portrayals of women and that the creation story of Enuma Elish still holds value to some in todays society.


Sources: 

http://potterbelmar.org/work/tvm/tiamatvmarduk.html

http://mitos-lendas.blogspot.com/2011/06/tiamat.html

Dr. Wolbrink Coursepacket pg. 20

Adam, Eve, and the Serpent

I chose this week’s web post on our course packet reading Genesis. I have a background as a born and raised Catholic. So I was actually surprised that I did not know about the first story of the creation of man and woman. It makes me think about patriarchy and the church’s belief of man and woman’s equality. If the nuns and brothers had taught us about the first story of God’s creation which is “God created man in his image, in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them” (CP). Then I may have thought differently about Eve who apparently made woman the way we are with menstrual cycles each month, and pain of bearing children. The second story, the most popular story of the Catholic teaching is God’s creation of man and woman, where woman was created by a rib taken from man. In this picture below, we can see the typical painting of Adam and Eve. But the serpent is also woman. We discussed last class period that Eve who is portrayed more weak fell for the serpent’s temptation. It’s just bizarre that in this painting the serpent is also woman.

In this painting, it caught my attention because here we see Adam trying to stop Eve from temptation of the serpent, again the serpent is female but a small child like. what are you guys thought about this little serpent?

 

Source:Course packet by Dr. Wolbrink
images: google

Ice Age Women

I have to admit, all of this talk about patriarchal societies in class the past few days has set me on edge. While we did discuss that not all men viewed women as inferior and subservient to the male species, it seems clear that those who had differing views were a minority. And so, this topic of patriarchy got me to thinking about the possible matriarchies that may have existed. I think it's important to remember for everything that we discover in history and archaeology, just because something has not been discovered yet does not mean it never existed. Like Heather Pringle states in her article about matriarchies: "Ethnographic record does not provide evidence of a truly matriarchal society....This does not mean, however, that matriarchal societies never existed in the past; rather they may have become extinct" (CP 1). By analyzing the Venus of Willendorf artifact, the scholars Pringle interviewed make an interesting notion. The Venus figure, dated back to at least 26,000 years ago, could represent a society in the Ice Age that centered around women. 

The process of coming to the conclusion of a possible matriarchal society in the Ice Age is one that shows quite a bit of development. Originally, scholars thought that the figurine would have been a pornographic object for the Ice Age men; something to feed their sexual fantasies while on mammoth hunts (CP 5). This conclusion of the Venus's purpose portrays some of the stereotypes associated with women. As Pringle describes this assumption as "the ultimate man's world" (CP 5). Yet as more research has been done, the purpose of the Venus has changed. By looking at how communal hunting was the essential norm of Upper Paleolithic society, scholars began to assume that the Venus had more of a role to play than just being a man's sexual toy. Instead, the conclusion now is that the Venus "may have played a key part in Upper Paleolithic rituals that centered on women" (CP 6). Through the analysis of hunting and foraging techniques of both hunter-gatherer societies today and then, notions that societies of the Ice Age represented only a man's world were discarded. 

However, just because evidence now leans toward the Venus and similar artifacts being ritualistic rather than pornographic does not mean that this is a definite conclusion that women in the Ice Age were elite spiritually or otherwise. One of the scholars Pringle interviewed states that the Grimaldi Beauty and the Beast figurine (similar to the Venus figurine in appearance) shows "that these women were related to the capacity of communicating with a different world...I think they were believed to be the gateway to a different dimension" (CP 10). While it is entirely possible that women could have had powerful roles in Upper Paleolithic society, such as spiritual leaders or shamans, more evidence besides one figurine needs to be given before that assumption can have any worth. And like the Youtube video over the Venus of Willendorf points out, currently, we have only found female figurines dating back to the Ice Age era. Sometime in the future, we may find male figurines (SmartHistory Nude Woman). Another possibility stated by scholars is that the Venus figurines symbolized luck because of the seven bands around each figurine's head and the abstract features (http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp264-ss13/2013/03/28/venus-of-willendorf/ ). 

To conclude, while all these assumptions over the significance of the Venus and similar figurines are fascinating and provide hope that matriarchies may have existed in some point in time, based on the evidence that we have, we simply can't state whether this is true or not. More research needs to be conducted and more evidence provided before we can make a sure statement on whether or not the Ice Age women were really as important as we have suggested. 

Lovesickness: Medical Crisis or Emotional Stress?

        Being lovestruck means constantly thinking of that special someone who has completely captured your heart. But did you know that in Middle Ages being lovesick was also common? I don't know about you but when I was growing up, hearing about someone being lovesick was like a myth or something you would find in the pages of a romance novel. According to Merry Wiesner-Hanks, "Too intense love could lead to lovesickness, which in the Middle Ages was generally viewed as a ailment afflicting aristocratic men but in the early modern era became more associated with young women. Love might lead women to hysteria in which passion took over their ability to control their bodies or minds" (37). Upon first reading this Wiesner-Hanks' explanation I began to wonder if the idea of lovesickness was really just another way in which philosophers and theorists of the Middle Ages could place the blame on women for being overly emotional and dramatic. According to Nancy Dzaja author of "Lovesickness: The Most Common Form Of Heart Disease", "Many of the described symptoms of lovesickness are consistent across time and place, including fever, agitation, loss of appetite, headache, rapid breathing, and palpitations" (1). It seems to me that all of these symptoms can also be attributed to emotional stress or anxiety. And its no secret that the Middle Ages was full of stressful situations that could cause anyone to have a panic attack or an emotional breakdown.
         Even more outrageous than the symptoms of lovesickness are the remedies that Dzaja provides. According to Dzaja, "The disease had serious consequences: failure to treat an afflicted patient could result in losing one’s genitalia, death, or eternal damnation. Treatments were creative and varied widely, from herbal remedies to the prescription of sexual intercourse, to drinking water that had been boiled in the desired person’s underwear" (1). Upon an analysis of both the Wiesner-Hanks and Dzaja texts, I find it interesting that for a time period where love was not a top priority, so much emphasis was placed upon this idea of lovesickness. Many marriages were arranged and acted as contracts, often love was not a factor. Could lovesickness happen to only married people who were unhappy with their partner? If only women were blamed for being too emotional, why is it that men often contracted this sickness as well? One of the prescriptions for lovesickness is sexual intercourse, does this mean that women were given the 'doctor's permission/approval' to have promiscuous sexual relations in order to cure their sickness?
       Today the idea of someone being lovestruck or lovesick applies to hopeless romantics and it is not considered an actual medical condition. During the Middle Ages however, lovesickness was considered a medical crisis in which the patient could possibly die if treatment was not administered. It seems that a time period that focused on trying to keep emotions out of the equation, added to their own problems by    believing that lovesickness was an actual, physical threat.  

Image From: Lovesickness: The Most Common Form of Heart Disease

                                                               Works Cited
-Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe. New York: Cambridge           University Press, 2008.

-Dzaja, Nancy. "Lovesickness: The Most Common Form of Heart Disease." The University of Western Ontario Medical Journal, Vol. 78:1 (2008). http://www.medievalists.net/2011/08/28/lovesickness-the-most-common-form-of-heart-disease/