Medieval Women on Film
Essays on Gender, Cinema and History
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About the Book
In this first ever book-length treatment, 11 scholars with a variety of backgrounds in medieval studies, film studies, and medievalism discuss how historical and fictional medieval women have been portrayed on film and their connections to the feminist movements of the 20th and 21st centuries. From detailed studies of the portrayal of female desire and sexuality, to explorations of how and when these women gain agency, these essays look at the different ways these women reinforce, defy, and complicate traditional gender roles. Individual essays discuss the complex and sometimes conflicting cinematic treatments of Guinevere, Morgan Le Fay, Isolde, Maid Marian, Lady Godiva, Heloise, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Joan of Arc. Additional essays discuss the women in Fritz Lang’s The Nibelungen, Liv Ullmann’s Kristin Lavransdatter, and Bertrand Tavernier’s La Passion Béatrice.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Edited by Kevin J. Harty
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 216
Bibliographic Info: 26 photos, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6844-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3900-0
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Preface 1
Medieval Women on Film: An Introduction (Kevin J. Harty) 3
Liberating Guinevere: Female Desire on Film (Amy S. Kaufman) 19
Adversary, Sister, Scapegoat: Morgan le Fay on Film (Usha Vishnuvajjala) 33
Isolde on the Silver Screen: Enraptured, Resolute and Shrewd (Joan Tasker Grimbert) 50
Maid Marian: Neomedievalism and the Misogyny in the Reel (Valerie B. Johnson) 68
The Women of Fritz Lang’s Medieval Epic, The Nibelungen; or, Two Queens and a Nazi (Donald L. Hoffman) 86
Through a Woman’s Eyes: Liv Ullmann’s Kristin Lavransdatter (Joseph M. Sullivan) 103
Gender, Violence and Medievalism in La Passion Béatrice (Andrew B.R. Elliott) 116
Lady Godiva on Film: Icon of Faith, Icon of Feminism or Erotic
Simulacrum (Sandra Gorgievski) 132
Hidden in Plain Sight: Heloise in Clive Donner’s Stealing Heaven (Kristin L. Burr) 147
Catty Queen Consort, Lioness in Winter and Loyal Queen Mother:
Images of Eleanor of Aquitaine in Film (Fiona Tolhurst) 163
The Lady Is for Burning: The Cinematic Joan of Arc and Her Screen Avatars (Kevin J. Harty) 182
About the Contributors 199
Index 201
Book Reviews & Awards
“This volume looks at portrayals in film of various medieval European female figures, both the legendary and the historical…Most of the contributors are scholars of medieval history or literature, but several have a research interest in film.”—Choice