Rivalrous Masculinities

Ann Marie Rasmussen is the Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker Memorial Chair of German Literary Studies at the University of Waterloo. She is the author and editor of a number of books, including Visuality and Materiality in the Story of Tristan and Isolde, co-edited with Jutta Eming and Kathryn Starkey (University of Notre Dame Press, 2012).

"Taken together, the experts represented in this volume make a forceful case for the evolution and plurality of medieval masculinities, which were socially constructed, negotiated, and inherently competitive. This book is essential reading for students and scholars interested in multidisciplinary approaches to historical gender identity and culture." —Steven Bednarski, St. Jerome's University, University of Waterloo"This is a really sparkling collection of essays. Overall, the volume addresses the concept(s) of medieval masculinity in the round, with a range of innovative and unusual perspectives. It represents an important contribution both to gender studies and to medieval studies." —Annette M. Volfing, Oriel College, University of Oxford"The essays in this book together make it clearer than ever that gender is never monolithic. Beyond reminding us in sophisticated and illuminating ways of this basic insight, however, the studies included demonstrate not only the plurality of medieval and early modern masculinities but also, and more significantly, that at the center of this plurality is rivalry. Multiple ways of 'acting like a man' mean that individuals (both men and women) will compete for the power and status this behavior will accord them. Focusing on both imagined and inhabited worlds from a variety of traditions, this book is a must read for anyone thinking in any way about gender and the past." —Sara S. Poor, Princeton University"In 1994, the groundbreaking volume Medieval Masculinities appeared in print. More than twenty years later, Rivalrous Masculinities showcases state-of-the-art work in medieval masculinity studies. Ann Marie Rasmussen needs to be commended for having assembled an impressive collection of essays." —Helmut Puff, University of Michigan

• Preface by Ann Marie Rasmussen1. "A Word to the Wise: Men, Gender, and Medieval Masculinities" by Clare A. Lees2. "Men in Trouble: Warrior Angst in Beowulf" by Gillian R. Overing3. "The Rivalry of the Secular and the Spiritual in Henry Suso's Adaptations of Masculinity in The Life of the Servant" by J. Christian Straubhaar4. "Predicaments of Piousness: The Trouble with Being a Learned Jewish Family Man in Pre-Modern Europe" by Astrid Lembke5. "The Knight versus the Courtier" by Darrin Cox6. "Misogyny, Philogyny, Masculinities: Antonio Pucci's Il Contrasto delle donne" by F. Regina Psaki7. "Virtù: Marriage, Gender, and Competing Masculinities in Fourteenth-Century Lucca" by Corinne Wieben8. "David and Jonathan: A Late Medieval Bromance" by Ruth Mazo Karras9. "When did Servants Become Men?" by Diane Wolfthal10. "Medieval Masculinities without Men" by Karma Lochrie11. "The Beloved Discipline: From The Gospel of John to Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code" by Andreas Krass