Milities Christi in hortis liliorum domini? : hagiographic constructions of masculinity and holiness in thirteenth-century Liège

• Main Author: More, Alison
• Other Authors: Muessig, Carolyn
• Published: University of Bristol 2004
• Subjects: 282.493460922
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.409413

Scholars of medieval religious practice agree that gender played some role in influencing hagiographic depictions of religious behaviour. However, as is outlined in the introductory chapter, the idea of using gender as an analytical tool has been predominantly applied to women and femininity. This thesis endeavours to redress the balance in studies of gender and medieval devotion. It explores the vitae of eleven male saints who were connected with the Liègeoise Cistercian houses of Villers and Aulne during the thirteenth century. The men come from a variety of backgrounds and represent the three different Cistercian vocations of abbot, monk and conversus. It is significant that these Cistercian brothers had considerable contact with the much-studied Liègeoise mulieres sanctae. The first chapter of this thesis outlines the social and codicological connections between the two groups. Despite considerable variation in the backgrounds of their subjects, there is a definite thematic unity in the forms of devotion portrayed in the vitae. Four themes which are prominent both in the vitae and the devotional climate of the high Middle Ages are discussed in Chapters Two and Three of this thesis. The themes are conversion, visionary experiences, Marian devotion and the crusading ideal. Chapter Two presents the significance of these themes in didactic literature from western Europe in the high Middle Ages and Chapter Three analyses the significance of these themes in the vitae of these men. Chapter Four illustrates the limitations of gendered analysis and the dangers attached to using a gendered theory as absolute. The importance of gender has been exaggerated, yet its importance cannot be dismissed. This chapter also illustrates the ways in which gender plays a role in forming constructions of holiness. Furthermore, it both presents the implications for, and advances a theory of medieval masculinity.