Examining French literature from the medieval period, Findley revises our understanding of medieval literary composition as a largely masculine activity, suggesting instead that writing is seen in these texts as problematically gendered and often feminizing.

Autorentext
Brooke Heidenreich Findley is Assistant Professor of French and Women's Studies at Penn State Altoona, USA.

Inhalt
Introduction: Authors, Writers, Singers, and Women: Gendering Literary Creation in Medieval French Culture PART I: FROM MINSTREL HEROINE TO POET HEROINE: THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY AND BEYOND 1. Singing from a Woman's Body: Minstrel Heroines as Performers and Texts 2. The Parrot and the Swan: Performance and Composition in Sone de Nansay PART II: DANGEROUS MUSES: TOUTE BELLE AND HER SISTERS IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY DIT 3. Competing Perspectives: Guillaume de Machaut's Voir Dit 4. A Contemporary Reaction to the Voir Dit: Deadly Words and Captive Imaginations in Jean Froissart's Prison Amoureuse PART III: WOMEN AT THE ORIGINS: FIFTEENTH CENTURY PROSE ROMANCE 5. Verbal Prowess: Women's Artistry and Men's Chivalry in Perceforest 6. Women Writers and the Monstrous Author in Ysaÿe le Triste Conclusion: What About Christine?