EN392 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Empress Matilda, Thomas Becket, Paul The Apostle
EN392
Miracles and Medieval Attitudes toward the Body
Method – An Introduction to the History of Sexuality
The Development of Sexuality
• Michel Foucault
• Our usual thinking about power is wrong, misconceived, or limited
• Typically we would think of authority figures such as police officers or political leaders
o Traditioal phsial eaples of poer: the aors offie, it ouil, et.
• Foucault thinks individual relations between people are more powerful
• A family relation- sitting around a table is a more power-infused relationship than one we would
have with the mayor of the time
o Interaction number and level
• Alas poer relatios etee people ut the dot alas ork ho e epet
• B poer, I do ot ea Poer as a group of istitutios ad ehaiss that esure the
subservience of the citizens of a given state. By power, I do not mean, either, a mode of
subjugation which, in contrast to violence, has the form of the rule. Finally, I do not have in
mind a general system of domination exerted by one group over another, a system whose
effets, through suessie deriatios, perade the etire soial od.
• ultipliit of fore relatios iiet alas read to appear i the sphere i hih the
operate ad hih ostitute their o orgaizatio siultaeousl ad spotaeousl
• Poer is eerhere; ot eause it eraes eerthig, ut eause it oes fro
eerhere.
• Local – between individuals rather than political figures
• Spontaneous – it just springs up
• Unstable – situations rarely last long and often change or reverse; changing all the time and
seemingly for no reason
• Everywhere at once but without major depth
The Medieval Ideas toward the Body
• The cult of St. Thomas Becket is one of the most important in Britain in the Middle Ages
• Great friend of Henry II
• Civil war – Aarh of “tee. Epress Maud akes ig tie attle agaist hi
o Her son, Henry II, will become the next king
▪ He is a highly individual person in nearly every single respect
▪ Pain in the butt to deal with – he didt reall are aout athig
▪ Reformed laws beginning to end
▪ Excess obsessive compulsive energy – would pace in church
▪ Children: Richard the Lionheart and John (Robin Hood)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Method an introduction to the history of sexuality. By power, i do not mean, either, a mode of subjugation which, in contrast to violence, has the form of the rule. Jerusalem: rome, santiago (spain) st. james, relics of saints, miracles associated with saints or their relics, usually have healing properties. Healing via miracles: god has direct power over the body, bei(cid:374)g (cid:373)ade (cid:862)whole(cid:863, your moral life being written upon your body (as a map of your soul or moral compass, missing an arm = showing you acted immorally. Important to note that disability is not permanent; you will be made whole again: unlike the nihilistic view that nothing can be fixed. If you were poor or disabled, your local church would take you in: they choose who they will heal and often for very arbitrary reasons, no idealis(cid:373) a(cid:271)out be(cid:272)ket(cid:859)s perso(cid:374)alit(cid:455, miracles often the most important part of hagiography.
