Title: Women of the Gilte legende : a selection of Middle English saints lives /
Authors: Jacobus, approximately 1229-1298; Tracy, Larissa, 1974-
Publisher: D.S. Brewer,
Year: 2003
Subjects: Christian women saints Biography
Abstract: Prose translation of a selection of women saints' lives from the Gilte Legende, the Middle English version of Jacobus de Voragine's Legenda Aurea; the female saints lives are divided into: the 'ryght hooly virgins', who vocally defend their bodies against Roman persecution; 'holy mothers', who give up their traditional role to pursue a life of contemplation; the 'repentant sinners', who convert and voice their defiance against a society that demanded silence in women; and the 'holy transvestites', who cast off their gender identity to find absolution and salvation.
Contents: Introduction -- Saint Christina -- Saint Dorothy -- Saint Margaret of Antioch -- Saint Paula -- Saint Elizabeth of Hungary -- Mary Magdalene -- Saint Thais, Courtesan -- Saint Marina -- Saint Theodora -- Saint Pelagia -- Saint Margaret, Pelagia -- Interpretive Essay: Silence and Speech in the Female Lives of the Gilte Legende and their Influence on the Lives of Ordinary Medieval Women