Books by R. Howard Bloch

Until now the advent of Western romantic love has been seen as a liberation from--or antidote to--ten centuries of misogyny. In this major contribution to gender studies, R. Howard Bloch demonstrates how similar the ubiquitous antifeminism of medieval times and the romantic idealization of woman actually are.

Offers a reconception of the person generally assumed to be the first woman writer in French, the woman referred to as Marie de France in contemporary times. This book considers almost all of the writing ascribed to Marie, including her famous "Lais", her 103 animal fables, and the earliest vernacular, "Saint Patrick's Purgatory".