Criticism & Theory, Medieval, Feminist, Feminist Theory, Women Writers 

Was femininity in early Irish society perceived as weak and sinful, innately inferior to masculinity? Was it perceived as powerful and dangerous, a threat to the peace and tranquility of male society? Or was therea more nuanced view, an understanding that femininity, or femininities, could be presented in a variety of ways according to the pragmatic concerns of the writers of the sources? This book examines the sources surviving fromfifth- to ninth-century Ireland to offer a fresh view of authorial perceptions of the period. It seeks to highlight the complexities of those perceptions, the significance of authorial aims and purposes in the construction of femininity, and the potential disjunction between societal 'reality' and the images presented to us in the sources. This careful analysis of a broad range of early Irish sources demonstrates how fluid constructions of gender couldbe, and presents a new interpretation of the position of femininity in the thought world of early Irish authors. - from Amzon