| Description |
Blood in the medieval period was much more than simply red fluid in human veins. Defined diversely by theologians, medics, satirists and dramatists, it was matter, text, waste, cure, soul, God, and the means by which relationships were defined, sacramentalised and destroyed. Blood was also a controversial ingredient in the production of matter, from organic and medical to mechanical and alchemical. Debates about the nature and function of blood raised questions about the limits of identity, God’s will for his creatures, science’s encounter with the self, and the structure of families and communities, and its impact was felt in artistic constructions on stage, in print, and on canvas. Discussions will cover a range of topics including blood and revenge, blood and gender, blood and genre, royal blood, blood and wounding, blood and race, blood on the stage, blood and witchcraft, blood and sacrifice. 5.09 medical blood: spontaneous bleeding 22.09 medical blood: women, menstruation and lactation 29.09 bleeding trees and bleeding heroes: Dream of the Rood 06.10 bloody knights: Malory’s Sir Perceval, Sir Urry 13.10 Jewish blood: the Croxton Play of the Sacrament 20.10 sacramental blood: the Croxton Play II 27.10 blood and the Grail: Chretien de Troyes 03.11 contemplative blood: Julian 10.11 affective blood: passion lyrics 17.11 bloody sheets, bloody cloths 24.11 blood and witches, blood and kings 01.12 stage blood 08.12 No class 15.12 Conclusions |