Individual Presentation or Panel Title
Dark Sacred Night: The Song of Songs and Erotic Discourse in Medieval Literature
Abstract
This senior honors thesis focuses on the medieval exegetical treatment of the Song of Songs and the proliferation of erotic discourse during the 12th and 13th centuries which was influenced by the song. The thesis examines whether the eroticized metaphor of lovers in the song was used by religious writers in the 12th and 13th centuries to represent the relationship between God and the church. This thesis first examines the song in context by defining its structure and textual position in the Bible, early patristic writings on the subject of Christian sexuality, medieval exegesis on the song, and finally the use of similar erotic language in later medieval religious writing. This examination is focused on such primary texts as the song and medieval homilies on the song, writings of patristic authors such as St. Augustine, Tertullian, and Origen, and later religious mystic and ecstatic writings by St. Gertrude the Great, Mechthilde of Madgeburg, Julian of Norwich, and Margery Kempe. This thesis offers conclusive evidence for the use of erotic discourse in religious writing representing the relationship between God and the church or God and the Christian devotee, as well as the profound influence of the song on medieval religious literature.
Location
Goodwin Private Dining Room
Start Date
11-4-2015 2:30 PM
End Date
11-4-2015 3:20 PM
Dark Sacred Night: The Song of Songs and Erotic Discourse in Medieval Literature
Goodwin Private Dining Room
This senior honors thesis focuses on the medieval exegetical treatment of the Song of Songs and the proliferation of erotic discourse during the 12th and 13th centuries which was influenced by the song. The thesis examines whether the eroticized metaphor of lovers in the song was used by religious writers in the 12th and 13th centuries to represent the relationship between God and the church. This thesis first examines the song in context by defining its structure and textual position in the Bible, early patristic writings on the subject of Christian sexuality, medieval exegesis on the song, and finally the use of similar erotic language in later medieval religious writing. This examination is focused on such primary texts as the song and medieval homilies on the song, writings of patristic authors such as St. Augustine, Tertullian, and Origen, and later religious mystic and ecstatic writings by St. Gertrude the Great, Mechthilde of Madgeburg, Julian of Norwich, and Margery Kempe. This thesis offers conclusive evidence for the use of erotic discourse in religious writing representing the relationship between God and the church or God and the Christian devotee, as well as the profound influence of the song on medieval religious literature.