Customer Reviews

Sex, Dissidence and Damnation: Minority Groups in the Middle Ages

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Much about this book intrigued me. The premise -- that a link exists between descriptions of outsiders such as heretics and Jews -- and sexual immorality. Certainly the gendered aspects of heterodox movements in the Middle Ages, such as the Beguines and the Lollards, have been explored in other texts. Often, those who existed outside the limits of the norm were characterized as sexually deviant in some way. Jewish men were believed supernaturally endowed; Lollard women were allowed to preach; non-Christian women were sexual viragos. However, the linguistic links between prostitutes, homosexual men, heretics, and those with leprosy (which in retrospect would seem obvious) have not been part of the parlance in medieval intellectual circles.

My only criticism of this text is that I'm not sure who the audience was intended to be. The first two chapters are elaborate -- if surface -- reviews of the historical context, much of which would be apparent to anyone who had had even a basic review course in medieval history. All of that information seems gleaned from secondary accounts, and little of it offers a unique or interesting perspective. Yet from the elaborate nature of the thesis, one would assume that the text was intended for a scholastic audience, one he could have reasonable expected to know this material.

To sum up, while the argument is interesting and novel, and very well proven, this is generally a text for a lay audience, not for those with a strong background in the field. I am considering using it for an undergraduate course text, as the writing style and contextual buildup are appropriate for that level, but I would double check the translations and use of primary sources.

This was actually a required reading for my class "Tolerance and persecution in the Middle Ages". Sadly I loaned my book out to a friend and he has never returned it. Unlike our other texts this book was very interesting taking the ideas of persecution through sex. Though I don't agree with everything it at least brought issues of the middle ages through a different persecutive. It has been awhile since I read this book, but for a required reading, it wasn't bad at all.

The author has produced a wide-ranging and attractive format for presenting his views. The material presented is very concise and crisp however Richards is often too compact and his arguments often shallow. This is an acceptable introduction however my greatest criticism lies in the sad absence of any footnotes and while the accompanying bibliography appears extensive and is frequently mentioned in the text-most entries date from the mid-1070's while the latest entries are dated from 1988-for others who are mathematically challenged 22-30 years ago. Good but outdated.

From the moment I saw the cover, I was hooked. I forget the name of the painting depicted on the book, but it's the one where the demons are carrying all the sinners to hell on Judgement day. Laughing demons, agonizing sinners - it caught my eye.

I have always been intrigued by how the Roman Catholic Church still maintains many ideas and doctrines from the Middle Ages. I had always felt this to be a backward time period and have often wondered how anything could have endured. This book gave me insight and was very addictive for a historical account.

Richard's focus was on minorities, how they were treated and why. The scary thing is that society as a whole shares many thoughts and actions with this backward era, not just the Church, especially with regard to sex. I found the relationship between virginity, rape, and homosexuality fascinating and frightening. Every time I wanted to dismiss the Middle age barbarians as that, I couldn't help to think of similar situations in our own time. I was also surprised at the hypocrisy of the era and what has survived today. Homosexuality was totally taboo among the poor yet completely accepted and encouraged among the rich. They were deceptively sexually progressive.

Richard did a great job. His descriptions of the times and situations that occurred are excellent. He lets the reader decide how to react to the information instead of steering you in either direction. Many of my social preconceptions were challenged. I also liked the adventure of relating modern parallels. I definitely recommend this book.