THE LORD'S FIRST NIGHT by Alain Boureau, Lydia G. Cochrane (Trans) ( 9780226067421 )

Item Details

Title:

THE LORD'S FIRST NIGHT
THE MYTH OF THE DROIT DE CUISSAGE

By:

Alain Boureau, Lydia G. Cochrane (Trans)

Format:

Hardback

List price:

£85.00

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£76.50

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£8.50

ISBN 10:

0226067424

ISBN 13:

9780226067421

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Publisher:

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS

Pub. date:

24 June, 1998

Edition:

2nd ed.

Pages:

312

Translated from:

French

Description:

A case study of the folklore of sexuality, this text examines the myth of the "droit de cuissage" and how for seven hundred years each era used the mythical custom to its own ends in an insight into popular misconceptions of the Middle Ages.

Synopsis:

The ultimate symbol of feudal barbarism has been the "droit de cuissage" or right of a feudal Lord to sleep with the bride of a vassal on her wedding night. This text demonstrates that it is a myth, under contextual examination nearly all the evidence for this custom melts away, yet belief in it has survived for seven hundred years. The text shows how each era turned the mythical custom to its own ends, in the late Middle Ages monarchists raised the custom to rally public opinion against local lords, and partisans of the French Revolution pointed to it as proof of the corruption of the Ancien Regime.

Publication:

Imprint:

University of Chicago Press

Returns:

Returnable

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