Poet Heroines in Medieval French Narrative: Gender and Fictions of Literary Creation

Studies of women and writing frequently take historical woman authors as their starting point, reading through the feminine signature and the biological trace that it is assumed to represent. Poet Heroines in Medieval French Narrative proposes a different approach, looking instead at the numerous fictional female characters of 13th-15th century French narrative who are portrayed as composing and performing poetry, and whose gendered literary activity links writing, singing, the body, and performance. Such figures represent a promising new area of exploration in women's literary history, one based on the texts themselves rather than the uncertain circumstances of their composition.