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IMC 2019: Sessions

Session 1610: Fertility and Infertility, II: Royal Infertility and Childlessness

Thursday 4 July 2019, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Exeter
Organiser:Catherine Rider, Department of History, University of Exeter
Moderator/Chair:Catherine Rider, Department of History, University of Exeter
Paper 1610-aChildlessness: Failure or Virtue - The Case of Count Charles 'the Good' of Flanders
(Language: English)
Martina Häcker, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds / Seminar für Anglistik, Universität Siegen
Index terms: Gender Studies, Historiography - Medieval, Sexuality
Paper 1610-bDevotion of a Childless King: Royal Infertility and Religious Patronage in 13th- to 14th-Century Scotland
(Language: English)
Emma Trivett, School of History, Classics & Archaeology, University of Edinburgh
Index terms: Lay Piety, Religious Life, Sexuality, Women's Studies
Paper 1610-cTrue Men and Women?: Infertility and Gender Identity of Late Medieval English Monarchs
(Language: English)
Kristen Geaman, Department of History, University of Southern California
Index terms: Gender Studies, Lay Piety, Sexuality, Women's Studies
Abstract

The history of infertility is a growing area of study, for the Middle Ages and for other periods. Recent work has examined medical and (less often) religious views of infertility, as well as the experiences of those seeking to conceive. This is the second of two sessions that bring together medievalists working on these topics from a range of perspectives. The first session looks at medical and religious writing on infertility, in order to uncover learned writers' views of the subject and their relationship to practice. This second session looks at some of the best documented cases of infertility, among medieval kings and queens.