IMC 2021: Sessions

Session 1723: The Many Beckets, I: Power and Gender

Thursday 8 July 2021, 14.15-15.45

Sponsor:	School of History, Archaeology & Religion, Cardiff University
Organiser:	Paul Webster, School of History, Archaeology & Religion, Cardiff University
Moderator/Chair:	John Jenkins, Centre for the Study of Christianity & Culture, University of York
Paper 1723-a	A Woman of Judgement: Thomas Becket and the Empress Matilda (Language: English) Cary J. Nederman, Department of Political Science, Texas A&M University, College Station Karen Bollermann, Department of English, Arizona State University Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Gender Studies, Politics and Diplomacy
Paper 1723-b	'This Becket which is not one': An Irigarayan Reading of La vie de saint Thomas Becket (Language: English) Rebecca Courtier, Churchill College University of Cambridge Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Gender Studies, Language and Literature - Comparative, Language and Literature - French or Occitan
Paper 1723-c	'Men are God's trees and women are God's flowers': Gender Portayal in Tennyson's Becket (Language: English) Kay Slocum, Department of History, Capital University, Ohio Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Gender Studies, Medievalism and Antiquarianism, Performance Arts - Drama
Abstract	Thomas Becket was born in 1120 (at least by current scholarly surmise); he was murdered 851 years ago in Canterbury Cathedral; and his remains were translated to his shrine in July 1220. Across three sessions (originally intended for the triple jubilee year of 2020), we will explore aspects of the life, cult, and legacy of St Thomas. This first session examines themes of gender and power, beginning with the relationship between Becket and King Henry II's mother, the Empress Matilda, before exploring a feminist reconfiguration of Becket's memorialisation in medieval French literature, and the construction of Rosamund Clifford and Eleanor of Aquitaine in Tennyson's play, Becket, in the Victorian era.