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The Lord's First Night (Paperback, 2nd ed.)
Loot Price: R1,104
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The Lord's First Night (Paperback, 2nd ed.)
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From the late Middle Ages to "The Marriage of Figaro" to Mel
Gibson's "Braveheart," 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. The "droit de
cuissage" even resurfaced in the debate over the French Penal Code
of 1992 as a synonym for sexual harassment.
But, as Alain Boureau elegantly demonstrates in this book, the
"droit de cuissage" is a myth. Under contextual examination, nearly
all the supposed evidence for this custom melts away--yet belief in
it has survived for seven hundred years. Boureau shows how each era
turned the mythical custom to its own ends. For instance, in the
late Middle Ages, monarchists raised the specter of the "droit de
cuissage" 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.
A fascinating case study of the folklore of sexuality, "The Lord's
First Night" also offers evocative insights into popular
(mis)conceptions of the Middle Ages.
On the French edition: "A richly informative study of attitudes to
the past and the manipulation of history down the ages."--Peter
Linehan, "Times Literary Supplement"
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