Publisher's Synopsis
This volume contains translations of Richard de Fournival's ""Bestiary of Love"" and its anonymous ""Response"", with the aim making these medieval examinations of the nature love more accessible to both the student and general reader. Both these works constitute more than a 13th-century love argument between a man and a woman, a clash between Aristotelian and neo-Platonist views of sex and love and a conflict between social, theological and racial traditions. Rather, they reflect problems that are universal to every age: the divergence of male and female expectations; ""love""; sexual dominance; sexual roles and duties; and sexual exploitation. Furthermore, the ""Response"" contains details - not always flattering - of female methods of self preservation, in a society where women were vulnerable. Jeanette Beer's preface, written specially for this edition, places the work in its historical and literary context. It demonstrates how Richard de Fournival drew from a number of traditions to compose his revolutionary treatise, and how the anonymous author of the ""Response"" refutes his arguments in defence of womankind.
