#49: The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society with Eleanor Janega

Sounds About Right: Audiobooks to Help Us Understand the World

Eleanor's current research focuses on the conceptualisation of sex and its influence on society in the medieval and early modern period.
She speacialises in sexuality, propaganda, apocalypticism, urbanity, and empire, in the late medieval and early modern periods, with a particular emphasis on Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire. She holds a PhD in History and an MA in Medieval Studies from University College London, and a BA in History from Loyola University Chicago.
I spoke to her about her latest book The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society

Some of the topics we discussed includes:

• How heavily has the medieval period influenced societies ideas of women today?
• How the medievals were influenced by ancient Greece? and what were the similarities between medieval and Christian text
• The influence of literature, most notably: The Canterbury Tales and Courtly Love
• Why were the medievals so vague when describing woman's beauty?
• The medieval theologians thoughts on sex and how at the time the common belief was that women had an insatiable desire for it.
• Do we still have a long way to go when it comes to breaking down barriers of objectifying women?

The Book and Audiobook: The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society is out now.
You can also find out more about Eleanor and her projects via her linktree: https://linktr.ee/EleanorJanega

Or follow her on twitter @GoingMedieval

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