This thesis is about the portrayal of women’s sexuality in two thirteenth-century texts: a letter in support of virginity known as Hali Meiðhad (1215-1220), and a guide for medieval religious women...Show moreThis thesis is about the portrayal of women’s sexuality in two thirteenth-century texts: a letter in support of virginity known as Hali Meiðhad (1215-1220), and a guide for medieval religious women known as Ancrene Wisse(1224-1230). It is interesting to see how these texts handle the subject of women’s sexuality, as their audiences were bound by vocation to remain virgins. The women for who these texts were written already knew the rules and regulations of their chosen vocation and, in theory, they should not have needed to be warned about acting upon their sexuality. This thesis explores whether both texts reflect the broader views of their time in their encouragements of virginity, and in their criticisms of marriage and lesbianism, and this is the goal of this thesis.Show less