Date of Award
8-2005
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
History
First Advisor
Dr. Robert F. Berkhofer III
Second Advisor
Dr. Judith Stone
Third Advisor
Dr. James Palmitessa
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Marion Gray
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
The thesis examines the treatment of fatherhood in Thomas of Cantimpré's Liber de Natura Rerum, Bartholomaeus Anglicus' De Proprietatibus Rerum, and Vincent of Beauvais' Speculum Maius, all of whom were influential mendicant encyclopedists writing between 1240 and 1260. The study examines sections on anatomy, the ages of man, family relations, and the theology of marriage. The thesis argues that the anatomical concept of heat functioned as a metaphor for masculinity, strength and intelligence, and linked together such aspects of fatherhood as the father's formative role in conception and the responsibility to instill virtue in and provide for the child, as well as broader concepts of household management and political government.
Recommended Citation
Grace, Philip, "Aspects of Fatherhood in Thirteenth-Century Encyclopedias" (2005). Masters Theses. 5059.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/5059