Dear Bright Listeners,
A medieval feminist tale and poem written by men! What? Yes, so says history anyway!
If you are not familiar with the story of Dame Ragnelle and Sir Gawain,welcome here! Come set your weary bones down and have a listen. If you are familiar, or have vague memories flashing back from high school lit class, you are also welcome. This 6oo year old tale and the question it begs are still powerfully & absolutely relevant today - strangely and sadly too.
Thank you for opening your ears and eyes here for this full blood & worm moon story, on A Year & A Day - a 13 month journey through the cyclical seasons of women’s lives; archetypally and literally from maiden, to mother, to mage to crone. We are winding up Crone season with this tale.
A story which was born from the 15th century poem, The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, which sprouted from an even older story - The Wife of Baths Tale, from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales in the late 14th century. Tis a worthy rabbit hole if there ever was one!
The original tale (The Wife of Bath) challenges the double standard, the socialized and conditioned belief in the inferiority of women. It also sets out to create a defense, upholding women's sovereignty and opposing the conventions of the time, drawing attention to the imbalance of power in a male-dominant society. Sound familiar? This was written over 600 years ago.
Thank you for your bright listening! Please share comments below.
What does sovereignty taste, sound, feel, look like for you, in your life?
Please share! Things are moving and rising. Stay with your sovereignty. Stay connected with what nourishes and lights you up, and love, love, love up your peoples.
Yours in the ongoing,
Love,
Tracy
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Sources:
Crane, Susan (1 January 1987). Alison's Incapacity and Poetic Instability in the Wife of Bath's Tale. PMLA. 102 (1): 20–28.
Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature: the Wife of Bath and All Her Sect. p. 75.
image by Frank Lampard
