Misogamy
Misogamy is an aversion to or hatred of marriage. The word dates from the mid-17th century and combines the Greek misos (hatred) with gamos (marriage).[1] Merriam-Webster date the first use of the word to around 1656.[2]
Medieval background
[edit | edit source]The idea of misogamy was important in the Christian church during the medieval period as a prerequisite for the celibacy required to occupy the highest positions in the church.[3] It was developed in the philosophy of Theophrastus who became the "canonical authority on philosophic misogamy throughout the Middle Ages".[4] Sara E. Diaz writes that two types of misogamy existed during the period, one advising all men against marriage, and another more limited form advising wise men against marriage.[5]
In literature
[edit | edit source]The literature of misogamy has been surveyed by Katharina Wilson and Elizabeth Makowski in their book Wykked Wyves and the Woes of Marriage: Misogamous Literature from Juvenal to Chaucer, published by the State University of New York in 1990.[6]
See also
[edit | edit source]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ misogamy. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
- ^ misogamy. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
- ^ Wilson & Makowski 1990, p. 1.
- ^ Germanic Notes, Erasmus Press, 1989. p. 93.
- ^ "Authority and Misogamy in Boccaccio's Trattatello in laude di Dante" by Sara E. Diaz in Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Wilson & Makowski 1990.
Sources
[edit | edit source]- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
