Poet Heroines in Medieval French Narrative: Gender and Fictions of Literary Creation

Introduction: Authors, Writers, Singers, and Women: Gendering Literary Creation in Medieval French Culture PART I: FROM MINSTREL HEROINE TO POET HEROINE: THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY AND BEYOND 1. Singing from a Woman's Body: Minstrel Heroines as Performers and Texts 2. The Parrot and the Swan: Performance and Composition in Sone de Nansay PART II: DANGEROUS MUSES: TOUTE BELLE AND HER SISTERS IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY DIT 3. Competing Perspectives: Guillaume de Machaut's Voir Dit 4. A Contemporary Reaction to the Voir Dit: Deadly Words and Captive Imaginations in Jean Froissart's Prison Amoureuse PART III: WOMEN AT THE ORIGINS: FIFTEENTH CENTURY PROSE ROMANCE 5. Verbal Prowess: Women's Artistry and Men's Chivalry in Perceforest 6. Women Writers and the Monstrous Author in Ysaÿe le Triste Conclusion: What About Christine?