Izvestiya of Saratov University.

History. International Relations

ISSN 1819-4907 (Print)
ISSN 2542-1913 (Online)

For citation:

Sirotkina A. A. Feminine and Effeminate: Perception of gender norms in 12th-century Anglo-Norman Historical Writing. Izvestiya of Saratov University. History. International Relations, 2025, vol. 25, iss. 1, pp. 31-37. DOI: 10.18500/1819-4907-2025-25-1-31-37, EDN: IKTMVI

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0).
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Russian
Heading: 
Всеобщая история
Article type: 
Article
UDC: 
930(410)|11|:305
DOI: 
10.18500/1819-4907-2025-25-1-31-37
EDN: 
IKTMVI

Feminine and Effeminate: Perception of gender norms in 12th-century Anglo-Norman Historical Writing

Autors: 
Sirotkina Anastasiia Andreevna,
Abstract: 

The article examines how Anglo-Norman chroniclers of the first half of the 12th century wrote about condemned male and female behavior. The subject of study is the works of the most significant historians of the era – William of Malmesbury, John of Worcester, Henry of Huntingdon and Orderic Vitalis. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that vivid stories involving heroes whose behavior does not correspond to the normative masculine and feminine, within the framework of the historical narrative, had the purpose not only to instruct, warn and entertain readers, but also served as an important tool for explaining the turning points of the English past.

Key words: 
William of Malmesbury
Orderic Vitalis
John of Worcester
Henry of Huntingdon
Anglo-Norman historical writing
gender behavior
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Received: 
22.07.2024
Accepted: 
10.11.2024
Published: 
31.03.2025
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