Similia similibus: Queer Time in Thomas of Monmouth's Life and Miracles of St William of Norwich. (2nd January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wilson, Anna
• Is Part Of: Exemplaria. Volume 28:Number 1(2016)
• Page Start: 44
• Page End: 69
• Publication Date: 2016-01-02
• Subjects: analogy -- affective piety -- the medieval Jew -- typology -- historiography -- temporality -- William of Norwich -- Thomas of Monmouth -- queer theory; European literature -- Renaissance, 1450-1600 -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; Literature, Medieval -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; Middle Ages -- Periodicals; 809.0205
• DOI: Http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10412573.2016.1115623
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1041-2573

Abstract

Abstract : The Life and Miracles of St William of Norwich by Thomas of Monmouth is most notorious as the first example of a ritual murder accusation against a Jewish community in medieval England. However, the overwhelming focus on the Life 's place in a linear history of ever-increasing persecution has obscured the text's own interest in non-linear chronology and temporality. This article draws on recent discussions of temporality in queer theory to show how William's body becomes a point of temporal instability in the Life, and suggests a reconsideration of the figure of the child in queer readings of narrative time.