Misogamy

Misogamy is an aversion 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]

Not to be confused with Misogyny.

Medieval background

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

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.[3]

References
  1. misogamy. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  2. misogamy. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  3. Wilson, Katharina M. & Elizabeth M. Makowski. (1990) Wykked Wyves and the Woes of Marriage: Misogamous Literature from Juvenal to Chaucer. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 1. ISBN 079140062X
  4. Germanic Notes, Erasmus Press, 1989. p. 93.
  5. "Authority and Misogamy in Boccaccio's Trattatello in laude di Dante" by Sara E. Diaz in Olivia Holmes & Dana E. Stewart. (Eds.) (2018). Reconsidering Boccaccio: Medieval Contexts and Global Intertexts. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 164-188 (p. 169). ISBN 978-1-4875-0178-5.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)


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