Warrior queens, courtly lovers, monstrous sinners, divine goddesses, tortured martyrs, beguiling sorceresses, ecstatic visionaries, victims of rape: these are just a few of the roles women often played in medieval literature, and sometimes in medieval life. In Minding the Body, Monica Brzezinski Potkay and Regula Meyer Evitt explore the complex relationship between medieval literature and reality, and consider the extent to which legend imitated life.

Female characters are less often portraits of actual women, the authors explain, than representations of medieval cultures idea of an abstract "feminine." Potkay and Evitt study the medieval feminine as defined by both male and female authors, with special attention to Marie de France, Geoffrey Chaucer, Julian of Norwich, and Margery Kempe.

This is a balanced account: Potkay and Evitt outline how deeply entrenched misogyny was in medieval society, while they examine the opportunities open to women in religious and secular life. With solid scholarship and lively prose, the authors succeed in uncovering both the perceptions and realities of female life in medieval Europe.

This inclusive survey of current medieval scholarship has the non-specialist in mind, and the authors' forthright and engaging tone will enliven readers' encounters with this dynamic area of study. In addition, as the first comprehensive analysis of the role of gender in major texts written by both men and women in medieval England, this study will be of value to experts in the field of medieval studies.