Höfert, Almut; Mesley, Mattew; Tolino, Serena (eds.) (2019). Celibate and Childless Men in Power: Ruling Eunuchs and Bishops in the Pre-Modern World. New York: Routdlege
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)This book explores a striking common feature of pre-modern ruling systems on a global scale: the participation of childless and celibate men as integral parts of the elites. In bringing court eunuchs and bishops together, this collection shows that the integration of men who were normatively or physically excluded from biological fatherhood offered pre-modern dynasties the potential to use different reproduction patterns. The shared focus on ruling eunuchs and bishops also reveals that these men had a specific position at the intersection of four fields: power, social dynamics, sacredness and gender/masculinities. The thirteen chapters present case studies on clerics in Medieval Europe and court eunuchs in the Middle East, Byzantium, India and China. They analyze how these men in their different frameworks acted as politicians, participated in social networks, provided religious authority, and discuss their masculinities. Taken together, this collection sheds light on the political arena before the modern nation-state excluded these unmarried men from the circles of political power.
Item Type: |
Book (Edited Volume) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Art and Cultural Studies > Institut für Studien zum Nahen Osten und zu muslimischen Gesellschaften |
UniBE Contributor: |
Tolino, Serena |
Subjects: |
200 Religion > 290 Other religions 900 History 900 History > 940 History of Europe 900 History > 950 History of Asia 900 History > 960 History of Africa 900 History > 990 History of other areas |
ISBN: |
9780367880569 |
Publisher: |
Routdlege |
Funders: |
[4] Swiss National Science Foundation |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Serena Tolino |
Date Deposited: |
10 Mar 2023 17:19 |
Last Modified: |
10 Mar 2023 23:26 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
gender, masculinity, slavery, eunuchs, bishops, power |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/179760 |
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