Skip to main content
Aller à la page d’accueil de la Commission européenne (s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)
français fr
CORDIS - Résultats de la recherche de l’UE
CORDIS

Rethinking medieval and modern sexualities through the ‘harlot saint’ Thais

Description du projet

Sainte ou pécheresse? Réexaminer l’histoire de Thaïs

Au Moyen Âge, la figure de Thaïs, une prostituée devenue sainte, a suscité de vives réactions. Son histoire, qui met en scène une femme repentie et recluse, s’entrecroise avec les complexités du sexe, de la religion et de la conversion. Soutenu par le programme Actions Marie Skłodowska-Curie, le projet THAISIS explore les usages et les abus de ce récit, en examinant comment il a fonctionné dans la culture européenne médiévale et comment les chercheurs modernes peuvent aborder ce conte complexe. Le projet souhaite mettre en lumière la manière dont des histoires aussi provocantes continuent de résonner aujourd’hui. THAISIS entend créer une monographie novatrice et des initiatives d’engagement public pour favoriser des conversations plus approfondies sur des aspects difficiles de l’histoire.

Objectif

This project examines the uses, abuses, and controversies of the early Christian figure of Thais, sex worker turned saint, as a transformative lens onto the complex cultural intersection of sex and religion in the Middle Ages. THAISIS aims to answer two questions: how did this severe, shocking narrative, depicting a repentant woman walled up as a recluse, function across medieval European culture as a representation of sex work, conversion, and religious solitude? And how can modern scholars and others engage more productively with such a difficult, even offensive story?
My research into Thais, an understudied example of the 'harlot saint' trope which originated in the stories about the early Christian Desert Fathers, pays attention both to the medieval incarnations of her life and identity, and to how she has evolved beyond the Middle Ages. My methodology incorporates the concerns of the burgeoning field of medievalism studies, along with more traditional literary and historical methods, to create a picture of the Thais figure as it evolved and continues to evolve. This was a story calculated to provoke strong reactions in its own time, and it continues to do so in the modern day, from the cynical novel portrait by Anatole France in 1895, to the portrayal of Thais's story as a psychodrama under patriarchy in Time's Up, Jenna Soleo-Shanks's 2019 adaptation of the tenth-century play by Hrotsvit of Gandersheim.
Building on foundational work carried out during two short research fellowships, THAISIS will develop and refine my ongoing research into this saint and her story towards two key goals: shaping and completing a groundbreaking monograph on Thais's role in medieval and postmedieval literature and religious culture, and developing public engagement opportunities to bring the difficulties and complexities of her story to a wider audience, offering new ways to engage with aspects of history that disturb or even offend.

Champ scientifique (EuroSciVoc)

Mots‑clés

Programme(s)

Thème(s)

Régime de financement

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

Voir tous les projets financés dans le cadre de ce programme de financement

Appel à propositions

(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01

Voir tous les projets financés au titre de cet appel

Coordinateur

UNIVERSITETET I BERGEN
Contribution nette de l'UE
€ 251 578,56
Coût total
Aucune donnée