Medieval LOLs: Dame Syrith

As Mary and Irina discussed in the previous episode of Medieval LOLs, fabliaux had an enormous influence on Chaucer, but outside of his work, only one survives in Middle English. Dame Syrith, a story of lust, deception and a mustard-eating dog, is medieval humour at its silliest and most troubling. Mary and Irina explore the surprising representations of old women, magic and consent in fabliaux, the poem’s possible role as a pedagogical tool, and medieval audiences’ love for the procuress trope. Read Dame Syrith here: https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/salisbury-trials-and-joys-dame-sirth Sign up to listen to this series ad free and all our subscriber series in full, including Mary and Irina's twelve-part series Medieval Beginnings: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/medlolapplesignup In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/medlolscsignup Further reading in the LRB: Irina Dumitrescu: Making My Moan https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n09/irina-dumitrescu/making-my-moan Tom Shippey: Women Beware Midwives https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v12/n09/tom-shippey/women-beware-midwives Get in touch: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices