Between sin and mitigating factor: defining and constructing 'drunkenness' in late medieval Europe, 1140-1500
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2020-02-07
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en
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Contrary to what one might believe, drunkenness was actually considered a highly complex phenomenon in the Middle Ages. Inspired by the notion of ‘indeterminacy’, this thesis investigates how a variety of meanings of drunkenness were constructed and utilized in the late Middle Ages (1140-1500). The first part focuses on learned theories in canon law and scholasticism that distinguish different types of drunkenness, and suggests that these theories were transmitted to less learned audiences through the realm of penance. These lay audiences are at the heart of the second part, which focuses on the ways drunkenness was given meaning by framing in late 14th-century French letters of remission. The third part of the thesis, finally, further complicates the notion of a ‘meaning’ of drunkenness in showing that ‘drunkenness’ in the case of medieval university students could refer to an hypothetical drunkenness that was nonetheless based on actual student drinking practices.
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