Medieval Movie: Exploring Race, Gender & Class in the Middle Ages - Essay Sample

Introduction

Race, Gender, and class are quoted at the beginning of Umberto Eco's Cinema, "Medieval" where "the Middle Ages are associated with a sort of mythological Stage, where its characters are placed according to the issues found in the contemporary society." (p.2) As the film continues, authors make a vibrant claim that film "Medieval" bares the right information about the Middle ages period and contains the reality to the hegemonies, masculinity, race and gender ideologies." (p.2) A clear attribution of the Race, Gender and class is evidential in the films stealing heaven and Lion in winter where the characters in both of the two films, has a clear indication of different ways of living to the people of a middle Age period. Arguably, a clear depiction of fortune associated with the family during the middle age is said to be a result of the appreciation of kings and Queens, for they are said to have conquered in the name of the family.

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Institutions have a high dominance concerning the middle age Society concept. Regardless of the hegemony notion, some of the women have been naturally flawless and modernized even during their living. Such character is elaborated in a storyline of two couples, Heloise d’Argenteuil, has an affair with Peter Abelard, Eleanor of Aquitaine who is married to King Henry II. In both of these two love affairs, there is a depiction of race, class and gender related issues in the respective relationship. In the case of Peter Abelard and Heloise dÁrgenteuil, there is an evidence of class related issue since Heloise d’Argenteuil is said to an urban woman from a small classed background in Paris and seems to challenge the middle age class due to her achievement in profound education and a viable love affair with Peter Abelard (1079-1142). Meanwhile, Peter Abelard is a French philosopher, and it is apparent that he is in loving intuition with Heloise dÁrgenteuil. They end up conceiving one child before the relationship comes in parting reputation. On the other side, Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) was a Queen to the Duchess of Aquitaine during different times in both England and France, where she finally chooses to overthrow her Husband to become a queen. Subsequently, the two couples are the characters displayed in the film Lion in winter (1968), on Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, and stealing Heaven (1988). Furthermore, there is a clear demonstration of relationship hindering issues such as hegemonies and institution in association with Middle age- gender ideologies.

In the film Lion in winter, when Eleanor told king Henry II that she would do anything to take Aquitaine back, she seems to be selfish, but in real life, she is just imposing a challenge to the king film Lion in winter. "She was just, imposing and modest, humbles and elegant." Similarly, in "Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen consort of France and England" by Regine Pernoud, Eleanor accompanied her Husband, Luis, to a crusade to protect Jerusalem as a holy place. During this time, egocentricity is portrayed in Eleanor as she accompanies King unwillingly since it was not for her benefit. Meanwhile, Heloise acted differently and decided to make love with her lover Abelard. Besides, in real life, she was a devoted wife who will do everything and anything for her Husband for a woman should be dedicated to serving their Husband. Initially, I will take a stance on how medieval society was dominated by hegemonies and institutions and how it is different from the current focus on individuality and agency. Subsequently, I will outline women's lives in the Middle Ages before progressing on to an examination of Heloise Argenteuil's life and later look at the life of Eleanor dÁquitaine and how she was a portrait in her relations with both men and women in the film. Finally, I will explore how they participated in pushing the boundaries of the institutions and hegemonies that dominated their lives.

In the films, Lion in the winter and Stealing heaven, women held positions of wife, mother peasant, and the time when being a Queens was a dominant position to women during middle Aged period. Heloise was a reader, scholar, and philosopher, although the film doesn't unveil about her being romantic. Heloise spoke on three different languages and can write, giving an account of a profound literate person. In the film stealing Heaven, Heloise was attached to her lover Abelard, who was her teacher. Heloise, who had a strong religious foundation, was to become a nun in her future, and for that reason, Heloise's uncle was not interested in her affection to Abelard. Nothing in the movie shows her intellectual side but rather a woman who acts on the agency. The video shows that Heloise was giving in or perhaps seducing Abelard, which can affect his faith and belief, but in one of her letters, Heloise explains how she used to resist Abelard's temptation. At the beginning of the film, Heloise was portrait-like as a person who challenges the church and someone who is not too interested in religion. "He was an important abbess in a period when abbess was declining in educational attainment and social prominence." Although the film manipulates Heloise's portrait to fit the modern era, she was far much better. Predominantly, the film Lion in winter has a similar portrayal of hegemony through character Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204).

According to excerpts from the Letters of Abelard and Heloise, the notion of a Woman is demonstrated with a responsibility of catering and offering the best to her family and fighting for the societal needs. "..... we are proletarians in the real sense that we are, by and large, dependent upon wages paid us for our labors, rather than being stewards of a family resource that supports us and that we hope will support our children and grandchildren." The proletariat is the class of wage-earners in an industrial society whose only possession comes from labor-power. Vibrantly, hegemonies, and the various institution that portray hegemonism is absent in contemporary society. Vibrantly, the concurrent culture is dictated by the amount of income that one can make to survive. Inherently, the current community is predominantly under the survival of the fittest slogan, where everyone is ranged by a class determined by the degree of his striving. According to excerpts from the Letters of Abelard and Heloise, Eleanor’s interaction with King Henry and her sons made her look selfish. She's the ruler and adversaries since all of them are fighting for the throne. Eleanor, who is after inheriting her Husband's royalty for the betterment of England's future, uses her son Richard to build a bridge towards sovereignty gain. Even though King Henry wants to leave his kinship to his son, Eleanor is eagerly and prepared to represent hegemony in the middle age society.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, Heloise and Eleanor of Aquitaine were two extraordinary women portrayed in the films, stealing Heaven, and Lion in winter to depict the hegemonic character in women as a way of encouraging women on their capabilities in the contemporary society. The hegemony power is attributed in the middle age, where an individual's position depends on his\her respective background. Regarding the middle age, a woman through the family," Eleanor's father, a wealthy and a prosperous Duke who settles in sensitive areas of Aquitaine, left all his possessions to her. He made sure that even while married, she would still have some control over her lands and revert to herself in case of a divorce. However, it was rare for a woman to bear such high supremacy; in the middle age, Eleanor is seen attributed with high power and had the best during her time, making her be in the same class with King and the supreme lords of then. Subsequently, Eleanor acted in a similar way to the King. Since she has all it entails as a hegemonic icon, she pushes the boundaries set for a woman, especially wives, by defying all odds that are hardened to restrict a woman from becoming the best person she wants to be.

Works Cited

Abelard, Peter, and Heloise Argenteuil. Excerpts from The Letters of Abelard and Heloise. Trans. Betty Radice. Sacred Texts. http://sacred-texts.com/chr/aah/aah06.htm (last accessed on…)

Peter of Blois. "Letter 154 to Queen Eleanor, 1173, an Attempt to Chastise her." Trans. M. Markowski. Fordham University. Medieval Sourcebook. http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/source/eleanor.asp (last accessed on...)

Berman, Constance H. "Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Quarrel over Medieval Woman's Power." The University of Iowa https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1180&context (last accessed on…)

Pernoud, Regine. "Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen Consort of France and England. "Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eleanor-of-Aquitaine (last accessed on May)

Ramsey, Lynn T., and Tison Pugh. Introduction" to Race, Class, and Gender in Medieval cinema. Eds.

Lynn T. Ramsey and Tison Pugh. New York, NY: Palgrave, Macmillan, 2007, 1-12. Searles, Eleanor. "Woman and Marriage in Medieval Society. "Engineering and Science 44(1881):16-19

Films:

Lion in Winter. Dir. Anthony Harvey. Avco Embassy, 1968.

Stealing Heaven. Dir. Clive Donner. Amy International, 1988.