Valiant knights. Chaste virgins. Bawdy widows. Our notions of gender and sexuality in the Middle Ages tend to come from Hollywood and the History Channel. But are they accurate?

Three medieval scholars from the University of Missouri-Kansas City discuss their findings in the final installment of a series exploring connections between contemporary issues and Middle Age concepts of race, gender, and identity. The period, they say, was more enlightened on gender roles, sexuality, and attitudes on authority and power than we think.

Virginia Blanton is chair of the English Department at UMKC. Kathy Krause is a French professor in the Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures. Linda Mitchell is the Martha Jane Phillips Starr Missouri Distinguished Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies. Co-presented by UMKC’s Medieval and Early Modern Studies program.

For presentation slides, click here.