Skip to content

purple motes

Artifacts to help you imagine more.

  • subscribe by email
  • how to navigate
  • topic index
  • about Douglas Galbi
  • terms of use / disclaimer

Highlights

  • Abelard castrated
  • Byzantine wife saves husband
  • Amphitryon & Geta duped
  • Chastelaine de Vergi tragedy
  • Aristotle’s advice to Alexander
  • Empress Theodora: woman leader
  • Tristan & Isuet
  • Xanthippe & Socrates
  • New Modern Sexism Scale

Sindibad / Seven Sages

Sindibad / Seven Sages is a framed corpus of stories of men’s sexed protest. In the frame tale, a king threatens to execute his son when the queen falsely accuses this prince of sexual assault. A wise man or seven sages defend the prince when he is silenced. Justice ultimate prevails when the queen’s false accusation is clearly refuted. The Sindibad / Seven Sages corpus originated in Sanskrit in India more than 2000 years ago. By about 800 years ago, it had diffused into Persian, Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Latin, and European vernaculars. The corpus goes by various names: Book of Sindibad / Sindbad, Sendebar, The Fables of Syntipas, the Book of the Philosopher Syntipas, Dolopathos, History of the Seven Wise Masters {Historia Septem Sapientium}, Compendium of Seven Sages {Recueil des Sept Sages}, and the Romance of the Seven Sages of Rome {Roman des sept sages de Rome}. Uniting this corpus is the important theme of men’s vulnerability to women’s false accusations of sexual offenses.

faithful, baby-saving dog Saint Guinefort was male

The medieval dog Saint Guinefort saved a baby, yet was wrongly punished. Guinefort was a male with lived experience that men today know well. … Read the post faithful, baby-saving dog Saint Guinefort was male

Matthew of Vendôme’s Milo: poetic justice for low-status men

Revising Leo of the eastern Seven Sages corpus, Matthew of Vendôme’s Latin comedy Milo promotes respect and poetic gender-justice for low-status men. … Read the post Matthew of Vendôme’s Milo: poetic justice for low-status men

marriage encomium in dialog with Lidia in Chaucer’s Merchant’s Tale

Within the extensive intertexuality and dialog of Chaucer’s Merchant’s Tale, the Latin comedy Lidia provides the implicit voice for its marriage encomium. … Read the post marriage encomium in dialog with Lidia in Chaucer’s Merchant’s Tale

dog is man’s best friend in medieval Latin literature

Within circumstances of betrayal in domestic human relations, medieval Latin literature figured a dog as man’s best friend. … Read the post dog is man’s best friend in medieval Latin literature

seven sages at Ostia offer wisdom in shitting

In an ancient tavern in Ostia Antica, wall paintings depict seven sages and twenty ordinary men seated at a public latrine. They speak of shitting. … Read the post seven sages at Ostia offer wisdom in shitting

Posts navigation

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Next page