Iona Lister

I study how medieval ideas and stories change across time and between languages. My SSHRC-funded dissertation examines literary works from medieval England that conceptually link mouths, reproductive organs, and sometimes wounds in discussions of hierarchical power structures. Looking specifically at the Old English riddles, the Anglo-French fabliaux and the lais of Marie de France, and the Middle English Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I argue that the “conceptual blend” created by these woeful genital/mouths acts as a metaphor to suggest the link between having the ability to speak and having the power to reproduce ideas––to speak change into the world. I consider how each of these texts links mouths and genitals as a narrative strategy to explore negotiations of power from diverse––sometimes opposing––perspectives. Using a feminist lens, I also read these works from the perspective of medieval medical theories of the body, tracing how this conceptual linking of body parts evolves over time between English and French. 

My interest in gender, sexuality, and the body continues in academic work outside of my dissertation. From 2018-2022 I worked as a research assistant for the Henry Daniel Project, which is editing previously unpublished medieval medical manuscripts for publication. Also a student of the Book History and Print Culture Collaborative Specialization (BHPC), I am currently completing a practicum stemming from this research, which examines words relating to women’s sexual health in one of Henry Daniel’s (as yet unpublished) manuscripts. Additionally, I have secondary research interests in the history of the romance and medieval revival.