For the final episode of their series on the medieval sense of humour, Irina and Mary look at one of the most remarkable women authors of the Middle Ages, Gwerful Mechain. In her poem Cywydd y Cedor (‘Ode to the Vagina’), she challenged the convention of male poets to praise every part of a woman’s body apart from her genitalia. Mechain’s witty, combative verses, intended for public performance, demonstrate a mastery of the metrical tradition of medieval Welsh poetry to discuss the most intimate physical experiences.
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