Eunuchs and Castrati (der Entmannte Eros): A Cultural History

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Overview

Historian and academician Piotr Scholz’s Eunuchs and Castrati: A Cultural History is a fascinating, informative, insightful study of eunuchs and castrated men throughout human history. Thoroughly researched and wide-ranging, Eunuchs and Castrati covers the role of eunuchs in such diverse lands and eras as Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Byzantine Empire, China, Islam, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, and 17th and 18th-century Italian opera. Especially recommended to students of gender studies and ...
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More About This Book

Overview

Historian and academician Piotr Scholz’s Eunuchs and Castrati: A Cultural History is a fascinating, informative, insightful study of eunuchs and castrated men throughout human history. Thoroughly researched and wide-ranging, Eunuchs and Castrati covers the role of eunuchs in such diverse lands and eras as Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Byzantine Empire, China, Islam, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, and 17th and 18th-century Italian opera. Especially recommended to students of gender studies and cultural history, Eunuchs and Castrati is an impressive book written to dispel commonly held myths and draw readers into a fascinating, if somewhat disturbing human phenomenon. The excellent English translation also includes a new epilogue by Shelley L. Frisch about eunuchs in the twentieth century.
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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Long before John Bobbitt's wife made him notorious, emasculation was regarded as an act of torture; however, many cultures have regarded self-castration, in particular, to be virtuous. When opera became popular in the 17th century, castration ensured that young men (thereafter referred to as castrati) would retain the high voices necessary for certain roles. And when Bertolucci directed his epic film The Last Emperor, he was sure to include actors representing the more than 2,000 eunuchs in attendance at the Chinese court. But are Eunuchs and Castrati interchangeable terms? No, claims author Piotr O. Scholz of the Universities of Iodz and Bonn, although he admits that even among scholars there is confusion about how their meanings differ. Using scholarship as his foundation, Scholz explores art, literature and the social and religious history of sexuality to provide readers looking for enlightenment about the male member a rollicking yet informative romp through time and across cultures. Translated by John A. Broadwin and Shelley L. Frisch. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
In ancient times, eunuchs were used as bedchamber attendants, as suggested by the Greek origin of the word (eunouchos, eun, "bed," + ouchos, a variant of chein, "to keep"). But throughout history in diverse cultures they have had numerous important and complicated roles as disparate as that of the "sacred kingships" of Ancient Egypt, the religious hijras in India, and the celebrated castrati of Italian opera. Weaving together politics, law, medicine, music, anthropology, theology, literary and social history, and art, Scholz (Universities of Lodz and Bonn) offers a remarkable chronicle of the torment and passions of these individuals and their relationships with androgyny, homosexuality, transvestitism, and transsexuality. Translated from the German by Broadwin and Frisch, the latter of whom offers a brief epilog, this valuable title offers illustrations from a wide variety of sources. In his idiosyncratic investigation of the topic, Taylor (English, Univ. of Alabama) uses his own personal ruminations as well as the texts of three competing views of castration held by the Christian theologian Saint Augustine, the Humanist playwright Thomas Middleton (specifically, his allegorical 1624 play, A Game at Chess), and the modern Jewish psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Taylor's self-indulgent, wide-ranging, and verbose prose, replete with self-conscious cleverness, is alternately pompous and colloquial in this frustrating polemic: "It probably seems perverse to label something as `natural' as reproductive sex perverse." Over 50 pages of notes add to the pretentiousness of this disappointing title. In markedly different ways, these two titles seek to draw attention to the historical importance of eunuchs, with surprising implications for today. Of the two, Scholz's is recommended for large academic and public libraries, while Taylor's is only for the most comprehensive special collections on male sexuality.--James E. Van Buskirk, San Francisco P.L. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Booknews
This study of eunuchs describes the various roles of eunuchs as slaves, ascetics, priests, magicians, scholars, physicians, military commanders, admirals, and senior officials in the courts of both eastern and western rulers. Drawing from art, literary history, theology, anthropology, music, medicine, politics, and law, the book examines the history of eunuchs in Egypt, Greece, Rome, early Christianity, China, Islam, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, and the 17th and 18th century Italian opera. Scholz teaches at the Universities of Lodz and Bonn. There's a name index, but no subject index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781558762015
  • Publisher: Wiener, Markus Publishers, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 12/1/2000
  • Language: German
  • Pages: 256
  • Sales rank: 1,306,934
  • Product dimensions: 5.92 (w) x 9.06 (h) x 0.99 (d)

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 8, 2001

    Best book I ever red about

    The author made the giant work to describe the world history of eunuchism and castrati. He shows the roots of this very interesting phenomenon of civilisations' history and shows the important role of eunuchs and castrati in policy and culture. I collected an information on this topic in different languages during 25 years, but I can't compare this book with any of them - it's a chef's d'oeuvre!!! I recommend this book to all, who is interested in this topic. If You're the beginner - it's a very good basement for beguinning, if You're an adult in that - You'll find more for You - believe me. Best book I ever red.

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