Historical and contemporary responses to battering

ABSTRACT Contemporary and historical narratives of violence against women present a complex theology involving themes of suffering, obedience, and ownership. Our earlier research explored historical attitudes toward violence against women in medieval Latin saints' lives, demonstrating how an analysis of violence against women in historical narratives enlightens our understanding in the present.1 The study proposed here continues this work, expanding the sources to include other hagiographical texts, medieval inquisition registers, modern narratives, and current interviews with survivors of domestic abuse.