ABSTRACT
In the “Letter to Brother Edward” Ælfric expresses disgust at reports of women who eat and drink on the privy during beer parties. Misogynistic disgust at the leaky bodies of women is widespread in western literature, but when Ælfric depicts disgusting bodies they are usually male bodies, reflecting anxieties about masculine authority. Ælfric idealizes a male body that is sealed, chaste and pure, a site from which disgust can be expressed rather than inspiring it. Ælfric’s signals of disgust are part of his construction of an authoritative preaching voice. However, he is not free of misogynistic disgust, and the anomalously extreme emotion of the “Letter to Brother Edward” suggests an authority under threat from the uncontrolled, messy bodies of women.
