Gay love

[frualeydis]

I'm working on my lecture on same sex sexuality in the middle ages at this year's medieval week; it's coming along nicely. I need to read some more though and yesterday I borrowed a heap of books and articles on the history of homosexuality.

Comments

[therru.livejournal.com]

I would go to that lecture! Any chance of hearing it without going to Visby?

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

Well, I often re-use lectures so it shouldn't be impossible.

/Eva

[fool000.livejournal.com]

That's interesting! I had no idea there was any information available on the subject.
By the way, what do you mean by middle ages? You plan to cover the whole era from 500 to 1500 AD, or a shorter period within that era?

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

It will be an overview with most focus on the period after 1100 since whe have more sources, but also because in Sweden the Middle Ages start around 1000. Here's (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/gayhistbib.html) and extensive bibliography on the history of homosexuality - I've only read a small part of this though.

/Eva

[fool000.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link.

Middle ages starting in 1000? That sounds weird to me, but maybe it is not so weird.
Where I live, in the Netherlands, the start of the middle ages is usually marked by the fall of the Roman empire.
But in Scandinavia there never was a Roman empire, so the fall of the the roman empire doesn't mean much. I get that.

But why 1000? Is that the point in time where most vikings had become Christians?

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

Here, before the middle ages there was the viking age. In many of the northern and eastern countries the Middle Ages are seen as starting with the conversion to christianity, which makes sense since being a (western) christian is what to people in the Middle Ages defined what it was to be a european.

/Eva

[penguininarmor.livejournal.com]

Sounds like an interesting paper. I have some stuff bookmarked on Amazon (US) on the subject for future reading. I cannot vouch for any of the books but I can send it to you if you'd like?

One place you may want to investigate are some of the medieval (12th century I seem to recall) Runic inscriptions from Bergen. I know of one in which the writer(?) is calling someone else a "fuþ licker". Or someone who performs cunnilingus. At least that's what Erik Moltke in Runes and their Origin: Denmark and Elsewhere. I hope this helps.

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip on the incriptions. I'm not doing any research on this, but just using other people's research; it's a public lecture and not aimed at a scholarly audience.

/Eva

[folo1.livejournal.com]

Sounds like an interesting lecture. Will notes or a transcript be available anywhere?

I presume that you've been looking at Bosworth's books on the subject.

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

Yep, I have - and at some of the criticism. I'm not doing any research on this, but just using other people's research; it's a public lecture and not aimed at a scholarly audience. Ido it partly to annoy the church ladies and the essentialists that you find among re-enactor's, those who think that "it was so great in the middle ages because there was a clear division of gender roles"; men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha centauri were real small furry creatures... as Douglas Adams would say.


/Eva
/Eva

[knightsmarshall.livejournal.com]

It sounds great! I especially love the quote from Douglas Adams!
: )

[snowywolfowl.livejournal.com]

I'm curious as to what you discover. Considering from what little I "know" homosexuality in those times was strongly frowned upon (to the point of carrying a death sentence if caught) I'd be interested in hearing or reading this lecture sometime.

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

Though the repression always and the persecution sometimes were horrible this is one of the soruces we have: court trials, penitentiaries, attacks by clerics etc. From the later middle ages and the renaissance there is, however, for example some rather overt, male homosexual poetry.

/Eva

[snowywolfowl.livejournal.com]

"From the later middle ages and the renaissance there is, however, for example some rather overt, male homosexual poetry."


From Sweden, or from the renaissance in general? I've never thought of Sweden as having a major literary tradition, let alone one of erotic poetry but then again the only Swedish words I know other than "thank you" are hockey player names and airplanes built by Saab.

If Sweden did have a major literary tradition who influenced and who did it influence? I'm curious. Thanks.

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

No, no italian. It's not a lecture about Sweden.

/Eva

[snowywolfowl.livejournal.com]

Ok. That helps clarify a few things then. Although if it had of been Swedish stuff I'd have happily accepted it. Did Christina's behaviour help build or break barriers on that in the mid 17th, or was she just generally written off as being a bit odd?

[chigrima.livejournal.com]

Sounds great! I can't wait to hear it. ^_^

[jehanearbonne.livejournal.com]

Can't you pleasepleaseplease hold that lecture at Ragnhild? Pleasepleaseplease?

[m-nivalis.livejournal.com]

Bit later (and on the wrong continent) but did you see the excerpt from a letter from the Jamestown colony, and the researcher's interpretation? "One cannot help but wonder", indeed...
Bonusrant linked in the LJ comment.

Best of luck with the lecture. I hope you repeat it sometime/-place when I'm where you are.