Since I created an "accidental mini-theme" of primary source documents in the current series of assorted journal articles and book excerpts, I thought I'd toss in a fascinating--if regularly offensive--source that is referenced in many works on the history of lesbianism. Brantôme's treatise is not intended to be a sober sociological study of women's same-sex relationships among his contemporaries in later 16th century France. The work is steeped in the male gaze and riddled through with patriarchal and misogynistic attitudes.
LHMP
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Mostly this project has drawn on scholarly studies of historical data, but I've decided to include a few original source texts, especially when the relevant material is in a fairly manageable excerpt. This text providing the story of 16th century lesbian Greta von Möskirch is interesting enough on its own.
This study of legal records from London that mention women cross-dressing as men is an interesting comparison with the article from last month about how cross-dressing in medieval Baghdad revolved around men's sexual tastes. Nearly all of the women discussed in this article came to the attention of the law due to engaging in "ungoverned" sexual activity, that is, any sort of sex outside of marriage.
Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 55 (previously 22d) - Queer Women’s Communities and Meeting Places - transcript
(Originally aired 2018/05/26 - listen here)
Queer Women’s Communities and Meeting Places
Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 56 (previously 23a) - On the Shelf for June 2018 - Transcript
(Originally aired 2018/06/02 - listen here)
The field of medieval "queer studies" has included a fascination with possible erotic and sexual interpretations of religious imagery and language. Some of the interpretations, I confess, have always felt a bit far-fetched to me. But here we look at the writings of one particular religious woman, Hadewijch of Brabant, whose language is undeniably erotic and passionate, addressing the image of "Lady Minne", whose name reflects erotic rather than platonic love.
There is an unexamined thread in the inclusion of cross-dressing as one of the continuing motifs in the material I cover for the Project. As I've discussed on several occasions, I've included studies on cross-dressing in history and literature both because it provided a context in western literature for the experience or recognition of same-sex attraction, and because it is a popular theme in modern lesbian historical fiction (so it's useful to understand the phenomenon in the historical context).
Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 23c - Book Appreciation with Lise MacTague - transcript
(Originally aired 2018/06/16 - listen here)
Heather Rose Jones: This week, Lise MacTague has returned to Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast to talk with us about some stories with queer women in historic settings that she has particularly enjoyed.
Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 57 (previously 23b) - Interview with Lise MacTague - transcript
(Originally aired 2018/06/09 - listen here)
In following up on references to gender transgression in medieval Arabic literature, I’ve been struck by the way certain motifs align differently from what we see in the literature of Christian cultures. In European romances, “Amazonian” characters who dress and act as men are often a context for accidental homoeroticism. Cross-dressing in general also provides this opportunity.
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