9/13/2023 0 Comments Medieval illuminations transgenderPlease interpret them in whichever ways resonate for you. **Please note: Various gendered pronouns are used here to discuss the narrative, and I do not want to negate any trans/non-binary interpretations, which I think abound. Since these images are so connected to the story, here is a brief summary of these three “queer” characters and their role in the plot: Used with permission from University of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections. Silence standing nude before Kind Evan, WLC.LM.6, Roman de Silence, f. There are three characters (Silence, Eupheme, and the Nun) who do not conform to their assigned gender roles, and one of these characters has been called by contemporary scholars a “lesbian” figure. This means that the “sodomitical” characters represented in Romance de Silence don’t conform to these presumptions either. Sodomy, and characters representing sodomy, does not match with our modern cis-heteronomative presumptions. Alain de Lille focusses especially on “sodomy,” and so does Heldris de Cornuälle. This narrative, including the eleven miniatures (images) containing narrative content, is based on another medieval text: De Planctu Naturae ( The Complaint of Nature) by Alain de Lille (c.1128-1212). This is the only known surviving copy, also from the early 13th century, which exists between the vellum folios 188r-223r of WLC/LM/6 at the University of Nottingham. The French narrative Le Roman de Silence was written by Heldris de Cornuälle in the 13th century. Media: Pigment on vellum (calf skin) Queen Eupheme (right) seducing Silence (left), WLC.LM.6, Roman de Silence, f. 177-199.ĭate & Location: Early 13th Century, France “Hanging with Christ.” Suspended Animation: Pain, Pleasure and Punishment in Medieval Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. “Situating Female Same-Sex Love in the Middle Ages.” The Cambridge Companion to Lesbian Literature, Cambridge. vision of Catherine of Siena (1347–1380) Resource(s) “Drink, daughter, from my side,” he said, “and by that draught your soul shall become enraptured with such delight that your very body, which for my sake you have denied, shall be inundated with its overflowing goodness.” Drawn close in this way to the outlet of the Fountain of Life, she fashioned her lips upon that sacred wound, and still more eagerly the mouth of her soul, and there she slaked her thirst. He tenderly placed his right hand on her neck, and drew her towards the wound in his side. The wound might be also a vulva or a breast in the writings of the medieval mystic, and indeed is sometimes represented as giving birth to a personification of the Church. Similarly, Christ’s body (and especially his wound) is often imbued with multiple genders. In cases of AMAB (assigned-male-at-birth) or masculine devotees, though, this results in a feminization. The union of a human soul with Christ was often allegorized as a bride-groom relationship. It also invites questions of gender fluidity. What does it mean for a layman (non-clergy man) to fantasize an erotic embrace with Christ? Might we find pleasure in looking at this medieval image of two men embracing? 1, invite considerations about gay and lesbian relationships. These accounts, and visualizations like this one in Taylor MS. 1, folio 44 recto (this whole manuscript has also been digitized for online viewing) Significance to Queer Art Historyīoth men and women wrote passionately about their visionary experiences of Christ in the late medieval period. Where can I see this artwork?: Princeton Library, Special Collections, Taylor MS. Media: Manuscript Illumination (ink and pigment on parchment) (From a late thirteenth-century copy of William of Waddington’s Manuel des pechiez/ Manual of the Sins)
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