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(I explain the LHMP here.)
I know I promised to do Dekker & van de Pol next (based on the survey results), but I sort of fell into this one while doing my intake-posting last weekend. (And it doesn't actually delay the postings for Dekker & van de Pol because I'd been planning to stretch out Dugaw to finish up today.) When you see historians talking about how little evidence there is on pre-modern homosexuality, it often means that they simply haven't had the interest or the access to dig deeply enough. Collections like this one that mine primary source documents may be a bit dreary and depressing in terms of the actual content, but they are refreshing in the hints and clues they provide to "hidden history". The majority of the content of this collection concerns men, simply due to the asymmetry in the social context, however the authors have been assiduous in identifying and including material on women when it is available.
* * *
Merrick, Jeffrey & Bryant T. Ragan, Jr. 2001. Homosexuality in Early Modern France: A Documentary Collection. Oxford University Press, New York. ISBN 0-19-510257-6
This is a sourcebook of excerpts (in translation) from historic documents relating to France during the 16-18th centuries that relate in some way to same-sex relationships. The documents cover court records, personal correspondence, religious commentary, medical opinion, satire, and political polemic. While most items take an external point of view, some are (or purport to be) from the point of view of homosexuals themselves. One significant aspect to keep in mind is that accusations of homosexuality (against both men and women) were used as political weapons and smear tactics, especially during the revolutionary era, and therefore while the texts may shed light on public attitudes (the attitudes that enabled the accusations to be a smear) they do not necessarily constitute evidence of homosexual behavior or orientation of specific named individuals.
( This is really long, and some material may border on NSFW )
Keywords: love desire sex marriage passing law dildos cross-dressing transgender
I know I promised to do Dekker & van de Pol next (based on the survey results), but I sort of fell into this one while doing my intake-posting last weekend. (And it doesn't actually delay the postings for Dekker & van de Pol because I'd been planning to stretch out Dugaw to finish up today.) When you see historians talking about how little evidence there is on pre-modern homosexuality, it often means that they simply haven't had the interest or the access to dig deeply enough. Collections like this one that mine primary source documents may be a bit dreary and depressing in terms of the actual content, but they are refreshing in the hints and clues they provide to "hidden history". The majority of the content of this collection concerns men, simply due to the asymmetry in the social context, however the authors have been assiduous in identifying and including material on women when it is available.
* * *
Merrick, Jeffrey & Bryant T. Ragan, Jr. 2001. Homosexuality in Early Modern France: A Documentary Collection. Oxford University Press, New York. ISBN 0-19-510257-6
This is a sourcebook of excerpts (in translation) from historic documents relating to France during the 16-18th centuries that relate in some way to same-sex relationships. The documents cover court records, personal correspondence, religious commentary, medical opinion, satire, and political polemic. While most items take an external point of view, some are (or purport to be) from the point of view of homosexuals themselves. One significant aspect to keep in mind is that accusations of homosexuality (against both men and women) were used as political weapons and smear tactics, especially during the revolutionary era, and therefore while the texts may shed light on public attitudes (the attitudes that enabled the accusations to be a smear) they do not necessarily constitute evidence of homosexual behavior or orientation of specific named individuals.
( This is really long, and some material may border on NSFW )
Keywords: love desire sex marriage passing law dildos cross-dressing transgender
