Breaking boundaries: Homosexuality in artistic expression

The text below is the excerpt of the book Homosexuality in Art (ISBN: 9781783107278), written by James Smalls, published by Parkstone International.

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Homosexuality in the Middle Ages is a complex and often misunderstood topic. While there were certainly instances of same-sex relationships and desires during this period, attitudes towards homosexuality varied widely across different regions and cultures. In Christian Europe, the Church’s teachings condemned homosexuality as sinful and immoral, leading to the persecution of individuals suspected of engaging in homosexual acts. However, historical records also suggest the existence of thriving gay communities in certain medieval cities, where same-sex relationships were tolerated to varying degrees.

Jesus and Saint John the Beloved, 1300s, Homosexuality in art — *Jesus and Saint John the Beloved*, 1300s. Painted and guilded wood sculpture. Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, München.

Unlike antiquity, the Middle Ages has been the period least studied for signs of Western homosexuality in art. The rise of Christianity and the increasing influence on the daily lives of people accounts for the near invisibility of homosexuality in the art of this period. Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 381 under Theodosius the Great (346–395). Emperor Constantine (274–338) had legalized Christinaity in the fourth century AD. The death penalty for male homosexual acts was first imposed in 342 by Emperors Constantine and Constans, and then again by the Theodosian Code of 390. (Warren Johansson and William A Percy, “Homosexuality,” in Vern L Bullough and James A Brundage, eds., Handbook of Medieval Sexuality, New York, Garland Publishing, Inc, 1996) Theodosius decreed death by burning for homosexuality. Lesbian behavior had been similarly proscribed in the Middle Ages through a law in 287 AD imposed by Diocletian (245–313) and Maximianus. The death penalty for both male and female homosexual acts was not repealed in civil law until the late eighteenth century in most Western European countries.

The extreme measures taken by these rulers were justified by theological rationalizations on sexual ethics ranging from Saint Paul to Saints Augustine and Jerome. Of all the church fathers, it was Saint Augustine who held the longest influence over sexual attitudes in the Christian West. Around 400 AD, Augustine launched an attack against classical myth and attempted to “correct” its immoral pagan aspects. Relying heavily on the Old Testament, he insisted that all non-procreative forms of sexual gratification were wrong because their sole goal was pleasure and not propagation of the species.

Rizi-i-Abbasi. Two Lovers, 1630, Homosexuality in art — **Rizi-i-Abbasi**. *Two Lovers*, 1630.

Between the fourth and fifteenth centuries, most of art was produced under church patronage, and even private commissions were often mandated to have religious themes. (Saslow) All representations of sexual acts, especially homosexuality, were discouraged and later attacked by the church. Christian intolerance against homosexuality resulted primarily from reaction to the hedonistic legacy of Greco-Roman paganism where homosexual practices were, in many instances, encouraged. Christianity set out to deny the body and all forms of earthly pleasures.

When erotic themes do appear in medieval art, they tend to be couched in “solemn spirituality and ineffable mysteries.” (Saslow) During the medieval period, homosexuality was split into two polarized camps: the classical ideal of amicitia (a chaste, intimate friendship), and sodomia (an unstable term condemning a range of sexual acts from anal sex, to masturbation and bestiality). (Saslow). As invading “barbarians” (mainly Germans and Celts) increasingly overwhelmed the Western Empire, many of the stringent antihomosexuality measures initiated by Christian emperors became impossible to enforce.

Thomas Eakins. Arcadia, c.1883, Homosexuality in art — **Thomas Eakins**. *Arcadia*, c.1883. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Those who eventually took control remained respectful of Christianity but were less inclined to invest so much energy into criminalizing homosexuality. The last of the Church Fathers, Pope Gregory the Great (590–604), did attempt, however, to convert the barbarians and came up with new ways to enforce the previous ban on homosexuality. One of the more effective means was through issuing penitentials, or manuals designed to instruct and aid priests in giving spiritual guidance to the laity. Penitentials first appeared in Ireland and England, and later spread to the European Continent. These manuals categorized sins according to their severity and assigned specific penances for absolving them.

Without exception, all of the penitentials condemned sodomy, intercrural intercourse, and masturbation. Although the penitentials stressed penance over punishment for most sins, they did treat homosexuality more severely, especially where oral and anal sex were involved. Under Charlemagne (768–814), penances for sodomy were applied to the laity, but its practice was condemned and deemed unpardonable for monks. (Johansson and Percy) The penitentials were primarily directed at men since lesbian sexual relations in general were scarcely mentioned.