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European Contradictions
As far back as the eighth century and until
the 14th century, same-sex ceremony manuscripts were published, according
to John Boswell. Many of these unions were almost coldly economic in
nature, but involved parallels to heterosexual marriage ceremonies. The
oldest manuscript now resides in the Vatican.
In Europe, as Christianity flourished, so did rampant homophobia.
 The
Papacy was for sale to the highest bidder, resulting in the assumption
that the Vatican was largely homosexual. Pope John XII became Pope at 17
after being prince of Rome. During his nine-year reign as Pope, he modeled
himself after Emperor Elababal, filling his term with orgies and pranks.
He also founded the Holy Roman Empire of the Germans, "...which
was never either holy, Roman nor German."2
In 1022, under Pope Benedict's orders, the first heretics were burned at
Orleans, assumedly because of homosex offenses, but also for their
nonbelief in heteromonogamy. The Romans attempted to drive the Pope out.
He was restored by his native Tuscans, only to be expelled again later.
Circa 1051, St. Peter Damian penned The Book of Gomorrah, which attacked
homosexuality in the clergy. Pope St. Leo IX's response was that if clergy
had committed the sin of homosex, they should be restored to same rank if
they gave penance. In other words, the sin is separate of the person who
commits it. At this, the Greek Orthodox church separated from Rome.
In 1157, Eleanor of Aquitaine created the first Court of Love at Poiters
and made troubadors judges in matters of the heart. During the same year,
the word "gay" was taken from Ganymede of
Ganymede and Helen in the
Spanish dialect of Catalan.
Shortly before the fourth crusade, Frederick II, "Wonder of the World,"
was crowned King of Sicily at age 4. Called a heretic and blasphemer by
Pope Gregory IX, Frederick II had a penchant for Moslem learning and
Moorish slave boys.
 At this time,
Richard the Lionhearted died from a wound leaving his lover,
Wm. Longchamp, as the Bishop of Elf. While Richard was imprisoned, a troubador lover,
Blondel, searched Eastern Europe for him. English barons
trusted Richard with their daughters, but not their sons. Later, during
the crusade, Moses Maimonides, the Jewish philosopher died. His claim to
notoriety is his theory that Adam was hermaphroditic; Eve was created from
an entire side of Adam, not just a rib.
In the way of historical gender-blenders, the fictional character Ide,
Huon's granddaughter in the poem Huon of Bordeaux, served as a knight for
the holy Roman emperor. She later married the emperor's daughter, but was
burned at the stake when her female gender was discovered. At the time she
was burned, her body miraculously transformed into a man's.
The question of choice versus biology also was a historical issue. In
1274, St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica broached the topic. In this
piece, it can be argued that St. Thomas Aquinas made the assertion that
homosexuality is part of one's physiology and feels natural to that
person.
At the turn of the century in the Vatican, Pope Clement and Philip the
Fair of France charged 5,000 Knights Templar of homosex activity with the
high priest. Three men admitted to committing such acts, but only under
torture. As it had done before, the Church capitalized. Jacques de Molay
gave
a show trial denying homosexual contact. This testimony is questioned
today.
In 1318-1325, Dante Alighieri penned the Divine Comedy. In The Inferno's
Canto XV, Dante notably mentioned that his old friend and mentor Brunetto
Latini, Florentine scholar, diplomat and encyclopaedist who died in 1294,
is in the seventh circle of hell, a space reserved for "...honored
men 'defiled in the world by one same sin.'"
In Scandinavia, circa 1321, Magnus VII became the first king of united
Norway and Sweden. He was otherwise named Magnus the Fondler and Magnus
the Effeminate. His downfall resulted from the lords' disapproval of his
lover Bengt Algottson.
The rest of the 14th century proved to be as dismal as its beginning. The
Arabs, who had previously been tolerant of homosexuality, published
anti-homosexual texts, including the statement: "God
has no respect for a man who has slept with a man, nor a woman who has
slept with a woman."
Edward II was smothered to death by his wife Isabella and her lover in
1327. To add insult, a hot poker was thrust into his rear. Edward II was
regarded as a saint by the common people. In 1388, the Persian poet Hafiz
died. His love poems were dedicated to male youths, but later translations
make these love objects to be women. Japan forbade all sex, including
homosexual, from the priesthood. The law was effectively ignored.
Bridging the gap between the Medieval Ages and the Renaissance was Joan of
Arc. Born at the beginning of the 15th century, she grew to be a warrior,
emulating Saints Catherine and Margaret. During her adolescent years, she
may have been sexually intimate with La Rousse, an innkeeper, and
Hauviette, another female friend. Upon her first visit to Orleans, she
dressed and fought as a man, presenting the weak heir to the French
throne. Most thought she was invincible until she was burned at the stake
in 1431 for witchcraft, blasphemy, dressing and acting as a man, and
sodomy. Five hundred years later, the church that murdered Joan of Arc
canonized her as a saint.
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GVB
