Later in the 15th century were the births of artists Hieronymus Bosch, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Erasmus. Bosch's works were largely of homoerotic cartoon figures, which may be seen as trying to rid homosexual guilt. Da Vinci was acquitted in 1476 of homosexual acts with Jacopo Saltarelli. Never did da Vinci show any interest in women. Michelangelo, while painting the Last Judgment on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, wrote sonnets to Tommasso Cavalieri. When the sonnets were found by the Buonarroti family, they were later translated to interpret Michelangelo's love for Tommasso to actually be for a female patron. Erasmus, son of a priest, became a monk who fell in love with a fellow brother. Rejected by the monk, Erasmus honed his literary skills. Later ostracized for his love of Thomas Grey, his student, Erasmus dedicated his first collection of Adages to William Blount (governor of Tournai). These works asserted that man is the measure of all things, not the gods.

The Spanish Inquisition condemned gays as part of a campaign against Jewish, Moorish, humanistic and Gnostic influences, not unlike Nazi Germany. Also during this century, the Eastern Roman Empire fell to the Turks. Many ancient Greek schools closed, scattering Greek scholars across Europe and prompting the Renaissance with all of its non-homophobic glory. Ficino's translation of Plato's dialogues (which include discussions of gay love) appeared in Italy. Pope Innocent VII's Papal Bull condoned the murder of nine million (a disputed figure) gays and witches at the insistence of German theologues Kramer and Sprenger. This slaughter was supported by Isabella and Ferdinand, bringing an end to Arabian influence in Spain. Circa 1540, Conquistador Pedro de Cieza de Leon wrote about cross-dressing Indians on Peru's island of Puna and the homosex among those conquered by the Incas.

In 1548, Queen Mary of England revoked the anti-homosex law of 1548, only for it to be replaced by Queen Elizabeth I around 1565, even though many thought that she was a lesbian. During the same decade, Christopher Marlowe, writer of and Edward II (a gay passion play) was killed in a bar brawl. The bar he was in was known to be a "gay bar."

The 17th century marked the dawn of the modern world. At the turn of the century, James VI of Scotland became the "Queen of England," as Elizabeth I was commonly referred to as "King Elizabeth." James did almost nothing to hide his homosexuality. In 1615, he actually confessed to being a homosexual and took George Villiers, future Earl of Buckingham, as his longtime companion.

During the same century women were busy gender-blending. At age 15, Catalina de Erauso of Spain escaped from a convent dressed as a man and fled to South America. In Sweden, 6-year-old Christina took the Swedish throne and came to be known as "King." Shrugging off insistence that she marry, she grew attached to Ebba Sparre, a lady-in-waiting. After trying to thwart her keepers, she took Countess Sparre as her lover. Growing tired of the pressure to marry, Christina abdicated the throne and fled Sweden as a man and converted to Catholicism. Though she did try to regain the throne, she died impoverished in 1654.

In Asia, women were banned from Japanese Kabuki theaters. Instead, all-male performers took their places and were commonly known to grant sexual favors to male patrons. All Kabuki performers to this time were regarded as prostitutes and usually something less than entirely straight. In 1648, the Shogunate banned Kabuki plays and male prostitution entirely. Also during this time, the literacy rate increased and printed pornography became ever more popular. In 1682-3, Saikaku Ihara's novel, A Man Who Loved Love, described a man who made love to both women and boys. He went on to write more books and haiku about gay life and sex in general. In 1638, Chinese novelist Li Yu penned Love for the Perfumed Companion, a story about two girls meeting in a Buddhist convent garden. One dressed as a man, and the two women married. When they were later separated, one married a man so that the other woman could become his mistress and the three of them could be together.

Was Shakespeare Gay?

Not to be ignored were the writings of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare regularly created love triangles involving two men and a woman. According to Bruce Smith, Homosexual Desire in Shakespeare's England (University of Chicago Press, 1994), some examples are Macbeth-Lady Macbeth-Banquo in Macbeth, Romeo-Juliet-Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet-Ophelia-Horatio in Hamlet. Admittedly, not all of these groupings are homosexual, but they do border on male intimacy. The dedication (reading Mr. W. H.) to his Sonnets sparked considerable debate. Most scholars concluded the homoerotic sonnets were dedicated to a man. Oscar Wilde eventually wrote the essay The Portrait of W.H. about this issue.

The 1600s Were a Dark Era

Mlle de Maupin, who dressed and fought as a man, was born in 1654. She made her debut at the age of 17 at the Palais Royale opera in 1690. John Milton died circa 1674, having been known as a homosexual. His Lycidas and Sonnets to Diodati were fairly specific about his homosexuality.

In the newly settled American colonies, laws were already being enforced against homosex. In 1624, Ship's Master Richard Cornish was executed in Virginia after a boy accused him of homosexual activity. In 1636, John Cotton, a Puritan clergyman, denounced homoerotic connections. Several sodomy charges were prosecuted in the colonies from 1640-1642. In Massachusetts, the Reverend Thomas Shepard concluded that sodomy is in the heart of every person, and it is necessary to weed it out. In Plymouth Colony in 1648, Sara Norman and Mary Hammon were cited for sharing a bed in the sexual sense. Eight years later, lesbianism was added to the list of sodomy statutes punishable by death. In 1682-3, William Penn's colony lessened the offense of homosex to a misdemeanor, unless it involved blacks, in which case capital punishment was reintroduced in 1700. In 1696-8, Massachusetts outlawed sodomy as "contrary to the very Light of Nature."

8th - 14th Centuries

The 1700's