Sources about homosexuality in the Middel Ages

by nxrdiep

Hello guys!

I have an assignment about homosexuality in the Middle Ages. I have to do research about it, not just only in Western Europe but also in the Islamic world and Asia. There are enough books and articles about homosexuality in Western Europe, but I’m having a difficult time finding sources about the Islamic world and Asia. Do you guys have any recommendations? Anything is welcome. Thank you in advance!

Kelpie-Cat

Here are a few ideas to get you started. I'm including articles that deal with Islamic Spain.

  • Sahar Amer, "Medieval Arab Lesbians and Lesbian-like Women" (2009)
  • Sahar Amer, Crossing Borders: Love Between Women in Medieval French and Arabic Literatures (2008)
  • Ricardo Nogueira de Castro Monteiro, "Meaning, Identity Constructions and Deconstructions in the Song/Poem "Swift Bird", by the Andalusian Medieval Poetess Wallada Bint al-Mustafki", in Numanities - Arts and Humanities in Progress ed. Oana Andreica and Alin Olteanu (2018), pp. 115-129.
  • Corriente, Federico, "On a Hopeless Last Stand for the Hypothesis of a Romance Origin of Andalusi Stanzaic Poetry: Homosexuality and Prostitution in the Kharjas" (2009)
  • Teresa Garulo Muñoz, "La biografía de Wallāda, toda problemas" (2009)
al0678

I don't know if this is allowed, but why don't you list the books and articles (at least some) you have considered for the western Europe or beyond? In this way, your post may benefit someone else doing research on the same topic and the people responding will have a better idea which sources you have already considered.

Morricane

Can you specify the timeframe that your assignment is supposed to tackle? Since, you know, not every culture had a medieval period, and they don't necessarily align.

Hergrim

Hi - we as mods have approved this thread, because while this is a homework question, it is asking for clarification or resources, rather than the answer itself, which is fine according to our rules. This policy is further explained in this Rules Roundtable thread and this META Thread.

As a result, we'd also like to remind potential answerers to follow our rules on homework - please make sure that your answers focus appropriately on clarifications and detailing the resources that OP could be using.

Additionally, while users may be able to help you out with specifics relating to your question, we also have plenty of information on /r/AskHistorians on how to find and understand good sources in general. For instance, please check out our six-part series, "Finding and Understanding Sources", which has a wealth of information that may be useful for finding and understanding information for your essay.