oldshrewsburyian:

viatorix:

LOUDER FOR THE HISTORIANS IN THE BACK, MR SCHULTZ

James A. Schultz, 2006, ‘Heterosexuality as a Threat to Medieval Studies,’ Journal of the History of Sexuality, 15, 1, pp.14-29

Good stuff. If people are looking for more work on sex and sexuality in the Middle Ages, I have recommendations:

Helmut Puff, “Same-Sex Possibilities,” in The Oxford Handbook of Women and Gender in the Middle Ages, with good bibliography

Ruth Mazo Karras, Sexuality in the Middle Ages: Doing Unto Others.

Schultz himself wrote a book called Courtly Love, the Love of Courtliness, and the History of Sexuality, which argues (to the best of my recollection) that medieval European courtly literature has models of beauty and desirability that do not reference sexual dimorphism. As a historian, I’m a skeptical of how far he pushes his point, but it’s an interesting work.

Also, a general work on history by a medievalist: Judith Bennett, History Matters: Patriarchy and the Challenge of Feminism (it’s as great as it sounds)

FWIW, I spent most of the decade since Schultz’s article was published in grad school (and, relatedly, at national/international conferences) and never have I ever heard a medievalist try to impose heterosexuality on medieval figures. Results may vary based on departments and sub-disciplines, of course. Also FWIW, Frantzen published a raging anti-feminist screed a while ago, provoking upheaval and pushback throughout medieval studies internationally… and an ongoing conversation.