Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century

460 Pages·33.575 MB·English

by  Boswell, John

Frotn the reviews
"John Boswell restores one's faith in scholarship as the union
of erudition, analysis and moral vision. I would not hesitate to
call his book revolutionary, for it tells of things heretofore un
in1agined and sets a standard of excellence that one would have
thought impossible in the treatment of an issue so large, un
charted and vexed.... His knowledge of the relevant scholarly
literature is ren1arkable, and his book displays the sweep and
control that one finds only in the work of a major histor
ian.... The book's argument is of such richness-its empirical
base so broad, its reasoning so fierce-that it succeeds in mak
ing one think the unthinkable. It forces us to re-examine even
the most fixed notions about our moral and cultural
heritage.... He has also mastered one of the rarest of skills:
the ability to write about sex with genuine wit. Improbable as it
might seem, this work of unrelenting scholarship and high in
tellectual drama is also thoroughly entertaining."-Paul Robin
son, New York Times Book Review
"(;hristianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality is one of the
most critical and probing studies yet to appear. For Mr. Boswell
has emerged with an interpretation which looks distinctly new.
His argument is that intolerance of homosexuality was not an
essential feature of Christianity itself, but only became the
dominant attitude after nearly twelve hundred years of Church
history.... Mr. Boswell's scholarly and painstaking analysis will
bring academic respectability to what has hitherto been re
garded as a faintly murky subject. It may even do something to
foster Illore tolerant attitudes."-Keith Thomas, New York
Review oj'Books

"To characterize this analysis as revolutionary-in its implica
tions for historical studies, for Christianity, for the current de
bate over sexual mores-is to state the obvious. Boswell's study
is indubitably one of the most profound, explosive works of
scholarship to appear within recent memory. His book will in
augurate controversies bound to rage for years.... Even now it
is safe to say that Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality
is that rare item-a truly ground-breaking study. With an
abundance of skill and daring, John Boswell has opened up a
vast historical terrain for reassessment, some of it never before
explored, much of it marked for far too long by barricaded,
sealed borders."-Martin Bauml Duberman, New Republic
"An astonishing work of scholarship that ranges with ease
over fourteen centuries, almost as many languages, characters
as diverse as Socrates, Ovid, Caesar, Richard the Lion-Hearted,
King Edward II and Saint Thomas Aquinas, and the history of
social tolerance. What makes this work so exciting is not simply
its content-fascinating though that is-but its revolutionary
challenge to some of Western culture's most familiar moral
assumptions."-Newsweek

Christianity, SocialTolerance, and Homosexuality

John Boswell
Christianity,
Social Tolerance,
and HOlllosexuality
Gay PeopleinWestern Europe
from the Beginningofthe Christian Era
to the Fourteenth Century
The UniversityofChicago Press
Chicago and London
Publication of this volume has been assisted by a grant
from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 1980by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 1980
Paperback edition 1981
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 13 14 15 16 17
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Boswell, John.
Christianity, social tolerance, and homosexuality.
Bibliography: p.
Includes indexes.
1. Homosexuality—Europe—History. 2. Homosexuality
and Christianity—History. I. Title.
HQ76.3E8B67 301.41(cid:2)57(cid:2)094 79-11171
ISBN 0-226-06711-4 (paper)
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
To myparentsfor theirlove and example,
and to Ralphfor his help