Dear Damien,
You probably already know the exemplum about the girl who lives as a
monk... I have seen it in a version from Hermann of Bologna, *Viaticum
Narrationum,* but I believe there are many other retellings. It concerns an
aged monk who is lonely for his daughter, conceived during his secular
life. He brings the girl, Marina, to the monastery disguised as a boy,
Marinus, and "he" is raised there, continuing on after the father's death.
Much later, as an adult, Marinus is falsely accused of fathering a child,
then is shunned by the other monks and made to do penance until his death.
When the monks wash the body for burial, they realise that he was a she,
that the accusation must have been false, and that the woman had displayed
truly saintly patience and humility.
I'm sure you know Jean-Claude Schmitt's work on masks and masking rituals.
An interesting example of masking in order to defy social convention occurs
among the miracles of Dorothy of Montau: a carpenter fashions a mask in
order to disguise himself when he leaves home to attend a forbidden party
during Lent. On the street, he sees another person wearing a mask that
looks just the same. Arriving at the party, he removes the mask, only to
find that his entire head has become twisted around backwards. Grasping his
head between his hands, he tries to wrench it around, but cannot and
faints. Meanwhile, the witnesses notice that even though the mask is now
off, the turned-around face still looks just like the mask. He is healed by
Dorothy, and later testifies that the man he saw on the street with a
similar mask to his own must have been an evil spirit. Presumably, he
observes the Lenten season more appropriately in the future.
There is also an example in Gregory of Tours concerning a man who lives in
women's clothes among nuns. If I recall correctly, he is a eunuch or
physically inadequate in some way, and is accepted as "socially" female.
Others may remember the details of this case more clearly.
--Nancy Caciola
History, UC-San Diego
At 11:49 PM 2/5/01 +0100, you wrote:
>Dear listmembers,
>
>I am interested in primary and secondary sources about medieval
>transvestism and disguising (any kind of social or gender transgression
>based on disguising). Par avance, merci.
>
>Damien Boquet
>Université Paris - Sorbonne
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