Michael Goodich's comment is (as usual) intelligent and considered. About
the Perugian flagellants of 1260: There is something about sodomy, if I
remember correctly (all my notes are at home), in the "Lezenda de Fra
Rainero Faxano" which emphasizes sin in a context of eschatological
anxiety. But the historical Fra Rainero had a wife and family, so, unless
he was bi-sexual (for which, of course, there is not a scrap of
evidence)... I would also like to stress that the flagellants struck
themselves on the upper shoulder-blades, where Christ carried the cross. In
this devotional practice there is, absolutely and positively, no hint of
sexual stimulation, contrary to what certain popular accounts imply. As for
the flagellant confraternities, I'll look up the rules I have to see if
there is any 'exclusion of sodomites' clause. (And can't we abandon that
ill-chosen and hateful term, 'queers', which carries with it too many
negativities to be neutral in a proper academic context?)
Gary Dickson
University of Edinburgh
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