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Alcuin of York’s Sexual Orientation and the Methodological Question of Studying ‘Homoerotic’ Language in the Middle Ages
ABSTRACT (en)
This paper deals with the question of the sexual orientation of leading Carolingian scholar Alcuin of York. The authors begin by defining the term ‘queer sexuality’ as divergent from dominant forms of sexuality, before proceeding to present a brief overview of the life and work of Alcuin of York. The authors then turn to the primary sources that originally sparked the debate regarding Alcuin’s sexual orientation, followed by theoretical considerations on the methodological approaches that may be used to interpret ‘queer’ sources of the Middle Ages more generally, and the application of these methods in the specific case of Alcuin of York. Whether or not Alcuin’s sexuality was really ‘queer’, the authors argue, cannot be stated with certainty. Assuming it was, however, one may describe its manifestation in the given sources as a manifestation of queerness in its sublimated form, and as part of their own contemporary discourse on spiritual love and friendship.
KEYWORDS (cz)
Alkuin z Yorku; sexualita Alkuina z Yorku; homosexualita ve středověku; queer dějiny středověku
KEYWORDS (en)
Alcuin of York; the sexuality of Alcuin of York; homosexuality in the Middle Ages; medieval queer history
DOI
https://doi.org/10.14712/23366680.2022.3.1
SOURCES
Alcuini (Albini) carmina. In: Ernst Dümmler (ed.): MGH Poetae 1. Berlin 1881, s. 160–351.
Alcvini sive Albini epistolae. In: Ernst Dümmler (ed): MGH Epistolae 4: Epistolae Karolini aevi: Tom. II. Berlin 1895, s. 1–481.
Die Admonitio generalis Karls des Großen. In: Hubert Mordek — Klaus Zechiel-Eckes — Michael Glatthaar (eds.): MGH Leges: Fontes iuris 16. Hannover 2012, s. 179–239.
Interrogationes et Responsiones in Genesim. In: Jacques-Paul Migne (ed.): Patrologia Latina: Tom. 100. Paris 1863, s. 515–568.
Vita Alcuini. In: Wilhelm Arndt (ed.): MGH SS 15,1. Hannover 1887, s. 182–197.
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