Ye Olde Queers: The Role of Homosexuality in the Middle Ages

In the middle age’s homosexuality was not understood in the same way it is today. That’s not to say that same-sex relationships didn’t occur, they did, but they weren’t understood to be same-sex couple, rather a deviant sexual act between two men. These relationships occurred so commonly in fact that we see signs of them in many literary works from the middle ages, one of these works being Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, specifically The Summoner's Tale. 

The Summoner’s Tale tells the story of a Friar John, a greedy friar who lies and scams his way into money. Friar John visits the house of a sick parishioner Thomas, upon entering he greats Thomas’s wife with a tight hug, a kiss, and a few flirtatious remarks. Speaking to Thomas, Friar John tells him that the clergy is praying nightly for his recovery, Thomas in responses tells the friar that he has a reward for him. In order to get the reward, the Friar needs to reach under Thomas’s butt and grab it, so the friar does. While the Friars hand is on Thomas’s butt Thomas farts in the friar’s hand and tells him to share it with the rest of the clergy.

The Summoner - The Canterbury Tales

While the tale is not explicitly about gay sex the allusions to it are quite clear. In an essay by Ruth Evans the role of homosexual acts in The Summoners Tale is explored. Evans makes it clear that gay sex, and gay relationships are two very different things, and only the former was understood to exist during Chaucer’s time. Gay sex was also seen as being condemnable for the sin of sodomy, hence why when Friar John attempts to grope the behind of another man he is rewarded with a fart in his hand and sent from the house. 

Chaucer’s inclusion of characters who partake in same-sex acts is very interesting. Not only does it allow for some insight into how queerness presented in the past, but it also allows for modern day queer readers to see themselves in a time period that has been taught as almost entirely straight. Richard E. Zeikowitz describes the effect that this can have for queer readers in his essay. Even if Chaucer’s queer characters do not act in ways that present same-sex relationships in a positive light, they still provide support for queer readers by disrupting the heteronormative space that the middle ages are presented in. 

By including queer characters in The Canterbury Tales Chaucer inadvertently had great impacts on normalizing queerness in media throughout the middle ages, and modern times. In an essay by Tison Pugh he analyzes the unique impact Chaucer had on queerness in the middle ages. Chaucer began the trope of writing “Homosocial” relationships, bonds between two men who were sworn to each other. These bonds of brotherhood Pugh claims can be read as early versions of same-sex marriages.

By writing about queer characters, whether in a negative or positive light, Chaucer created a space for queerness in the middle ages. Which allows modern queer readers to be validated and more comfortable in their sexuality.

A Clash of Two Communities: "The Man of Law's Tale"

    I find that each story in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales can be recognized for a specific theme or message that the work is trying to portray. What really caught my eye was “The Man of Law’s Tale” and its representation of a collision of two very seperate worlds. It demonstrates what occurs when people from very different communities get entangled, and when faced with religious conversion.

    This work is about a super virtuous Catholic woman named Custance. She is married off into a community of pagans, and undergoes just about every hardship possible at the hands of two very sinister mothers-in-law. Despite every adversity that she endures, she is basically saved by her faith, which remains stronger than ever: “Chaucer authenticates a miracle by asking why Custance was not slain with other Cristians at the massacre plotted by the Sultan’s mother (470-71). God saved Custance” (Johnson 5) In the process, she is able to convert an entire community of people without even trying.

    The way in which religious conversion is depicted in the tale is quite interesting. Chaucer paints Christianity as a religion so powerful that when one meets a believer who performs a miracle, others will willingly make the choice to convert. Unlike the original story that the work is based off of, Lewis states that “Chaucer omits Custance’s role as actively preaching to the merchants and causing them to be baptized, a move that would seem to result in a passive rather than an active missionary bride” (14). He focuses the reader’s attention on Custance as the bearer of faith. Interestingly enough, while doing this, Chaucer also portrays her as a paragon of faith and purity. She represents the perfect image of the Catholic Church.

     Custance does not only serve as a religious pawn in the story, but a tool for the goal of Islam’s obliteration. Right from the beginning, the marriage of her to the Sultan suggests the beginning of the end of this religion. The Sultan, without blinking an eye, chooses to covert to be with her. It is his mother who gets in between the couple, killing all of the Christians after their wedding ceremony. This juxtaposition between characters is highly important. While Chaucer depicts Custance as peaceful and strong in her beliefs, Islamic figures throughout the story are portrayed as either easily persuaded or volatile.

    Despite this misrepresentation of Islam that the author depicts, he also seems to hint that the two religions are more alike than different. This is something that both communities in real life may ignore, viewing each other as the enemy. Khan writes that “what is ignored is that the Christians’ belief in the fundamentals and traditions of Christianity is much more similar to the Muslims thinking on their own beliefs” (12). They really are not much different after all, but many refuse to look at the commonalities.

    
In the original story by Trivet, two main priorities of the Crusades are depicted. These are territorial expansion and the possession of Jerusalem. Interestingly enough, in Chaucer’s version of the tale the main goal is spiritual conversion of the Syrians by the Romans. Islam and Christianity clash in this story, showing its readers the huge impact that this has on both communities. Custance becomes the posterchild for her religion and all things good, while various Muslim characters are written in a completely different manner. 

Gender Role Reversal in the Miller's Tale

Painting of Alisoun standing over John the Carpenter

                                        Gender Role Reversal in The Miller's Tale

    People who read The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer may easily be able to tell the writing is from the Middle Ages because of the vulgar humor and gender roles set in some of the Tales. For this project, The Miller's Tale will be examined to show that amidst all of the dark humor, the character’s gender roles are very different in relation to the time period it was written in. Therefore, in Miller's Tale, even amidst the dark humor, the gender roles of the female and male characters are seemingly reversed. 

    To continue, although this was written in 1392, in the late Middle Ages, the character of Alisoun seems to have the power that women of this time period did not easily have. According to Kathy Lavezzo Alisoun showed independence and power in Miller’s Tale. This is expressed when Lavezzo writes, “Not only is Alisoun unscathed by the close of the Miller’s Tale, but she also exhibits a notable degree of agency… Alisoun’s prime moment of power occurs during the notorious misdirected kiss sequence” (Lavezzo 8). This quote refers to the section in the Tale where she rejects her male caller Absolon. Not only were women seen as objects at this time, but they also had little to no say in who they were with romantically. Alisun fought this, in a very empowering and masculine way. By making him kiss her arse in rejection, it exhibits a type of power that was not typical of women in this time period. Giving his input Joseph Perry writes,“As such a figure, on the other hand, Alisoun seems to generate, more than she affects, the tale's plot, which nevertheless grants her a kind of power in the tale” (Perry 2). This shows how Chaucer decided to give her power in this tale, that was not typically allotted to females.

    Furthermore, the gender roles seem to be reversed here since the Male characters are seemingly the ones who are punished for adultery. In the Middle Ages, it was way more common that the woman would more so suffer the consequences of adultery. This is because a man at this time should have proper control over his wife. The male characters are Abolon, Nicholas, and John. In the end, despite being cheated on by John the Carpenter is actually seen as a laughing stock of the town. Absolon punished Nicholas, by sticking a hot stick up his rear, in reaction to Alisoun punishing Absolon tricking him into kissing her rear. The dark humor and love triangle action actually make these characters lose their masculinity in the end. Shannon Forbes writes about Absolon’s lack of masculinity. This is seen when Forbes writes, “Perhaps most seriously, however, Absolon fails to consistently enact the role of the courtly lover because he cannot successfully execute his male authority over the female object of his love” (Forbes 5). Here Forbes suggests that Alisouns’s power seems to stop Absolon from forcing Alisoun to love him. 

       To sum it up, by using these sources, this project will further prove that the gender roles are reversed in Chaucer’s Miller’s Tale. This is due to the main points that Alisoun exhibits power that women did not typically have in the Middle ages. The power Alisoun has with her choices and rejections causes the male characters to lose their masculinity. This is seen through their inability to love her and their punishments for adultery. Therefore, the gender roles of the female and male characters are swapped in Chaucer's Miller’s Tale.

Gender Dynamic in "The Wife of Bath's Tale"

Throughout my college career, I have read The Canterbury Tales three times; each time, I find myself devoted to "The Wife of Bath's Tale." The tale encompasses the unfamiliar concept of strong, authoritative women in a male-dominant period.

This tale tells the story of a knight who rapes a young maiden; because of his actions, the knight faces life-threatening consequences. Instead of facing death, the queen presents a challenge to the knight - if he wants to live, he must learn what women desire most in the world; once he discovers it, he must tell the queen within one year. He travels for months, seeking the answer with no luck. One day, he ventures across the loathly lady; in return for presenting him with the solution, the knight must spend the rest of his life with her. After he reveals that women desire power over men in relationships, the loathly lady demands the knight to marry her. The knight is furious at the turn of events. In the end, the lady asks the knight to choose: have an elderly wife who is faithful, or a young partner who is unfaithful. The knight leaves the choice up to her, and she is overjoyed. The once loathly lady is now a youthful-looking, faithful wife, and the couples lives happily ever after.

The Loathly Lady - Frequently used in Medieval Literature

In the tale, the men fall in line with the rules of the women, most notably the queen and the loathly lady. As a woman, it is inspiring to see women take on powerful positions. Furthermore, the main focus of this project is exposing the dynamics of gender.

Emma Lipton argues that Chaucer is advocating for social change in which female superiority overthrows a patriarchal society. In her research, Lipton also notes that rather than reducing women to passive and obedient beings, "The Wife of Bath's Tale" provides women with a powerful voice.

Susan Carter expresses that in "The Wife of Bath's Tale," Chaucer is promoting radical change. Through the use of the "loathly lady" motif, Chaucer is reducing the concept of gender roles. In the tale, the knight submits to her, listening to her every word and following through with her favors. As for the queen, she also exerts authority over the king. Not only does the entire king's court consist of women, but they all also implement equitable punishments and rules for those that do wrong, such as the knight.

Anne McTaggart addresses the unusual gender dynamic in the tale; it is different from anything seen in the Middle Ages. In her article, McTaggart brings up "male surrender" which particularly exists in both the knight and the king. Throughout the text, both men are relinquishing their males status to that of strong females, specifically the queen and the loathly lady.

"The Wife of Bath's Tale" was way ahead of its time. Geoffrey Chaucer incorporated ideas that citizens are fighting for in the present-day. The gender dynamic in this tale allows women to feel empowered and recognize the opportunities they can achieve.