Looking for Homoeroticism; Finding Homophobia

Saturday, August 8, 2026 - 15:00 The Lesbian Historic Motif Project The medieval French Roman de Silence is a rich text for exploring gender and sexuality, but as is often the case, what you find can depend on what you're looking for. What I personally look for is often imagery that could have informed a medieval woman's understanding of her sexual possibilities. This author seems to have been looking for ways to associate the homoeroticism in the tale with the villainess--even though the villainess's sexual transgressions are all heterosexual from her point of view. Major category: LHMPTags: LHMP LHMP #578 Blumreich 1997 Lesbian Desire in the Old French Roman de Silence About LHMP Full citation: Blumreich, Kathleen M. “Lesbian Desire in the Old French Roman de Silence,” in Arthuriana 7:2 (1997): 47-62. For a good background summary of the medieval Romance of Silence see my podcast on the topic. Scholarship about this romance rarely adds any significantly new angles to the central…