Proof-positive portrayals of trans* people are rare to unheard of in a medieval context. Even well known examples of potential trans*ness are stymied by methodological difficulties surrounding the nature of identity in a pre-modern context (the case of Eleanor/John Rykener, c.1394; Boyd and Karras 1995; Karras and Linkinen, 2016). As such, scholars of medieval gender and sexuality often avoid engaging directly with potential trans* identities. (Dinshaw 1999) However, the reluctance of the historiography and the paucity of evidence does not preclude the ability to directly discuss medieval trans histories should an appropriate case study arise.
This poster will focus on a late medieval Welsh language panegyric poem written in admiration of a trans* woman. The poem describes a woman, living in the Welsh town of Oswestry in the early 16th century, who was known for her beauty, her interest in only women, and, much to the confusion of the poet, her "unexpected" genitalia. This poem has been little studied, and in its two appearances has only been framed in transphobic terms (Johnston, 1991; Morgan 2016). This poster will present a revised edition and English translation of the poem to recover the trans* accommodating language of the original Welsh. From this revised edition, the poster will then situate the poem amid the historiography on trans* persons and queerness in medieval Britain. Finally, the poster, using this poem as a case study, will propose an alternative approach to finding and writing medieval trans* histories.
[This poster is sponsored by the Committee on LGBT History. For more information about sponsorship, please contact the co-chairs at clgbth.cochairs@gmail.com]
Works Cited
Boyd, David Lorenzo and Ruth Mazo Karras (1995),"The Interrogation of a Male Transvestite Prostitute in Fourteenth-Century London," GLQ 1:4, pp. 459-465.
Dafydd Johnston, trans. (1991), "Mab wedi Ymwisgo mewn Dillad Merch / A Boy Dressed in Girl's Clothes" Canu Maswedd yr Oesoedd Cano I/Medieval Welsh Erotic Poetry, edited by Dafydd Johnston (Caerdydd: Tafol), pp. 120-1.
Dinshaw, Caroline (1999), "Good Vibrations: John/Eleanor, Dame Alys, the Pardoner, and Foucault" in Getting Medieval: Sexualities and Communities, Pre- and Postmodern (Durham and London, Duke University Press), pp. 100-142.
Karras, Ruth Mazo and Tom Linkinen (2016), “John/Eleanor Rykener Revisited,” in Founding Feminisms in Medieval Studies: Essays in Honor of E. Jane Burns, edited by Laine E. Doggett and Daniel E. O’Sullivan (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer), pp. 111-121.
Morgan, Mihangel (2016), "From Huw Arwystli to Siôn Eirian: Representative Examples of Cadi/Queer Life from Medieval to Twentieth-century Welsh Literature," in Queer Wales: The History, Culture and Politics of Queer Life in Wales, edited by Huw Osborne (Cardiff: University of Wales Press).