Arts & Science students recently presented an exhibition that aimed to shed light on the rich and diverse gender experiences of people during the medieval period.
Students from the course, Medieval Genders and Sexualities, held a poster fair last month at St. Michael’s College, showcasing specific historical figures — including many saints — offering evidence of people who lived outside of — or challenged — gender norms.
The exhibition capped the upper-year undergraduate course, which explores ideas about — and the lived experience of — sexes, genders and sexualities in the medieval Christian West.
“Understanding trans issues and trans people has become so important in our society,” says Jacqueline Murray, a professor emerita at the University of Guelph, and a visiting fellow at St. Michael’s College who teaches the course.
“Parts of our society tend to think that aspects of sexualities and genders that we see now are part of some social change that's gone on in the past decade,” says Murray. “These misunderstandings are fueling the harshness and the almost inhumane treatment that we see of trans people in some quarters of society, particularly in the United States.”
Twelve students working individually and in groups presented six posters covering important figures from the 5th to 15th centuries, highlighting how they have been understood and misunderstood throughout history.
Hilary Packard, a second-year visual studies student in the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design — who is also taking A&S courses in medieval studies — was part of a trio that created a poster about Joan of Arc, a French saint who was burned at the stake for heresy.
“I loved the fact that I got to dive deeper into Joan’s story,” says Packard.
I'm American and I’m trans, so being able to put this into the context of history and to say, ‘We've been here all along and we belong here is a very powerful thing because a lot of the arguments people are making are that people just started being trans in this century.
Some recent scholarly and artistic endeavours have begun to see Joan’s cross-dressing as more of an expression of masculine gender expression — as opposed to more the traditional view that she wore masculine clothing to appear sexless.
“I'm American and I’m trans, so being able to put this into the context of history and to say, ‘We've been here all along and we belong here is a very powerful thing because a lot of the arguments people are making are that people just started being trans in this century,” said Packard.
And so I’m getting to see the historical re-evaluation that is currently happening, this new wave of understanding with people reflecting their own stories back on things — that's how history should work.”
Dena Abtahi created a poster covering the trial of Katherina Hetzeldorfer who is considered the first woman to be executed for homosexuality — a then-nameless crime — in 1477. Originally from Nuremberg, Hetzeldorfer moved to Speyer in 1475 and dressed as a man in the company of a woman, where they both lived together as a married couple.
“Katherina’s is one of the first historical accounts of trans people, which allows for people in our generations to look back and see that LGTBQ+ individuals have always been around,” says Abtahi, a fourth-year student studying human biology and molecular biology as a member of New College.
“In this sense, Katherina is a symbol of the importance of self-expression and self-identification. “And in so many ways, Katherina's story highlighted how in some respects, our society has remained stagnant on views pertaining to LGBTQ+ people and their rights.”
And for Abtahi, researching a person being persecuted for simply being who they want to be struck a personal chord.
“You’ve seen the news, people in Iran — where I am from — are being killed for being gay or being transgender,” she says. “And in Iran, when people do come out as homosexual, there are some instances where they are forced to undergo transgender surgery, as a way of a correction.”
Sasha Jennings, a third-year student studying classics, medieval studies and Celtic studies as a member of Victoria College, was part of a duo that created a poster about Hildegund, a German saint who was assigned female at birth but adopted the name Joseph and joined a Cistercian monastery in Schonau, Germany as a man.
In fact, it was only after Joseph’s death in 1188, as his body was being prepared for burial, that his fellow monks discovered that their brother was in fact born female.
Joseph’s life went on to be recorded in a book of Exempla by Engelhard of Lanheim as an example of piety for Cistercian nuns and monks to aspire to — portraying Joseph as a physically and spiritually pure asset to the monastery.
So we're trying to be part of this process of giving trans people their history, because there are, and have always been, many ways that individuals experience and live their identity.
“When it comes to religious identity, there's a really interesting relationship between gender fluidity and piety and sanctity,” says Jennings.
“There was an idea that if you could shed your biological limitations, especially if you were a biological woman, that put you on the path to religious piety and sanctity, and that was seen as a very good thing.”
Thrilled with the students’ work and the exhibition’s success, Murray passionately believes the stories of Hildegund, Hetzeldorfer, Joan of Arc and others have meaning for the modern world.
“So we're trying to be part of this process of giving trans people their history, because there are, and have always been, many ways that individuals experience and live their identity.”