14 Out in the Mountains April 2000 srnnrnrnnr lfl srnnrwlrr IIV lIllfll'llfl Elllllllll A Little Papal Perspective y dressing up in tutus and dancing in the woods at sunset, those Radical Faeries may be onto something big. One of the most striking and enduring themes in history is the con- nection between androgyny and the sacred. In Blossom of Bone, a book l’ve often used in writing this column, Randy Conner traces religious‘ men who dress as women. He begins with god- dess cults of the Greco-Roman world, with their cross-dress- ing priests and homoerotic cer- emonies and moves on to Native American shamans called “berdache” and modern day Christian ministers in litur- gical drag. The effect of artistic gay men on Christian liturgy and liturgical fashion is obvious to any Catholic. Where, outside of a drag show, would you see an elaborate ritual conducted by a man in a floor-length white lace alb (dress), topped with a. brightly-colored bro- cade chasuble (poncho) trimmed in velvet or gold? (The actress Tallulah Bankhead was in a Catholic church once when the priest walked by swinging a censor. She is reported to have quipped “Lovely frock, Dahling, but your purse is on firel”) What Would Popes Do? Since I have already cov- ered the lives of gay saints, you probably won’t be surprised if I move down the ladder to popes. But you might be sur- prised to know that these guys were often a lively lot. Quite a few popes were married with children, and some were unmarried ‘with Imagine a school children. Some were unmar- ried with concubines. Pope Urban Vl had such a temper that he punched out a cardinal just after he was elected and Pope Leo III was so unpopular that he was attacked during a procession and run out of Rome. In the 14th century, there were even three compet- ing popes! (No swimsuit com- petition, thank God.) Earlier in their lives, both Pope Julius II and Pope Paul II faced charges of seducing much younger men. Pope Julius III appointed his young lover, Innocent, to be a cardi- nal, and Pope Hadrian IV had a passionate friendship with John of Salisbury. A The history books are filled with stories of people like Luigi Pulci, who made a career out of “service” to Roman bishops in the 16th century and Cardinal Francesco del Monte, a churchman with well-known homosexual interests, who commissioned Caravaggio to do that sexy painting of a young Roman dressed as Bacchus. Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Women were thought to be much more lustful back then. Because “society” (read: men) had a phallocentric view of human sexuality, when they asked what one woman could do to satisfy the sexual desires of another, the answer was always “nothing!” so sex between women was pretty much ignored. They didn’t have a clue! Yet men were not the only religious with closets. The Red Cedar 5 School - Where students are free to do what is most 3 interesting and ' important to them do Where being treated with respect is an 3 absolute right Ages 5 -19 Hardscrabble Road, Bristol 05443 453-5213 redcedar@wcvt.com ' ’ : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\ “lesbian nun” is a common stereotype. St. Augustine warned his sister in a convent that “The love which you bear one another ought not to be carnal.” Laws in many con- vents forbid nuns sleeping together and required cells to remain unlocked so the abbess jester was a gender—variant woman, possibly lesbian, named Mathurin. Henry often wore makeup and women’s garments, and appeared at parties dressed as an Amazon (a favorite costume item was a belt of ivory skulls.) His gay court spent much time in religious proces- sions and spiritual devotions. However, unlike any Radical Faerie I know, they were into flagellation as a penance. This is an ancient part of Christian spirituality right up there with fasting. It’s rather like S&M for Jesus. But Henry was also interest- Pope Urban Vl had such a temper that he punched out ,a cardinal lust after he was elected and Pope Leo Ill was so unpopu- lar that he was attacked during a proces- sion and run out of Rome. In the 14th century there were even three competing popes! (No swimsuit competition, thank God.) could check at any time. St. Thomas Aquinas referred to this same-sex activity as “copulation with an undue sex.” But since the worst sexu- al offense in the eyes of these church fathers was to “waste seed,” women were pretty much off the hook. The First Radical Faerie King Henry III of France (1551-1589) was intelligent, witty, sensitive, and adored by all. “He was of a feminine type... combining the qualities of both sexes.” He was a pro- foundly devoted Catholic, yet some of his androgynous courtiers were magicians prac- ticing black magic. His court ed in things pagan. He was close to his mother, Catherine de’ Medici, who was very interested in the occult. She reportedly had a magic mirror, in which she could see the entire history of France. What she didn’t see was that Henry would declare “Now I am king!” upon her death, nor that a crazed monk would stab him to death later that year. Bougie nights? In 1605 Thomas Artus wrote a satire called “l’Isle des Hermaphrodites,” which linked Henry and his activities with goddess worship rites of the Greco-Roman era and the * * plinenixrising* , -spirited jewelry & gilts- ‘k lite lSl!lllll!l‘ a daring adventure . Ill‘ flllllllllll. lltllll litlltt 34staleslreet monlpelierifvl 05602 802.229.0522 jlourftalsl for Posts Taft Cerflazrs Shefrifig Ctfibtr, Willicbort - 875.8891 Ganymede legend. Interestingly, he also con- nected this to the gender-vari- ant shamans of the New World- the berdache. The term ‘badas’ or ‘bardache’ dates back to antiquity. During the Renaissance, the word was used to refer to the receptive partner in a homoerotic rela- tionship, with the same mean- ing as ‘ganymede. The active partner was known as 'bougre’ in French from which we get ‘bugger’ and VERY interest- ingly, ‘bougie man,’ which I remember being threatened with as a child. (My parents did not have a clue!) For the majority of Indians in the New World, the berdache was well understood, and celebrated. Androgyny was regarded as a powerful spiritual gift. Native people understood homosexuality to be a permanent part of a per- son’s nature and believed it would insult the Great Spirit to try to change someone. As Conner writes, “I acknowledge this gift we as gay people have been given - to move between the realms of perception as priests, magicians, shamans and healers.” Go F aeriesl Next time: You either got it, or you ain’t. For More Information: This column is 16th in a series that began in prehistory. Much of my research for this column comes from James Saslow’s writings on the Renaissance and Randy P. Conner’s Blossom of Bone. Charlie Emond has a bache- lor ’s degree from Queen is College and masters degrees from both Dartmouth and Keene State. He teaches col- lege history courses in Springfield and White River Junction. 7 For confidenfial HIV/AIDS Information , Call 800-882—AlDS My