this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2025
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Medieval convents had a bit of an issue with female same sex activity.
It’s hard to put the word “lesbian” on someone before the 1900s. Identification is complicated - are we just looking for a woman who sexually pursued other women? Then yes, there have been tons of notable lesbians. There’s arguments for women like Hildegard of Bingen to be read as possibly lesbian or queer.
I distantly remember a story of a medieval female knight who is turned by god into a man to allow her to properly marry the woman she loved. Have to dig in the notes to remember, Google ain’t helping.