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12-6-2018 Perpetua and Felicity: The nofficU ial Lesbian Mari Tonsfeldt

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Recommended Citation Tonsfeldt, Mari, "Perpetua and Felicity: The nofficU ial Lesbian Saints" (2018). Essential Studies UNDergraduate Showcase. 17. https://commons.und.edu/es-showcase/17

This Poster is brought to you for free and open access by the Essential Studies Program at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Essential Studies UNDergraduate Showcase by an authorized administrator of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Perpetua and Felicity: The Unofficial Lesbian Saints The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity

Mari Tonsfeldt English 415: Saints and Sinners in Medieval Literature; Dr. Michelle M. Sauer

Martyrdom of Perpetua, Felicitas, Revocatus, Saturninus, and Secundulus from Menologian Basil II, c.1000 AD, Vatican Library, Rome.

Abstract Research and Conclusion Selected Bibliography

The concept of homosexuality did not exist • Use of the term “lesbian-like”, coined by prior to the nineteenth century. In literature, Judith Bennett, helps to avoid • Bennett, Judith M. “’Lesbian-Like’ and the this made lesbians a rarity. With the anachronism and allows for more open Social History of Lesbianisms.” Journal of absence of women writers and even fewer interpretation. lesbian writers, the question for historians the History of Sexuality, vol. 9, no.1/2, 2000, pp. 1-24. became how to find our queer ancestors. • “Lesbian-like” means any behavior that • Perpetua, Vibia. “The English Defining anyone in the Medieval Age as could be interpreted as queer. homosexual is anachronistic at best but Translation.” The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. Translated by Thomas J. modern lesbians could hardly be the first. • This behavior can be anything female- Heffernan, Oxford University Press, 2012, centric; love of women, socializing with pp. 125-135. Saints Perpetua and Felicity are commonly women, sex with women, dedication to • Streete, Gail P.C. “Tough Mothers and regarded among the LGBTQ community and women, etc. members of the as the Female Contenders: Perpetua and Felicitas.” Redeemed Bodies: Women patron saints of same-sex relationships but • It can also be anything that leads to the in Early Christianity. Westminster in St. Perpetua’s self-penned diary and voluntary loss of male authority. martyrdom story, the two women have only John Knox Press, 2009, pp. 49-72. Image from a side altar of St. Martin’s • . “Ad martyras.” Ante-Nicene one direct interaction and it isn’t sexual. In Examples of “lesbian-like” from collegiate church depicting St. holding a sword and a scepter. Master of Fathers. Translated by Rev. S. Thelwall, my research, I would like to prove that there Perpetua’s Passio and history: Messkirch, “The Holy Bishop Cyprianus”, State Gallery, Stuttgart. vol. 3, Christian Literature Publishing Co., is “lesbian-like” behavior exhibited in their • Masculinized visions 1885, pp. 693-696. hagiography which makes it plausible that • Rejection of motherhood and familial the two women are lesbians. bonds. Painting of Perpetua and • Death by sword Felicity, holding swords, with the Mary.Mary and Child • Tertullian: Masculinization of martyrs with Saints Felicity and Perpetua (Sacra • Secondary author’s attempt to feminize Conversazione), c.1520, Research Question(s) • Imitation by male saints National Museum, Warsaw. • Female companionship

• What is a lesbian and is the title Conclusion: reserved for only those who are Based on the masculinization of Perpetua sexually active? and the women’s rejection of their expected • What does it mean to be “lesbian-like”? roles, we see that they are “lesbian-like” • How does the characterization of making them fit the title of patron saints of Saints Perpetua and Felicity contribute same-sex relationships. to their status as the patron saints of same-sex relationships?