As modern society grows more and more comfortable with the reality of same-sex love, it’s interesting to look back on the history of homosexual relationships. Indeed, homosexuality has existed as long as heterosexuality. Although the Middle Ages are well known for their persecution of same-sex relationships, I stumbled upon an interesting article while sifting through ideas for this post.
The historian Allan Tulchin explains that a ritual, very similar to marriage, existed for men. They called it “Brotherment” Technically, this brotherment was intended to allow two males to own property together and live together. However, it was likely a ritual used for more than just property sharing. For some men, this may have been a non-sexual arrangement, but there were probably many sexual relationships formalized with this brotherment ritual. Of course, over time the Roman Church rejected same-sex love relationships and persecuted those participating in them. Yet it is significant to look before the rejection of homosexuality and see that there was once a community acceptance of same-sex relationships.
Original article:
http://www.livescience.com/7344-gay-civil-unions-sanctioned-medieval-europe.html
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