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Book Description
"This is a superb work of scholarship, impossible to overpraise.... It
marks a milestone in the 20-year rise of gay and lesbian studies."--Martin
Duberman, The Advocate
The men of Renaissance Florence were so renowned for sodomy that "Florenzer" in German meant "sodomite." In the late fifteenth century, as many as one in two Florentine men had come to the attention of the authorities for sodomy by the time they were thirty. In 1432 The Office of the Night was created specifically to police sodomy in Florence. Indeed, nearly all Florentine males probably had some kind of same-sex experience as a part of their "normal" sexual life.
Seventy years of denunciations, interrogations, and sentencings left an extraordinarily detailed record, which author Michael Rocke has used in his vivid depiction of this vibrant sexual culture in a world where these same-sex acts were not the deviant transgressions of a small minority, but an integral part of a normal masculine identity. Rocke roots this sexual activity in the broader context of Renaissance Florence, with its social networks of families, juvenile gangs, neighbors, patronage, workshops, and confraternities, and its busy political life from the early years of the Republic through the period of Lorenzo de' Medici, Savonarola, and the beginning of Medici princely rule. His richly detailed book paints a fascinating picture of Renaissance Florence and calls into question our modern conceptions of gender and sexual identity.
The men of Renaissance Florence were so renowned for sodomy that "Florenzer" in German meant "sodomite." In the late fifteenth century, as many as one in two Florentine men had come to the attention of the authorities for sodomy by the time they were thirty. In 1432 The Office of the Night was created specifically to police sodomy in Florence. Indeed, nearly all Florentine males probably had some kind of same-sex experience as a part of their "normal" sexual life.
Seventy years of denunciations, interrogations, and sentencings left an extraordinarily detailed record, which author Michael Rocke has used in his vivid depiction of this vibrant sexual culture in a world where these same-sex acts were not the deviant transgressions of a small minority, but an integral part of a normal masculine identity. Rocke roots this sexual activity in the broader context of Renaissance Florence, with its social networks of families, juvenile gangs, neighbors, patronage, workshops, and confraternities, and its busy political life from the early years of the Republic through the period of Lorenzo de' Medici, Savonarola, and the beginning of Medici princely rule. His richly detailed book paints a fascinating picture of Renaissance Florence and calls into question our modern conceptions of gender and sexual identity.
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
From the fiery sermons of Bernadino of
Siena, Savanarola, as well as from general gossip, modern students of
15th-century Italy have long suspected that Florence witnessed a great amount of
sodomy. Rocke, an independent scholar teaching in Florence, persuasively
demonstrates that "homosexual behavior constituted a pervasive and integral part
of male sexual experience, of the construction of male sexual identity, and
forms of sociability." Using the city's rich judicial records, especially those
of the Office of the Night, a magistracy set up to root out sodomy, Rocke shows
that between 1432 and 1502 perhaps 17,000 men?or one in two in a total
population of about 40,000?came to the attention of civil authorities for
homosexual acts. Rocke presents a careful and nuanced appreciation of language
and concepts of gender and sexual roles, but a solid conclusion would have
further strengthened his case. The value of this highly important study rests on
the book's lucid prose and its learned contribution to our understanding of
human, or at least Western, sexuality.?Bennett D. Hill, Georgetown Univ.,
Washington D.C.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"A fascinating and groundbreaking study of the archives of the Office of the Night....All levels."--Choice
"Rocke presents a careful and nuanced appreciation of language and concepts of gender and sexual roles.... The value of this highly important study rests on the book's lucid prose and its learned contribution to our understanding of human, or at least Western, sexuality."--Library Journal
"This is a superb work of scholarship, impossible to overpraise.... It marks a milestone in the 20-year rise of gay and lesbian studies."--The Advocate
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33 of 37 people found the following review
helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I won't hide my praise; this book is a masterpiece in the
study of male-male sexuality in the Renaissance. Finally, due to some
historically fortuitous and unfortunately rare records, some one has provided
firm demographic evidence on the phenomenon in one major city. These
demographics settle a number of thorny questions that have plagued the field
since its inception. Over two-thirds the male population of Renaissance Florence
was involved in pederasty. We are not dealing with a small but relatively free
homosexual minority; instead, the average Florentine Renaissance male,
regardless of sexual orientation, engaged in some form of sex with males. This
book is essential not only to those interested in the Renaissance but also to
all interested in ancient (Western) history. Those interested in ancient Greece
and Rome in particular will be fascinated to learn that Greek practices are
still very much alive in Renaissance Italy, over two-thousand years later. The
book casts serious doubt on the notion that a small, aritocratic minority
practiced pederasty in Classical Antiquity. Rocke firmly establishes that male
pederastic sex and relationships in Renaissance Florence were embedded in the
broader contexts of male culture and sociality, class, retribution, and
politics. His book is an additional verification of the anthropological theory
that most pre-industrial societies accepted male pederasty as a valid expression
of a man's sexual desires, though only ancient Greece and Rome seem to have so
publicly lauded the practice in their art, literature, and philosophy.
27 of 31 people found the following review
helpful
Format:Paperback
Michael Rocke's tome on male culture and sexuality in
Renaissance Florence is a tremendous work that provides exceptional insight into
male sexuality. After reading this, only the most obdurate student of gay life
and history could fail to attain a more significant understanding of the
present-day forces that seek to quash gays and their efforts for equality under
the law. Rocke's careful research of 15th- and 16th-century documents
unequivocably shows that if not most, quite nearly a mjority of Florentine males
at the time had sex at least once with another male. The significance of such a
finding should not be missed.
Present day gays roll their eyes whenever they encounter the supposition that
a person can "be made gay" or "converted" to being gay because of the firm
belief that one's sexuality is predominantly innate. But after reading Rocke's
book, one can't help but see how males that today would undoubtedly be
identified as heterosexual had freely enjoyed sex with other males. The
significance of this, however, should not be interpreted to mean that one's
sexuality is entirely a choice. It does, however, provide an understanding of
why some homophobes fear gays.
The Dominican cleric Savonarola's rhetoric in the war he waged against sodomy in Florence provides a historical background as well for understanding the position of today's Religious Right and its stance against gays. Savonarola figures heavily in Rocke's book and the author provides wonderful detail on the political machinations of the time, a politic that essentially recognized the need to publicly take a stand against sodomy, but in practicality often lacked the nerve to do what was necessary to rid the city of "this vice."
Anyone interested in the history surrounding gays and homosexuality is strongly urged to add this title to their list.
The Dominican cleric Savonarola's rhetoric in the war he waged against sodomy in Florence provides a historical background as well for understanding the position of today's Religious Right and its stance against gays. Savonarola figures heavily in Rocke's book and the author provides wonderful detail on the political machinations of the time, a politic that essentially recognized the need to publicly take a stand against sodomy, but in practicality often lacked the nerve to do what was necessary to rid the city of "this vice."
Anyone interested in the history surrounding gays and homosexuality is strongly urged to add this title to their list.
2 of 2 people found the following review
helpful
By J.
Fried
Format:Kindle
Edition|Amazon Verified
Purchase
This is a review of the Kindle version only, and so, it is a
review of the implementation on Kindle and not a review of the content. Once
i've completed reading the book i will add to this review.
I have only two problems with the Kindle implementation of this book: the font face is fixed to a serif type, and, the footnotes are not "live". My concern with a fixed serif font is that for people with reading disabilities, sans-serif fonts are more easily read and for people without reading difficulties sans-serif fonts will work as well as serif fonts. On well formatted Kindle books you can choose the desired font along with other display attributes that are missing in this Kindle book. By "live" i mean that one can click on footnotes to be taken to a separate page where you can read the footnotes. In this book the footnotes are not live, so you will have to search the book to locate the footnotes, add a bookmark, and move between your current reading location and your footnote bookmark. And even with that approach you must move the bookmark over time as the page containing your "current" footnote will change. I think this is an important failure in a complex book like this with so many footnotes in that it reduces the reading flow considerably to have to go through the process i outlined in order to read each footnote. The alternative is to skip the footnotes and read them later, thus losing the context of the footnote - won't really work.
I think it is reasonable to expect the above features in a Kindle book. Compared to producing a book on the printed page, the above features require very little time and provide considerable reading pleasure.
*** Update 17 Feb 2012
Someone (Lev) replying to my original review has helped me see a flaw in my original review of the Kindle version of this book. Even with my criticisms, the price of the paper version is significantly more expensive than the Kindle version, the Kindle version is probably still easier to read than the paperback version because the other Kindle features, like adjusting font size, are there and you can search the Kindle version, something you cannot do with a book. So, it is not all terrible, just a reduction by one star for failing to use Kindle publishing features that would have made this a more easily read book.
I have only two problems with the Kindle implementation of this book: the font face is fixed to a serif type, and, the footnotes are not "live". My concern with a fixed serif font is that for people with reading disabilities, sans-serif fonts are more easily read and for people without reading difficulties sans-serif fonts will work as well as serif fonts. On well formatted Kindle books you can choose the desired font along with other display attributes that are missing in this Kindle book. By "live" i mean that one can click on footnotes to be taken to a separate page where you can read the footnotes. In this book the footnotes are not live, so you will have to search the book to locate the footnotes, add a bookmark, and move between your current reading location and your footnote bookmark. And even with that approach you must move the bookmark over time as the page containing your "current" footnote will change. I think this is an important failure in a complex book like this with so many footnotes in that it reduces the reading flow considerably to have to go through the process i outlined in order to read each footnote. The alternative is to skip the footnotes and read them later, thus losing the context of the footnote - won't really work.
I think it is reasonable to expect the above features in a Kindle book. Compared to producing a book on the printed page, the above features require very little time and provide considerable reading pleasure.
*** Update 17 Feb 2012
Someone (Lev) replying to my original review has helped me see a flaw in my original review of the Kindle version of this book. Even with my criticisms, the price of the paper version is significantly more expensive than the Kindle version, the Kindle version is probably still easier to read than the paperback version because the other Kindle features, like adjusting font size, are there and you can search the Kindle version, something you cannot do with a book. So, it is not all terrible, just a reduction by one star for failing to use Kindle publishing features that would have made this a more easily read book.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
"In the whole world I believe there are no two sins more abominable than those that prevail among the Florentines," commented Pope Gregory XI in 1376. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically
Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
catasto sample, policing sodomy, los sodomitos, having sodomized, habitual sodomites, sodomy with boys, judiciary records, alleged sodomites, lexique érotique des poètes, confessed relations, burlesque literature, males implicated, been sodomized, sodomitical activity, reformed boys, youths aged eighteen, notorious sodomites, declino della, convicted sodomites, judiciary sources, prediche volgari, represión sexual, male sociability, toscani del, del tardo medioevo
Key Phrases - Capitalized
Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Night Officers, Forbidden Friendships, Office of the Night, Eight of Watch, Bernardino of Siena, Social Profiles, Old Market, Ponte Vecchio, Guardians of the Law, Salvi Panuzzi, Officers of Decency, Domenico of Prato, Gonfalonier of Justice, Niccoló Machiavelli, Palla Strozzi, San Paolo, Francesco Vettori, Girolamo Savonarola, Giuliano Benintendi, Great Council, Piero Parenti, Santa Croce, Medicean Florence, Niccold Panuzzi, San Tommaso
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Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
"In the whole world I believe there are no two sins more abominable than those that prevail among the Florentines," commented Pope Gregory XI in 1376. Read the first page
catasto sample, policing sodomy, los sodomitos, having sodomized, habitual sodomites, sodomy with boys, judiciary records, alleged sodomites, lexique érotique des poètes, confessed relations, burlesque literature, males implicated, been sodomized, sodomitical activity, reformed boys, youths aged eighteen, notorious sodomites, declino della, convicted sodomites, judiciary sources, prediche volgari, represión sexual, male sociability, toscani del, del tardo medioevo
Night Officers, Forbidden Friendships, Office of the Night, Eight of Watch, Bernardino of Siena, Social Profiles, Old Market, Ponte Vecchio, Guardians of the Law, Salvi Panuzzi, Officers of Decency, Domenico of Prato, Gonfalonier of Justice, Niccoló Machiavelli, Palla Strozzi, San Paolo, Francesco Vettori, Girolamo Savonarola, Giuliano Benintendi, Great Council, Piero Parenti, Santa Croce, Medicean Florence, Niccold Panuzzi, San Tommaso
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn
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This book cites 64 books:
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all 64 books this book cites
90 books cite this book:
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all 90 books citing this book
- Pursuit of Sodomy: Male Homosexuality in Renaissance and Enlightenment Europe by Kent Gerard on 11 pages
- Hidden from History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past by Martin Bauml Duberman on 7 pages
- The Boundaries of Eros: Sex Crime and Sexuality in Renaissance Venice (Studies in the History of Sexuality) by Guido Ruggiero on 7 pages
- Public Life in Renaissance Florence (Cornell Paperbacks) by Richard C. Trexler on 7 pages
- The Laboring Classes in Renaissance Florence (Studies in Social Discontinuity) by Samuel Kline Cohn on 6 pages
See
all 64 books this book cites - Queer Italia: Same-Sex Desire in Italian Literature and Film by Gary P. Cestaro on 6 pages
- Queer Italia: Same-Sex Desire in Italian Literature and Film by Gary P. Cestaro on 6 pages
- The Manly Masquerade: Masculinity, Paternity, and Castration in the Italian Renaissance by Valeria Finucci on page 167, page 249, and Back Matter
- Cassone Painting, Humanism and Gender in Early Modern Italy (Cambridge Studies in New Art History and Criticism) by Cristelle L. Baskins in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Re-Membering Masculinity in Early Modern Florence: Widowed Bodies, Mourning And Portraiture by Allison Levy on page 83, page 269, and Back Matter
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all 90 books citing this book
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