Before the Closet: Same-Sex Love from "Beowulf" to "Angels in America"

by Allen J. Frantzen

Allen J. Frantzen challenges the long accepted view that the early Middle Ages tolerated and even fostered same-sex relations and that intolerance of homosexuality developed only late in the medieval period. Frantzen shows that in early medieval Europe, the Church did not tolerate same-sex acts, in fact it was an age before people recognized the existence—or the possibility—of the "closet."

With its ambitious scope and elegant style, Before the Closet sets same-sex relations in Anglo-Saxon sources in relation to the sexual themes of contemporary opera, dance, and theatre. Frantzen offers a comprehensive analysis of sources from the seventh to the twelfth century and traces Anglo-Saxon same-sex behavior through the age of Chaucer and into the Renaissance.

"Frantzen's marvelous book . . . opens up a world most readers will never have even known was there. It's a difficult topic, but Frantzen's comprehensive, readable and even wryly funny treatment makes this an unexpected pleasure."— Publishers Weekly , starred review

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, History

380 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 1998

Reviews

[Stephen Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because, strangely, it was the only book of Anglo Saxon criticism at my local library, which isn't exactly flooded with queer theory texts. This is an oddity of a book, more a hodgepodge of essays (some of them little more than research findings) than a unified whole, an attempt to draw together and publish whatever various things Frantzen had been working on. You can tell that from the title; FROM Beowulf TO Angels in America? That's pretty lofty. It also implies that 1200 or more years of literature will be encompassed. Not so. There is some close reading of the same-sex sections of various Old English poems and chronicles. And there is also a pretty insightful reading of ANGELS IN AMERICA which made me appreciate that beloved masterpiece even more. But there's also an essay dedicated to gender confusion in opera and dance performances, a rather minute examination of medieval religious tracts and prohibitions, and some personal memoir about the Korean War. Like I said, an eccentric hodgepodge.

I'm not saying it's bad. All in all, the book is well-informed, convincing, intelligent, and accessible. It's just... strange.

And the mindset that inspired it is also quite baffling. Frantzen seems to have set out to repudiate "widespread" beliefs that medieval England was an accepting and open oasis of same-sex lovemaking. I'm not sure such claims really require a book-length rejection, since I can't imagine why anyone would actually believe that in the first place. Apparently, however, many queer theory medievalists prior to Frantzen did think just that, and Frantzen cites them with scorn. To be sure, one of the most interesting aspects of this book is the revelation of how academics can misapply poor translations, decontextualized excerpts, and shoddy research in order to prove whatever thesis they wish to make. Frantzen's book is as much an outcry against scholarly misconduct as it is a book of original criticism

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feeling about this book. I wasn't expecting such an academic presentation, and was slightly put off by the dry, verbose language.

I did find many interesting snippets sandwiched between the redundant, long-winded prose. I especially liked how Frantzen presented and analyzed the Church doctrine and penetential laws of both heterosexual and homosexual "sins." Some of his views I found a little too complicated and more elaborate than necessary...but there were some areas that I found eye-opening.

I feel that this is a good book for those who have a strong history in gender/sexual/queer studies AND have a good background in Midieval, Anglo-Saxon literature. In other words...I feel this is not a book for novice readers interested in queer theory in literature.

[M F]

There was some interesting stuff here, including some that was moderately useful for my dissertation -- though more in the first half of the book than the second, just because of what I'm writing about. That said, the way the book opened was a little off-putting. Frantzen is... not exactly SCATHING about most queer theory so much as profoundly unimpressed, but it seemed quite dismissive and made me apprehensive about the rest of the book in case he was one of those academics who spends their whole time insulting others' work without putting forward any better ideas. Fortunately, he doesn't, but it was definitely the vibe I got from the opening chapter, so I was a little apprehensive.