{"product_id":"samesex-marriage-in-renaissance-rome-9781501702372","title":"SameSex Marriage in Renaissance Rome","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the tenor of contemporary discussions, it would be easy to conclude that the idea of marriage between two people of the same sex is a uniquely contemporary phenomenon. Not so, argues Gary Ferguson in \u003ci\u003eSame-Sex Marriage in Renaissance Rom\u003c\/i\u003ee. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaking use of substantial fragments of trial transcripts Gary Ferguson brings the story of a same-sex marriage to life in striking detail. He unearths an incredible amount of detail about the men, their sex lives, and how others responded to this information, which allows him to explore attitudes toward marriage, sex, and gender at the time. Emphasizing the instability of marriage in premodern Europe, Ferguson argues that same-sex unions should be considered part of the institution''s complex and contested history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eFerguson's findings about a group of foreign immigrants appropriating the social and religious ritual of marriage within their own self-defined community open up a new window on homosexual activity in Renaissance Rome. The author has deftly uncovered a clandestine subculture that departed from traditional gender norms, sexual stereotypes, and marriage practices, making an important contribution to the history of marriage and sexuality.\u003c\/p\u003e * American Historical Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn its analysis of texts, narrative and legal,\u003ci\u003e Same-Sex Marriage in Renaissance Rome\u003c\/i\u003e is truly exemplary.\u003c\/p\u003e * Journal of Modern History *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a short book, but it punches above its weight. Although the book will be of most interest to historians of sexuality and other early modern historians, I would not hesitate to give it to students as an excellent model of how to read historical documents as texts while also placing them within several different relevant contexts and opening up productive ambiguities.\u003c\/p\u003e * Journal of the History of Sexuality *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e[The book is a] splendid microhistorical investigation, a piece of archival detective work that challenges prevailing views about sexual identity in early modern Europe.... It is compelling reading that should make scholars, students, and activists think again about the history of sexuality.\u003c\/p\u003e * H-Net Reviews\/H-Histsex *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn original and deeply thoughtful study.... Ferguson's sensitive discussion of the men's testimonies, fragmentary though they are, challenges 'some engrained historiographical notions' about same-sex erotic relationships in early modern Europe.... Ferguson's extraordinary, compassionate and poignant book allows these events to speak to us urgently about sexuality past and the present.\u003c\/p\u003e * Gender \u0026amp; History *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSame-Sex Marriage in Renaissance Rome\u003c\/i\u003e will be of interest to historically inclined scholars from all disciplines, but will especially delight historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and art historians.... The case of the men at the church of Saint John at the Latin Gate demands attention, and should not be thought of as an exceptional event but as a new window into the diverse forms of historical sexuality and as a methodological example of the way to excavate these latent pasts.\u003c\/p\u003e * H-Histsex *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction: Engagement \u003cbr\u003e PART I. STORIES—OBSERVERS\u003cbr\u003e 1. A French Writer Visits: Montaigne's Travel Journal and a Thrice-Told Tale \u003cbr\u003e 2. \"Our Marriages\"? Male to Male \/ Like Husband and Wife\u003cbr\u003e 3. Marriage— Rites, Analogues, Meanings \u003cbr\u003e 4. Other Witnesses, Other Stories\u003cbr\u003e PART II. STORIES—ACTORS\u003cbr\u003e 5. Final Hours: Wills and Execution\u003cbr\u003e 6. Voices on Trial: Beginning with Battista the Boatman \u003cbr\u003e 7. Saint John at the Latin Gate: Marco Pinto \u003cbr\u003e 8. Marriage as Alibi, as Euphemism, as Recruitment \u003cbr\u003e 9. Marriage and Community \u003cbr\u003e PART III. HISTORIES\u003cbr\u003e 10. Looking Forward \/ Looking Back: The History of Sexuality \u003cbr\u003e 11. Ghost Stories: Queer History\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornell University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49409319076183,"sku":"9781501702372","price":31.35,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781501702372.jpg?v=1730506403","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/samesex-marriage-in-renaissance-rome-9781501702372","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}