A brief overview of hidden queer icons from early history

Hello, and welcome back to my short series for LGBTQ+ History Month, showcasing amazing LGBTQ+ individuals from history! In this article we'll travel a bit further back, finding some hidden individuals from as far back as the 5th century whose queerness might have been glossed over, forgotten, or outright erased from history books.

The Ladies of Llangollen

Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby were two upper-class women who were born and met in Ireland near Kilkenny in the mid-18th century. Butler was considered by her family too well read and a bookworm, though she was educated in France, and bonded with Ponsonby in their shared determination not to be married off. So, they made a plan to escape together and settle down as a couple, disguised as men, though this was not well received. They were caught whilst leaving but managed, with some convincing, for their families to let them go.

The couple, along with Ponsonby's servant, Mary Caryll, finally settled down near Llangollen, North Wales in 1780, in a small cottage they called Plas Newydd. Their plan was to extend the property - which they did, adding a library and servant's quarters - and did so in the Gothic style, upgrading it with Welsh oak panelling and stained glass windows. Alongside their large selection of literature, they also collected medieval oak carvings and other artifacts, curated as features across their multiple gardens around their property. They even owned a string of dogs all called "Sappho". The Ladies lived there for almost 50 years together, and died within a couple years of each other.

Many famous visitors were recorded to have met the Ladies of Llangollen, including poets Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and William Wordsworth, as well as confirmed lesbians of their time, such as Anne Lister - who wrote a letter to her own lover that she thought a 'platonic' relationship between the Ladies was unlikely - and Romantic poet Anna Seward - who admitted she had envy for their 'lifestyle'. Therefore, they managed to stay relatively independent, turning their celebrity profile into their work, and eventually receiving a pension from Queen Charlotte, who convinced King George III to agree to this.

Today, their house is a Grade II Listed Building run by Denbighshire County Council as a museum. In 2021, the church at which the Ladies of Llangollen were buried held the first gay partnership blessed by the Church in Wales, preceding even the Church of England in allowing blessings of same-sex couples. It's obvious that the memory of the Ladies of Llangollen still impact our communities today.

Eleanor Rykener

Born into poverty, Eleanor Rykener was an embroideress and sex worker in late fourteenth-century Oxford and London. She is immortalised in court records, which show that she was brought in several times for prostitution under the name 'Eleanor', as well as her dead name; the most notable case then becoming a debate over whether she had or had not in fact committed sodomy, since she presented as a woman but was born a man. This record, 'The Questioning of Eleanor Rykener' (1395), is therefore the oldest known record in The London Archives collection that speaks of LGBTQ+ people.

Despite what this record may imply, it seemed Rykener lived a relatively free life in 14th century London, reportedly confessing intimate relations with both men (primarily church members and gentry) and women; although, gifts and money were only exchanged between her and her male clients, implying that her relationships with the women she met were potentially not for work.

Both a transgender and bisexual icon of the middle ages, Rykener has been used as inspiration for fictional novels, artistic prints and even a puppet show since her records were distributed amongst academics in 1995. Despite this, it took several years until trans scholars were able to advocate for the end of the systematic misgendering and deadnaming of Rykener. In 2016, M.W. Bychowski, a trans medievalist, hosted a reading of Eleanor’s confession near where she may have been arrested, in London.

("discovered in women’s attire, she named herself as Eleanor")

Saint Marinos the Monk

Born to a wealthy Christian widower, Saint Marinos was a widespread figure in Syriac, Coptic, Arabic, Greek, Latin, Ethiopian, Armenian, German, French and Spanish medieval literature, implying his reverence throughout medieval Europe, though we don't know when he lived.

In every version of the story, Marinos is said to have transitioned in order to join his father as a monk in the Monastery of Qannoubine in modern day Lebanon, though in these stories, he is often referred to as a woman in men's clothing. After being accused of fathering an illegitimate child, which would have been impossible, Marinos chose not to reveal himself, and instead begged for forgiveness. Unfortunately, he was still banished from the monastery, going on to father the child for 10 years before he was finally allowed to return to the monastery again, and do penance, his secret undetected.

Upon his death, Marinos' fellow monks discovered, once undressed, that he had not been born male; however, instead of reacting with disgust, they were instead overwrought at the discovery that they had wrongfully punished the monk all this time when it was impossible he was the father. Thus, the man who had accused Marinos, the mother of the child and the true father all visited the tomb of Marinos, praying for forgiveness; various miracles were said to follow.

What's surprising about the story is medieval people's indifference to the apparent queerness of Saint Marinos, instead praising his selflessness and modesty alongside the dedication he showed to his faith, accepting punishment for an act he didn't commit in the hopes he could return to the monastery one day, rather than outing himself (which would have meant a permanent exclusion).

In conclusion

I hope that these tales, although often forgotten or dismissed, can inspire in everyone the hope that, despite how the term 'queer' originated, members of the LGBTQ+ community are proven to have existed for centuries, and more than likely further into the past than we have written evidence of. So, as we come to the end of this LGBTQ+ History Month, it's a good reminder that history is on the side of the oppressed, and that queerness has not and will not ever be erased, no matter what. Lots of love to all those who need it, members of the community and allies alike.