Gossip, defamation and sodomy in the early modern Southern Netherlands
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5849327 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jonas Roelens (Ghent University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 236-252 |
| Publication date | 2017-02-24 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Renaissance Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0269-1213 • E-ISSN: 1477-4658 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/rest.12286 |
| OpenAlex | W2589506615 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 19 |
The article discusses the role played by rumour and gossip in denouncing the act of sodomy and in trying to prosecute sodomites in the early modern Southern Low Countries. Although sodomy was considered an 'unmentionable vice' in the early modern period, this article argues that sodomy was a popular subject among urban slanderers in the region. Consequently, denunciation was a common way of identifying sodomites, and early modern authorities were often forced to take action because of local gossip. Using trial records and bailiff accounts dating from 1400 to 1700, this article analyses the different ways in which rumours about sodomy were disseminated in early modern urban society. In doing so, this essay aims to nuance the idea that the political elites were the main engine behind the persecution of sodomites and reveals the important role urban gossip and sexual slander played in early modern sodomy trials
Denunciation · Sodomy · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity
Homosexuality in Renaissance England
Abominandum crimen
Rumour and Reputation in the Early Modern English Family
Crossing boundaries
The Unbridled Tongue. Babble and Gossip in Renaissance France
Gossip and Street Culture in Early Modern Venice
She Said, He Said
Nefarious Crimes, Contested Justice
An obligation of conscience
The Act of Libel
Deconstructing identities on the scaffold
Treason, sodomy, and the fate of Adenolfo IV, count of Acerra
When Gossips Meet
Social Control and Its Limits
Posters, Pamphlets and Prints
Gender and insult in an Italian city
Gender and the Language of Insult in Early Modern London
Sex, Lies, and the Church Courts of Pre-Reformation England
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,75 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2025 (4) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |