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Helmut Puff: Sodomy in Reformation Germany and Switzerland, 1400-1600. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Aus der Verlagsankündigung: Puff, Helmut Sodomy in Reformation Germany and Switzerland, 1400-1600. 304 p. (est.). 2003 Series: (SHS) The Chicago Series on Sexuality, History, and Society Cloth $60.00tx 0-226-68505-5 Spring 2003
In the fourteenth century, a considerable number of men in Germany and Switzerland were executed for committing sodomy. Even in the seventeenth century, simply speaking of the act was cause for censorship. Here, in the first ever history of sodomy in these countries, Helmut Puff argues that accusations of sodomy in this era were actually crucial to the success of the Protestant Reformation. Drawing on both literary and historical evidence, Puff shows that speakers of German associated sodomy with Italy and, increasingly, the Catholic Church. As the Reformation gained momentum, the formerly unspeakable crime of sodomy gained a voice, as Martin Luther and others deployed accusations of sodomy to discredit the upper ranks of the Church and to create a sense of community among Protestant believers. During the sixteenth century, official reactions to this defamatory rhetoric, and fear that mere mention of sodomy would incite sinful acts, resulted in the suppression of court cases from public scrutiny. This eye-opening account will interest historians of gender, sexuality, and religion, as well as scholars of medieval and early modern history and culture. Table of Contents
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