The Bachelor's Degree presents a historical overview of the development of homosexuality from antiquity to the end of the Renaissance. The emphasis is on the attitude of Christianity towards individuals who had same-sex intercourse, although they were not called homosexuals until the end of the nineteenth century; one of the most used expressions was sodomite. Homosexuals as a social subject were not recognized until the twentieth century when they started with medical research of sexuality, when individuals began to identify themselves as homosexuals and adjusting their lifestyle accordingly. A comparison also includes a brief overview of the medieval Arab-Islamic attitude towards homosexuality, which differ from Christianity in the fact that they openly celebrated the beauty of boys and expressed their platonic love for them.
From the eleventh century onward, we can see the slow decline of a homosexual male society, where intimate male friendships dominated, into a heterosexual society, where a courtly love or intimacy between a man and a woman becomes the norm. Legislation and penalties have also evolved. Same-sex intercourse were considered a great sin, with appropriate forms of punishment. From the ninth century onwards, the death penalty was mostly used, especially death by fire. Throughout history, several individuals are known, both European rulers and Renaissance artists, who indulged in same-sex relationships. Although it is difficult to know today whether all allegations were true or not, they stood out for their behavior, and their contemporaries labeled them sodomites and thus marked them for the future generations.
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