French Literature Reviews - 2026

The History of Gender Through Anachronisms
Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Is it appropriate to speak of homosexuality, heterosexuality, or trans identity before these terms were ever coined? Ever since the controversy sparked nearly half a century ago by John Boswell’s 1980 book Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality, this question has resonated deeply within Anglophone medieval studies. It has fueled a rich and productive debate between essentialist and constructivist approaches centered on the concept of a queer Middle Ages. Entitled "The History of Gender Through Anachronisms" and initiated by Rory G. Critten and Leticia Ding, a special issue of the Cahiers de recherches médiévales et humanistes - Journal of Medieval and Humanistic Studies seeks to reopen this debate within the Francophone academic sphere—one that possesses its own rich critical traditions, yet approaches this discussion from a fresh perspective. Bringing together contributions dedicated to sex changes in hagiography and epic poetry, ambiguous male friendships, unconventional marriages, and contemporary reworkings of medieval figures, the volume demonstrates how confronting our modern categories with medieval sources sheds light on both the past and the present. You can explore the Table of Contents... or read the abstracts...

Simultaneously, Léticia Ding is releasing an essay entitled Le Trouble et la grâce, dedicated to The Trans Saints of The Golden Legend, which illustrates how gender transgression serves as a pathway to grace in these 13th-century hagiographical narratives.

The ongoing methodological discussions surrounding the applicability of modern terminology to premodern societies have long shaped medieval studies across various academic traditions. Scholars frequently examine how contemporary frameworks intersect with historical source material, particularly when investigating categories of identity that developed in later periods. Readers interested in medieval gender studies, hagiography, and the reception of historical categories may find this volume relevant.