Today we get a rare glimpse into queer life in 14th century England through the story of Eleanor Rykener - a trans woman who was an embroiderer, barmaid and sexworker, and did not hold back when sharing details about the men and women she slept with. We know about Eleanor's life through the written record of her questioning after she was arrested for having sex with a man, which is an incredible resource sharing her own account of her life in medieval England.
A quick clarification from Harriet:
Listening back, I don't think I did a very good job articulating my thoughts on the women that Eleanor says supported and enabled her own presentation as a woman. These womens' relationships with Eleanor could be indicative of support for her journey and chosen gender, however I want to make clear that, given the nature of Eleanor's connection with Elizabeth Brouderer who appears to have had a position of power within the brothel Eleanor worked at, this could also be a purely exploitative relationship. As we talk about in the episode, the tantalising glimpse of solidarity between women resonates strongly, however I do not wish to romanticise Eleanor's vulnerable position as transgender sex worker at the time.
Content warnings: this episode contains adult themes and discussions or mentions of sex, sex work, transphobia, homophobia, incarceration and swearing.
Resources mentioned in the episode:
Translated transcript of the questioning of Eleanor Rykener: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/1395rykener.asp
Toolkit for finding queer lives in archives, created by the Broken Futures project https://docslib.org/doc/9463376/finding-queer-lives-in-archives-a-toolkit
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