Gender in Merovingian Gaul

Abstract

The relationships between gender, sex, and sexuality are far more complex than is often acknowledged, whether in modern politics or in publications about medieval history. In a Merovingian context, this can be shown from various stories from the works of Gregory of Tours and from the archaeology of cemeteries. The spaces within which what we might term non-normative gendered identities could be enacted in Merovingian Gaul is examined via a discussion of the development of gendered norms from the classical Roman period to the seventh century. It is argued that a Roman concept of gender that focused on a single civic masculine ideal gradually evolved, not least through the emergence of more politically effective rival forms of masculinity, into a more binary sixth-century construction with separate masculine and feminine ideals. It is proposed that widespread changes around 600 led to a reversion to a more “monopolar” construction of gender but that the masculine ideal that was its focus was now overwhelmingly martial. Developments in the ecclesiastical ideas of gender and sexuality are explored in parallel to these secular changes, and it is suggested that they frequently led in interestingly different directions.