Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles
Type:
Illuminated manuscripts
Date:
ca. 1462
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
France
Medium:
Parchment
Dimensions:
25.5 × 18.3 cm
Description:
The Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles (One Hundred New Tales) is a collection of stories told at the court of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (r. 1419–67). Among its racy tales is a story about three married women cross-dressing as monks with tonsures to sneak into a monastery and gain access to their Franciscan lovers. This story is less a condemnation of women dressing as men as it is a critique of the lustful clergy and of individuals adopting religious dress without spiritual conviction. The illustration shows three men, probably the husbands, beating the friars.
In a very different story with themes of gender expression, a "Scotsman" dresses as a woman beginning at age eight, asks to be called Margarite, works as a washerwoman, and has sexual relations with other women. When Margarite is accused of sexual assault, her punishment is public display of her genitals. The damage to an illustration of this scene suggests that Burgundian nobles may have been offended by Margarite's genitals, or that they pointed and poked at the image in amusement. While the story is written uncharitably and frames Margarite's actions as deceitful—a simple means of gaining sexual access to women—it is also possible to read Margarite as a transgender woman. Her prepubescent choices around name and gender expression contradict the idea of her being a sexual predator motivated by the simple desire to deceive others.
In a very different story with themes of gender expression, a "Scotsman" dresses as a woman beginning at age eight, asks to be called Margarite, works as a washerwoman, and has sexual relations with other women. When Margarite is accused of sexual assault, her punishment is public display of her genitals. The damage to an illustration of this scene suggests that Burgundian nobles may have been offended by Margarite's genitals, or that they pointed and poked at the image in amusement. While the story is written uncharitably and frames Margarite's actions as deceitful—a simple means of gaining sexual access to women—it is also possible to read Margarite as a transgender woman. Her prepubescent choices around name and gender expression contradict the idea of her being a sexual predator motivated by the simple desire to deceive others.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
11
Repository and Online Resources:
• The only copy of this manuscript is now in the University of Glasgow Library.
• Look through the flickr gallery of images from this manuscript.
• Read more about the manuscript on the University of Glasgow Library blog.
