The History of Homosexuality, Part 4

Sir Noel Malcolm concludes his lecture series with a discussion of gay life in the Age of Enlightenment (broadly speaking, 1660-1800), including the differences between Mediterranean cultures and northern European societies.

 

From the video description:

In this lecture, Sir Noel Malcom makes the case that there was not a sudden surge in homosexuality after The Enlightenment, instead it was a continuation of practises which had always existed. Historians should consider the history of Europe and sexual exploration outside of Florence, as the focus on this area to the determent of others has led to many having been misled.

The book upon which these lectures are based, Forbidden Desire in Early Modern Europe: Male-Male Sexual Relations, 1400-1750, is available at all major online booksellers.

Sir Noel Malcolm is a British historian and author, known for his work in early modern history and the relationship between Europe and the Islamic world. He is a Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, and has written extensively on Thomas Hobbes, among other subjects. Knighted in 2014, he's also a Fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Literature.

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