Commentary On 2.b. St. Peter Damian’s Strictures On Homosexuality
Homosexual activity was generally considered to be wrong in the Middle Ages, especially by the Church. This attitude is taken to stem from passages in the Bible, mainly chapters eighteen and twenty of Leviticus, which are part of the Holiness Code, where it is written; ‘Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.’ There is also the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; while it does not specifically state that the cities were destroyed for the sin of homosexuality, that has often been taken as the implied meaning. This interestingly links with the document as the title of the book written by St. Peter Damian is The Book of Gomorrah, which…show more content… Peter Damian, a Benedictine monk born in 1007 in Ravenna, Italy. A cardinal and considered a predecessor of St. Francis of Assisi by Dante, Damian was a reformer who was friends with one of the most famously radical reforming Popes of the time, Gregory VII, when both were young men. Damian wrote many treatises and works in his life, most being passionate expressions of his – sometimes radical – views. He was reportedly fond of solitude and was a hermit for much of his life, and was made a Doctor of the Church in 1823. The Book of Gomorrah, or Liber Gomorrhianus, was written by Damian around 1051 as an attack on the immoral practises of some church members, and was dedicated to the Pope. It is regarded as the single theological work which exclusively discusses the topic of homosexuality from this time. The intended audience were church members, as Damian’s intended purpose was to highlight the failings of the clergy in respect to homosexual behaviour. An interesting point to note about attitudes to homosexual activities at this time is that generally, a line was not drawn between straight and gay activities, but rather between reproductive and non-reproductive sex, the former being the recommended option by the church. Non-reproductive acts between heterosexual couples may not have been as stigmatized as homosexual acts, but they were disapproved of by the church as
