A sodomite claiming to be hermaphrodite (Lille, 1458)

A sodomite burnt at the stake (Lille, 1458) Verbrennung zweier Sodomiter (Zürich, 1482) in einer Darstellung in Diebold Schillings Chronik der Burgungderkriege (ca. 1483). Quelle: WikCommons; gemeinfrei. Sodomy, mainly understood as referring to sexual acts between men, and above all anal intercourse, was punishable at the stake in most medieval societies. In practice, however, both the definition of sodomy (the ‘unspeakable sin’) and the intensity of persecution varied greatly. The rather l..