This is Part 1 of a two-part series. King James VI of Scotland and I of England is mainly famous today for giving his name to an English translation of the Bible still held as sacrosanct by many conservative Christians. Yet he is also one of the rare examples of a man in pre-modern European history who unambiguously preferred romantic and sexual relationships with men.

Bergeron, David M. King James and Letters of Homoerotic Desire (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1999).

Croft, Pauline. King James (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).

Young, Michael B. James VI and the History of Homosexuality (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2000).

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The Chevalier d'Eon was a diplomat and spy who made the perplexing decision to declare that she had always been a woman in a time when women were legally and socially marginalized. Her story took her through the halls of power, to defying the monarchy of France itself, and to becoming an international celebrity who fought fencing duels in London.

Sources:

Clark, Anna. 'The Chevalier d'Eon and Wilkes: masculinity and politics in the eighteenth century', Eighteenth-Century Studies, 32.1 (1998): 19–48.

Kates, Gary. Monsieur d'Eon is a Woman: A Tale of Political Intrigue and Gender Masquerade (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001).

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In the story of the epic rivalry between the gods Horus and Seth, there is one rather risqué chapter that may have a lot to say about what the ancient Egyptians thought of same-sex love.

Sources:

"The Contendings of Horus and Seth" from The Chester Beatty Papyrus 1, translator unknown. https://courses.missouristate.edu/ECarawan/HorusSeth.htm#:~:text=Seth%20returned%20according%20to%20his,I'll%20do%20so.%22

Jerkins, Morgan. "Lettuce and Kings: The Power Struggle Between Horus and Seth." MQR. https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mqr/2015/05/lettuce-and-kings-the-power-struggle-between-horus-and-set-2/

Manniche, Lisa. Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt (London: Kegan Paul, 2002).

Smith, K. Annabelle. "When Lettuce Was a Sacred Sex Symbol." https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-lettuce-was-a-sacred-sex-symbol-12271795/?no-ist

Watterson, Barbara. Gods of Ancient Egypt (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998).

The episode of History of Egypt podcast mentioned in the episode:

https://www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com/192-the-trouble-with-seth/

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