Transvestite Knights: Men and Women Cross-dressing in Medieval Literature

Abstract

My thesis looks at cross-dressing knights in medieval literature and tries to answer why cross-dressing was common in literature while in reality, cross-dressers were seen as sinful. I look specifically at Ulrich von Liecthtenstein's "In the Service of Ladies", Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur", "Berengier au Long Cul", Dietrich von der Glezze's "Der Borte", Heldris of Cornwall's "Le Roman de Silence", and "Yde et Olive". A number of historical sources are also studied in order to understand the medieval literature. The importance of intention as well as what kinds of clothes were worn to cross-dress and how the different genders were viewed is also discussed.