Basic Summary: St. Mary of Egypt was a Christian saint and is the patron saint of penitents. She is described as having dark skin and short white hair, and she tells her story to the monk Zosimas when he encounters her wandering naked in the desert. After using his mantle to cover herself, she recounts the life she led as a sexually promiscuous prostitute. After being blocked from entering a church by an unseen force, she gives up her previous life to become a solitary hermit. Taking only three loaves of bread with her, she lived alone in the desert for 47 years, being nearly wild by the time she met Zosimas. After pushing from the monk, she reveals that she still feels sexual desires, but has rejected them in her isolation.
She asks Zosimas to meet her again in a year with the eucharist. He agrees, also giving her three lentils when they meet. He finds her body in the desert when he returns after another year, and buries her with the assistance of a miraculously helpful lion.
Further Context/Commentary: Mary presents several interesting comments on medieval conceptions of sex and gender, and how these intersect with race. Despite some artistic depictions portraying her as pale and feminine, in the text she is explicitly dark skinned and ambiguously masculine. Before meeting her properly, Zosimas initially refers to Mary using male pronouns, and her unusual life in the desert does not fit neatly into male or female roles. In addition, the story reveals interesting dynamics about individual’s relationships to their own and others bodies.
Sources/Links:
Mary of Egypt - Wikipedia
Bodies and Boundaries in the Old English Life of St. Mary of Egypt | SpringerLink
#TransJoy as a Model of Restitution in the Old English Life of St Mary of Egypt | Women's Literary Culture and the Medieval Canon (surrey.ac.uk)
Year/Time Range: supposedly lived 250-287 AD, earliest surviving depictions from the 12th century.
Basic Summary: St. Maurice was a Christian soldier, saint, and martyr. According to legend, he was born in Egypt and became a commander in the Roman army. Leading an all Christian legion, he was executed and martyred when he and his men refused to attack other Christians. He was made patron saint of many organizations and locations throughout the Middle Ages. Among these are the Holy Roman Emperors, the merchant order the Brotherhood of the Blackheads, and multiple towns in Germany, Italy, and Spain. He is also the namesake of the Swiss town St. Moritz.
Further Context/Commentary: Depictions of St. Maurice as a black African are common (though not ubiquitous) throughout the Medieval period. This fact is inconvenient for ideologies wishing to construct an idea of an all white Medieval Europe, and indeed depictions of St. Maurice in Coburg, Germany were removed under the Nazi regime (they were then restored after the war). It is clear why. Not only does Maurice’s depiction contradict the idea of an all white Medieval Europe, it also presents a black figure who was respected and venerated by Medieval Europeans.
Year/Time Range: supposedly lived 180-258 AD, earliest depictions around fourth century
Basic Summary: Saint Eugenia (or Eugenia of Rome) was a Christain saint and martyr born in Alexandria. According to legend, she fled her father dressed as a man and was baptized in a monastery, becoming first a monk and then an abbot. Under the name Eugenius, they lived as a man for three years. A woman named Melantia, after being healed of a fever by the abbot, developed a deep infatuation for them. When rejected, she accused Eugenius of sexually assaulting her. In the ensuing trial, Eugenia gave up her male presentation in order to prove her innocence. She went on to convert her father and many others to Christianity, before being martyred in Rome.
Further Context/Commentary: While Saint Eugenia’s life and legend predate modern terms like trans or nonbinary, their story nonetheless exists outside of binary gender conceptions. Their motivation for taking and maintaining a male name and role seems to go beyond simple practicality or survival, and they were able to pass seamlessly for three years, only giving up the identity when forced by circumstance. The fluid nature of Eugenia/Eugenius’ gender in legends also speaks to differences between ideas of gender identity and biological sex, which despite differing language and terms, existed in the Middle Ages and before.
Sources/Links:
Eugenia of Rome - Wikipedia
Visibly Trans? | TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly | Duke University Press (dukeupress.edu)
