Lovers from History post 1000 AD

Male Love and Lovers post 1000 AD 

  Edward II & Piers Gaveston:

Edward II King of England, succeeded his father in 1307, and was influenced and ruled by his favourites, Piers Gaveston and Hugh le DeSpenser. Gaveston was his chosen companion and his immoral influence made Prince Edward hated . He was banished in 1307, and when Edward became King he was recalled, and made Earl of Cornwall. He became intolerably insolent, and was again banished, again recalled, and in 1312, the barons declared war, Gaveston was  captured, and executed. The Queen, her lover and the barons turned against Edward and in 1328 he was  murdered by the insertion of a hot iron into his bowels.


This Edward in the Aprill of his age,
Whil'st yet the Crowne sate on his fathers head
My Jove with me, his Ganimed, his page,
Frolick as May, a lustie life we led:  Drayton

King James & George Villiers (Duke of Buckingham):


Apart from journeying from Scotland to England via many peasant boys, James Charles Stuart VI of Scotland & I of England commissioned the 1611 version of the Bible and had a 10 year relationship with the 1st Duke of Buckingham. His son the second Duke became the intimate and debauched friend of Charles II.
Richard the Lionheart and King Philip of France:
"They ate every day at the same table and from the same dish, and at night their beds did not separate them. And the king of France loved him as his own soul; and they loved each other so much that the king of England [Richard's father] was absolutely astonished at the passionate love between them and marveled at it."
Another of Richard's lovers was a young knight from the crusades, Raife de Clermon, whom he freed from the Saracens.
 Moliere & Michel Baron:

The French playwright fell in love with the young actor Michel Baron, who remained close for three years until Moliere's death. Baron an orphan had been driven from the company by Moliere's wife, but returned in 1670 when he was 16. He was 19 when Moliere died and he lived to be 76 and acted into his late life.
Robin Hood & Little John:

"When Robin Hood was about 20 years old; he happen'd to meet Little John; A jolly brisk blade right fit for the trade, for he was a lusty young man." Maid Marian may never have existed and it is believed she was added to the stories and ballads by 16th-century authors. The merry men are suspected of originally being a reference to outlawed homosexuals.
 Amis and Amile

Amis and Amile were devoted friends, in resemblance and life. Having searched for each other for two years, when at last they met "they lighted down from their horses, and embraced and kissed each other, and gave thanks to God that they were found. And they swore fealty and friendship and fellowship perpetual, the one to the other, on the sword of Amile, wherein were relics." Together to the court of  Charles, king of France Amis took Amile's place in a tournament, saved his life from a traitor, and won for him the King's daughter for wife, but not long after, he  was stricken with leprosy and went to Amile's door. They looked after him and one night " when as Amis and Amile lay in one chamber without other company, God sent to Amis Raphael his angel, who said to him: 'Sleepest thou, Amis?' And he, thinking that Amile had called to him, answered: ' I sleep not, fair sweet fellow.' Then the angel said to him: ' Thou hast answered well, for thou art the fellow of the citizens of heaven, and thou hast followed after Job, and Thoby in patience. Now I am Raphael, an angel of our Lord, and am come to tell thee of a medicine for thine healing, whereas he hath heard thy prayers. Thou shalt tell to Amile thy fellow, that he slay his two children and wash thee in their blood, and thence thou shalt get the healing of thy body." Amis at first refused to tell Amile; but the latter had also heard the angel's voice, and he determined in his mind not even to spare his children for the sake of his friend, so going secretly to their chamber he slew them, and bringing some of their blood washed Amis-who immediately was healed. He then arrayed Amis in his best clothes and, after going to the church to give thanks, they met Amile's wife who (not knowing all) rejoiced greatly too. But Amile, going apart again to the children's chamber to weep over them, found them at play in bed, with only a thread of crimson round their throats to mark what had been done! The two knights fell afterwards and were killed in the same battle; " for even as God had joined them together by good accord in their life days, so in their death they were not sundered." And a miracle was added, for even when they were buried apart from each other the two coffins leapt together in the night and were found side by side in the morning.                .............        Legend
S.Anselm
" To Gondulf, Anselm-I put no other or longer salutations at the head of my letter, because I can say nothing more to him whom I love. All who know Gondulph and Anselm know well what this means, and how much love is understood in these two names."... ..." How could I forget thee ? Can a man forget one who is placed like a seal upon his heart? In thy silence I know that thou lovest me; and thou also, when I say nothing, thou knowest that I love thee. Not only have I no doubt of thee, but I answer for thee that thou art sure of me. What can my letter tell thee that thou knowest not already, thou who art my second soul? Go into the secret place of thy heart, look there at thy love for me, and thou shalt see mine for thee."..... "Thou knewest how much I love thee, but I knew it not. He who has separated us has alone instructed me how dear to me thou wert. No, I knew not before the experience of thy absence how sweet it was to have thee, how bitter to have thee not. Thou hast another friend whom thou hast loved as much or more than me to console thee, but I have no longer thee l-theel thee l thou understandest? and nothing to replace thee. Those who rejoice in the possession of thee may perhaps be offended by what I say. Ah I let them content thernselves with their joy, and permit me to weep for him whom I ever love."   Saint Anselm 1033-1109
Japanese Samurai

The samurai called male love bi-do, 'the beautiful way', and in 1482  Ijiri Chusuke wrote: "In our empire of Japan this way flourished from the time of the great master Kobo. In the abbeys of Kyoto and Kamakura, and in the world of the nobles and the warriors, lovers would swear perfect and eternal love relying on no more than their mutual good will. Whether their partners were noble or common, rich or poor, was absolutely of no importance… In all these case they were greatly moved by the spirit of this way. This way must be truly respected, and it must never be permitted to disappear."
It was also referred to as wakashudo, or shudo “the way of the youth”, and was engaged in by all of the samurai class.
In 1653, the author of Inu Tsurezure wrote "It is natural for a samurai to make every effort to excel with pen and sword. Beyond that, what is important to us is not ever to forget, even to our last moment, the spirit of shudo. If we should forget it, it will not be possible for us to maintain the decencies, nor gentleness of speech, nor the refinements of polite behaviour.”
In Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s samurai manual of the early eighteenth century he wrote: "A young man should test an older man for at least five years, and if he is assured of that person’s intentions, then he too should request the relationship… If the younger man can devote himself and get into the situation for five or six years then it will not be unsuitable."

A Brief History of Gay Love in Pictures

Some further expressions of male love can be found on my following pages'
William Shakespeare
Leonardo Da Vinci
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears
Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine
Jean Cocteau and Jean Marais


Go to my page on Ancient Lovers pre 1000 AD