Katharina Hetzeldorfer's Sodomy In The 15th Century

Sex has always been closely analyzed by society. There are so many rules and restrictions that have been placed upon it. This is especially true in 15th century Europe, but still remains true today. During the late 1400’s sodomy was a crime that could be committed by men and women, although the term was not used when in reference to women. Sodomy was somewhat of a new trend being recognized in women, but rising in popularity. Sodomy was a crime that was punishable by death for both men and women. But with an accusation such as sodomy one had to go to court and have a proper trial, then if found guilty, the accused was sentenced to death. What was once punishable by death is merely casually talked about today, but there are still some people …show more content…
Katharina was accused of two crimes; female sodomy; which is specified as the sexual relations of two people of the same sex, and impersonating a man. This trial is significant for the role that it plays in history; this trial is known as one of the first trials for female homosexuality (sodomy). During her trial, one of Katharina’s victims by the name of Else claims that Katharina would come over to her house when her husband was out and physically force herself onto Else, and using her large penis she would penetrate Else. Else also claims that there was another victim of Katharina, whom Katharina referred to as her sister, this victim was supposedly said to believe that Katherina was a man, based on her appearance and what appeared to be a penis. With these great accusations being pinned against Katharina at a time where sodomy was punishable by death, Katherina was in serious turmoil. In the end, Katharina was found guilty and sentenced to death, making …show more content…
This trial makes a statement about the ways in which female homosexuality was punished. The first detail that highlights this parallel is the fact that Katharina has been given a trial, which means that it is up to a group of people to determine if she guilty for committing this “homosexual” deed. Today, homosexuality is more widely accepted, with laws being put in place to protect both their freedom and right to equality. So just like the 15th century, people are still using the court system to deal with the subject of “homosexuality”, only today we focus on obtaining equality for people who are homosexual. The fact that the court has always had a role in personal matters such as ones sex life is apparent from this trial and says a lot about how the 15th century as well as the 21st century manipulates a system to maintain social