Format: Illuminated manuscript
Location of Production: Paris, France
The Vie de sainte Eufrosine is a French religious story composed around 1200 about Esmarade, a figure assigned female at birth who lived as a eunuch within a monastic community. In medieval society, eunuchs were generally understood as male people who had been castrated or otherwise physically altered so that they did not develop typical male sexual characteristics (Ringrose, 2003). Despite their physical differences, eunuchs were recognized within male social and religious roles and could live and work alongside other men. Esmarade’s decision to present as a eunuch therefore allowed them to enter the monastery and be recognized as a male religious figure. The manuscript shown here was produced in Paris in the 14th century and contains a miniature by the Fauvel Master. The image is divided into two registers that show different moments in Esmarade’s story.
The miniature demonstrates how manuscript books combine visual and verbal literacy. The figures’ clothing, hairstyles, facial hair, gestures, and positions communicate information alongside the written text. These visual details would have helped medieval readers identify the figures and understand their roles within the story. The two registers also show how the same person can be represented differently through design.
The contrast between the registers is especially important to Esmarade’s gender representation. In the left register, Esmarade sits with three other monks. They wear monastic clothing and have tonsures, with Esmarade distinguished by their lack of facial hair. Wright explains that this lack of facial hair was used to communicate Esmarade’s status as a eunuch and highlight their genderqueer identity (Wright, 2021). In the right register showing Esmarade’s death, their longer hair and lack of a tonsure create a different representation. Wright argues that this change reflects the monks’ changing perception of Esmarade after discovering information about their sex. The Fauvel Master therefore uses design to show that gender is not communicated through one fixed visual characteristic. Instead, clothing, hair, and other visual signs work together with the written narrative to shape how Esmarade is understood by the viewer.
