The Lovers of Modena: Queer Erasure in Education
When I was in middle school, my Social Studies class covered countless historical topics. We jumped from the Founding Fathers to World War II to gerrymandering. One topic that we never discussed was queer people throughout history. My teachers weren’t exactly lacking in material. For instance, they could’ve mentioned that gay men and women were led to concentration camps during WWII along with Jewish people. But nothing was said about this. In hindsight, it’s clear to me that this lack of education led to it taking much more time for me to figure out my identity. It took me years to even consider the prospect of not being straight because the existence of queer people was so removed from my experience growing up in suburbia.
This lack of education about queer people leads to so many kids like me struggling to figure out and accept their identities. Queer kids will never find it easy to be comfortable in their own skin if they’re never taught about other queer people. Everyone wants to fit in and belong, and insecurities run especially rampant in the teenage years. When queer kids aren’t ever taught that their identity is normal, more often than not they will assume it isn’t. Children are taught from a young age to trust and respect their teachers; if teachers aren’t educating students about a certain topic, it’s not a huge leap to think that surely there’s a good reason and there is a problem with that topic. When the unspoken topic is queer people, it’s painfully easy to assume that there’s something wrong with their identities if they aren’t learning about them.
Unfortunately, much of this dearth of education can be chalked up to the academic world’s historical unwillingness to acknowledge queer people.
This is demonstrated clearly in the case of two skeletons who were discovered in a grave together holding hands in 2009. They were estimated to be at least 700 years old and were dubbed the “Lovers of Modena,” after the Italian town where they were buried. These aren’t the only skeletons who have been found holding hands or in other similarly romantic poses. A couple dug up in England are characterized romantically in a CNN article: “Even death couldn’t part two skeletons excavated from a lost chapel in an English county, found with their fingers entwined”.
When most people hear that two skeletons were discovered holding hands, they logically assume the people were in a romantic relationship. That’s how so many of those skeleton pairs gained their names–the Lovers of Modena, the Lovers of Valdaro, the Hasanlu Lovers, etc. Two skeletons are found in some romantic pose and it is assumed that they are lovers.
So what was special about the Lovers of Modena? Just like the skeletons discovered in England, they were found holding hands in their graves. Just like the others, they had been buried together and carefully positioned. Just like the others, they were assumed to be lovers and the world fawned over the true love clear in the act of being buried holding hands with your partner. The only difference is that tests on their tooth enamel in 2019 revealed that the Lovers of Modena were both males.
As soon as it was discovered that the Lovers of Modena were men, the true nature of their relationship was called into question. Many articles released at the time suggested they could be brothers, soldiers, or close friends. Federico Lugli, the author of the paper revealing the sex of the skeletons, commented “What might have been the bond between the two individuals in the burial in Modena, instead, remains a mystery for now.”
Why is their relationship such a mystery? Of course, it’s possible that their relationship wasn’t romantic. But that’s also possible of the other pairs of skeletons discovered together, and yet the romantic nature of those skeleton pairings has never been called into question. These differing receptions clearly show how our society views any type of non-familial bond between men and women as romantic and how quickly we discard the idea of a bond between two men or two women being romantic.
If I had learned about the Lovers of Modena being men in middle school, my interest in that Social Studies class would have skyrocketed. However, given that nobody I could relate to was featured, I entered high school with next to no interest in history. That is why representation in learning is incredibly important. The University of Toronto’s Teaching Assistant Training Program states “[…] when students do not see people like themselves in the authors and images of the field, they have a more difficult time identifying with the field and they may feel like they don’t belong, thus reducing their chances to thrive. Students are much more motivated to learn in classrooms that recognize them, draw connections to their lives (and experiences), and respond to their distinct concerns”. The mere existence of this quote in a teacher training program demonstrates the strides being made towards increasing representation in learning. However, there is a long way to go. As of today, laws remain in 4 US states prohibiting positive portrayal of LGBTQ+ identities in the classroom, compared to 8 states in 2016. So next time you’re in a classroom, whether you’re teaching, learning, or visiting, make some mention of a queer person in history. You never know just how much someone in the class may need to hear it.
Works Cited:
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ArcheoModena. “The Lovers of Modena Skeletons.” BBC News, BBC Global News Ltd, 12 Sept. 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49672855. Accessed 12 Jan. 2022.
Aviles, Gwen. “‘Lovers of Modena’: Hand-Holding Roman Skeletons Were Both Men, Researchers Discover.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 16 Sept. 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lovers-modena-hand-holding-roman-skeletons-were-both-men-researchers-n1054166.
Flaxington, Beverly D. “Teenage Insecurities | Psychology Today.” Edited by Kaja Perina, Psychology Today, 16 July 2015, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understand-other-people/201507/teenage-insecurities.
Hamilton, Alexander. “To Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens.” Received by John Laurens, Founders Online, National Archives Web Team, Apr. 1779, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-02-02-0100. Accessed 11 Jan. 2022.
“Representation Matters.” Teaching Assistants’ Training Program, 12 Aug. 2019, https://tatp.utoronto.ca/teaching-toolkit/effective-strategies/representation-matters/.
Sarkar, Monica. “Skeletons Found ‘Holding Hands’ after 700 Years.” CNN, Cable News Network, 26 Mar. 2015, https://www.cnn.com/2014/09/18/world/europe/skeletons-holding-hands/index.html.
Sullivan, Rory, and Gianluca Mezzofiore. “‘Lovers of Modena’ Skeletons Were Men, Scientists Find.” CNN, Cable News Network, 13 Sept. 2019, https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/ancient-skeletons-holding-hands-men-intl-scli/index.html.
“Troy (Film).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Dec. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_(film).
Weiss, Philip. “Beethoven’s Hair Tells All!” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Nov. 1998, https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/29/magazine/beethoven-s-hair-tells-all.html.
