Kingship, sexuality and courtly masculinity: Frederick the Great and Prussia on the cusp of modernity

Abstract

Abstract: The discovery in 2011 of an erotic poem written by Frederick the Great reignited popular interest in the debate concerning Frederick’s sexual being. Seemingly depicting a male–male tryst, the poem failed to end this undecided speculation. It did, however, reopen questions about how scholars have remembered and constructed Frederick’s gender and sexuality. This article demonstrates that these questions have been predicated upon incorrect assumptions regarding how the early modern Prussian state and society conceived of their monarch. While it is commonly argued that sex was considered a function of gender—thus marking same-sex–desiring men as ‘feminine’—the very concept of masculinity was governed by social cues and cultural expectations that extended far beyond sexual desire. As is argued in this analysis, Frederick’s assumed homosexuality had no bearing on his kingship; by his behaviour and public conduct he remained the epitome and embodiment of Prussian masculinity. Show more