Donna con donna
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Donna con donna is the euphemism for lesbian sex used by Brantôme in Les Vies des Dames Galantes. He references Juvenal's "frictum Grissantis adorat" from Satire VI (which is a mistranslation of Martial's text, Grissantis is not a noun) and "geminos committere cunnos" from Martial's Epigram CXIX.
From the first discourse of Les Vies.
- NOW will I further ask this one question only, and never another, one which mayhap hath never yet been enquired into of any, or possibly even thought of, to wit, whether two ladies that be in love one with the other, as hath been seen aforetime, and is often seen nowadays, sleeping together in one bed, and doing what is called donna con donna, imitating in fact that learned poetess Sappho, of Lesbos, whether these can commit adultery, and between them make their husbands cuckold.
- Of a surety do they commit this crime, if we are to believe Martial in Epigram CXIX of his First Book. Therein doth he introduce and speak of a woman by name Bassa, a tribad, reproaching the same greatly in that men were never seen to visit her, in such wise that folk deemed her a second Lucretia for chasteness. But presently she came to be discovered, for that she was observed to be constantly welcoming at her house beautiful women and girls; and 'twas found that she herself did serve these and counterfeit a man. And the poet, to describe this, doth use the words, geminos committere cunnos. And further on, protesting against the thing, he doth signify the riddle and give it out to be guessed and imagined, in this Latin line :
- Hic, ubi vir non est, ut sit adulterium,
- "a strange thing," that is, "that where no man is, yet is adultery done."
- I knew once a courtesan of Rome, old and wily if ever there was one, that was named Isabella de Luna, a Spanish woman, which did take in this sort of friendship another courtesan named Pandora. This latter was eventually married to a butler in the Cardinal d'Armaignac's household, but without abandoning her first calling. Now this same Isabella did keep her, and extravagant and ill-ordered as she was in speech, I have oft times heard her say how that she did cause her to give her husbands more horns than all the wild fellows she had ever had. I know not in what sense she did intend this, unless she did follow the meaning of the Epigram of Martial just referred to.
- Tis said how that Sappho the Lesbian was a very high mistress in this art, and that in after times the Lesbian dames have copied her therein, and continued the practice to the present day. So Lucian saith : such is the character of the Lesbian women, which will not suffer men at all. Now such women as love this practice will not suffer men, but devote themselves to other women and are called tribads, a Greek word derived, as I have learned of the Greeks, from from τρίδω, τρίδειν, that is to say fricare. These tribads are called in Latin fricatrices, and in French the same, that is women who do the way of donne con donne, as it is still found at the present day.
- Juvenal again speaks of these women, when he saith:
- talking of such a tribad, who adored and loved the embraces of one Grissas.
- The excellent and diverting Lucian hath a chapter on this subject (in Dialogues of the Heterae, chapter "The Lesbians", E/N), and saith therein how that women do come mutually together. Moreover this name of tribad, which doth elsewhere occur but rarely as applied to these women, is freely employed by him throughout, and he saith that the female sex must needs be like the notorious Philaenis, who was used to parody the actions of manly love. At the same time he doth add, 'tis better far for a woman to be given up to a lustful affection for playing the male, than it is for a man to be womanish ; so utterly lacking in all courage and nobility of character doth such an one show himself. Thus the woman, according to this, which doth counterfeit the man, may well be reputed to be more valorous and courageous than another, as in truth I have known some such to be, as well in body as in spirit.
Two versions of the French original
On dit que Sapho de Lesbos a esté une fort bonne maistresse en ce mestier, voire, dit-on, qu'elle l'a inventé, et que depuis les Dames lesbiennes l'ont imitée en cela, et continué jusques aujourd'huy , ainsi que dit Lucian : que telles femmes sont les femmes de Lesbos, qui ne veulent pas souffrir les hommes, mais s'approchent des autres femmes, ainsi que les hommes mesmes. Et telles femmes qui ayment cet exercice ne veulent souffrir les hommes, mais s'adonnent à d'autres femmes, ainsi que les hommes mesmes, s'appellent tribades, mot grec derivé, ainsi que j'ay appris des Grecs, de .......... , ........., qu'est autant à daire que fricare, freyer, ou friquer, ou s'entrefrotter ; et tribades se disent fricatrices, en françois fricatrices, ou qui font la fricarelle en mestier de donne con donne, comme l'on l'a trouvé ainsi aujourd'huy. Juvenal parle aussi de ces femmes quand il dit :
parlant d'une pareille tribade qui adoroit et aimoit la fricarelle d'une Grisante.
On dit que Sapho de Lesbos a été une fort bonne maistresse en ce mestier, voire , dit-on ,
qu'elle l'a inventé, et que depuis les dames lesbiennes l'ont imitée en cela, et continué jusques
aujourd'huy; ainsi que dit Lucian : que telles femmes sont les femmes de Lesbos, qui ne veulent pas
souffrir les hommes, mais s'approchent des autres femmes ainsi que les hommes mesmes. Et telles
femmes qui ayment cet exercice ne veulent souffrir les hommes, mais s'adonnent à d'autres femmes
ainsi que les hommes mesmes, s'appellent tribades, mot grec dérivé, ainsi que j'ay appris des Grecs, de Tfiêw, rpiSecv, qu'est autant à dire que fricare, freyer ou friquer, ou s'entrefrotter; et tribades se disent fricatrices , en françois fricatrices, ou qui font la friquarelle en mestier de [donne con donne, comme l'on l'a trouvé ainsi aujourd'huy.
Juvenal parle aussi de ces femmes quand il dit :
friction Grissantis adorat,
