# Mattachine Tower *The Urth list — 6 messages, 5 voices, 01 Mar 2003* > Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright > in each message remains with the person who wrote it. > Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original > archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than > retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact. --- ### Jeff Wilson *01 Mar 2003, 17:18* According to the History Channel, the Mattachines were an Italian tradition of court jesters who were indulged to "speak the truth" when appearing masked and hooded. Not to doubt the veracity of the Hitler Channel, but has anyone else heard of this, or suspect that it folds into the torturers' tower? ``` Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com < http://www.io.com/~jwilson/gurps/ > -- ``` --- ### Alice K. Turner *02 Mar 2003, 00:32 · follows Jeff Wilson* Back in the 60s, before the Stonewall Rebellion, before gay liberation of any note, the Mattachine Society on the East Coast (and for all I know on the West) was a coded name for a quite sizeable male homosexual club or group here; I expect the historical note is an ironic nod to being "closeted." I doubt that Wolfe knew that! -alga > According to the History Channel, the Mattachines were an Italian > tradition of court jesters who were indulged to "speak the truth" when > appearing masked and hooded. Not to doubt the veracity of the Hitler > Channel, but has anyone else heard of this, or suspect that it folds > into the torturers' tower? --- ### Josh Geller *02 Mar 2003, 00:37 · follows Alice K. Turner* > On Sat, 1 Mar 2003, Alice K. Turner wrote: > Back in the 60s, before the Stonewall Rebellion, before gay liberation of > any note, the Mattachine Society on the East Coast (and for all I know on > the West) was a coded name for a quite sizeable male homosexual club or > group here; I expect the historical note is an ironic nod to being > "closeted." I doubt that Wolfe knew that! Well, they were very specifically associated with sadomasochism. I had assumed that Wolfe did know about this. . --- ### Alice K. Turner *02 Mar 2003, 03:26 · follows Josh Geller* I just did a google on this--quite fascinating! -a- > Back in the 60s, before the Stonewall Rebellion, before gay liberation of > any note, the Mattachine Society on the East Coast (and for all I know on > the West) was a coded name for a quite sizeable male homosexual club or > group here; I expect the historical note is an ironic nod to being > "closeted." I doubt that Wolfe knew that! > > -alga >> According to the History Channel, the Mattachines were an Italian >> tradition of court jesters who were indulged to "speak the truth" when >> appearing masked and hooded. Not to doubt the veracity of the Hitler >> Channel, but has anyone else heard of this, or suspect that it folds >> into the torturers' tower? --- ### Bratt Ian *02 Mar 2003, 23:21 · follows Alice K. Turner* According to http://www.sbu.ac.uk/stafflag/mattachine.html, the word matachin or matachine has been derived from the Arabic of Moorish Spain, in which mutawajjihin, relates to masking oneself. -Insula > On Sat, 1 Mar 2003, Alice K. Turner wrote: > I just did a google on this--quite fascinating! > > -a- >> Back in the 60s, before the Stonewall Rebellion, before gay liberation of >> any note, the Mattachine Society on the East Coast (and for all I know on >> the West) was a coded name for a quite sizeable male homosexual club or >> group here; I expect the historical note is an ironic nod to being >> "closeted." I doubt that Wolfe knew that! >> >> -alga >>> According to the History Channel, the Mattachines were an Italian >>> tradition of court jesters who were indulged to "speak the truth" when >>> appearing masked and hooded. Not to doubt the veracity of the Hitler >>> Channel, but has anyone else heard of this, or suspect that it folds >>> into the torturers' tower? > -- --- ### Tami Whitehead *03 Mar 2003, 04:42 · follows Bratt Ian* I, Razorkittee, will tell you what The Man said. Take it for what it is worth. In the book, The Castle of the Otter, by Gene Wolfe, on page 28, for Chapter II, he says: "Matachin Tower:In a Spanish tradition, matachins are masked sword dancers. Some authorities say that the tradition is derived from the Moors. Well, maybe. To the other inhabitants of the Citadel, the Seekers of Truth and Penitence are most visisble on the feast of Holy Katharine, when the journeymen, weating their masks, dance with their beheading swords." kittee > --- Bratt Ian wrote: > According to > http://www.sbu.ac.uk/stafflag/mattachine.html, the > word > matachin or matachine has been derived from the > Arabic of Moorish Spain, > in which mutawajjihin, relates to masking oneself. > > -Insula > > > On Sat, 1 Mar 2003, Alice K. Turner wrote: >> I just did a google on this--quite fascinating! >> >> -a- >>> Back in the 60s, before the Stonewall Rebellion, >>> before gay liberation of >>> any note, the Mattachine Society on the East >>> Coast (and for all I know on >>> the West) was a coded name for a quite sizeable >>> male homosexual club or >>> group here; I expect the historical note is an >>> ironic nod to being >>> "closeted." I doubt that Wolfe knew that! >>> >>> -alga >>>> According to the History Channel, the >>>> Mattachines were an Italian >>>> tradition of court jesters who were indulged >>>> to "speak the truth" when >>>> appearing masked and hooded. Not to doubt the >>>> veracity of the Hitler >>>> Channel, but has anyone else heard of this, or >>>> suspect that it folds >>>> into the torturers' tower? >> -- >> http://www.urth.net/ >> To unsubscribe: send "unsubscribe" to >> urth-request at urth.net > -- > http://www.urth.net/ > To unsubscribe: send "unsubscribe" to urth-request at urth.net ---