Mattachine Tower — Urth Net

Jeff Wilson01 Mar 2003, 17:18original as archived

Mattachine Tower

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. Turner02 Mar 2003, 00:32original as archived

↳ follows Jeff Wilson · by subject

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

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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 Geller02 Mar 2003, 00:37original as archived

↳ follows Alice K. Turner · by subject

2 quoted lines

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. Turner02 Mar 2003, 03:26original as archived

↳ follows Josh Geller · by subject

I just did a google on this--quite fascinating! -a-

4 quoted lines · 1–2 deep

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 Ian02 Mar 2003, 23:21original as archived

↳ follows Alice K. Turner · by subject

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

9 quoted lines · 1–3 deep

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?

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Tami Whitehead03 Mar 2003, 04:42original as archived

↳ follows Bratt Ian · by subject

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

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--- Bratt Ian <Ian.Bratt at Colorado.EDU> 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?

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