Homophobia has been a common public attitude in Poland because of the influence of Catholic Church in Polish public life and widespread social conservatism. Due to a lack of historical sources and censorship by the Catholic Church over the centuries, it is difficult to reconstruct Slavic religions, customs and traditions when it comes to LGBT people. The precise nature of this relationship is still highly controversial; some historians interpret them as essentially a homosexual marriage of men.
Such ceremonies can be found in the history of the Catholic Church until the 14th century, [ 6 ] and in the Eastern Orthodox Church until the early 20th century. Throughout history, homosexuality, be it true or alleged, was often weaponised for use by individuals against their ideological or political enemies, and to defame dead historical figures. Magdeburg Law , under which many towns were built, [ note 1 ] punished breaking the 6th Commandment " Thou shalt not commit adultery " by death; however, the actual punishments for adultery given out by the judges in recorded cases included prison, financial fines or being pilloried.
They decided Wojciech was female and should be dressed as a woman and known as such by the local community from now on. They are mentioned in a neutral manner as facts in cases of unrelated crimes, showing that same-sex relationships were silently tolerated and not actively prosecuted.
During the Baroque period the general public ignored homosexuality. It was considered it an exception that came from the "degenerate" West and happened among the nobility who had contacts there and the mentally ill. His wife, Konstancja Denhoff, returned to her parents "without receiving any marital proof from her husband except for one good morning at dawn and one good night in the evening".
It is worth noting that Sanguszko was unafraid of publicly keeping male lovers while maintaining the public position of a Lithuanian Miecznik sword-bearer. During the Enlightenment period, despite the fascination with antiquity and the intellectual liberalisation, homophobic beliefs did not completely disappear: the medical profession considered "sexual deviations" homosexuality, incest, zoophilia , etc.
