Queer History 134: The KJV Bible Was Commissioned By a Gay Man

King James the 1st of England

The Hypocrite King: James I and the Bible That Damned His Own Kind

The bitter irony of a queer monarch authorizing scripture used to persecute millions

There exists no greater fucking tragedy in queer history than the story of James VI of Scotland and I of England—a man who loved other men with desperate, consuming passion while simultaneously crafting the very weapon that would be wielded against LGBTQIA+ people for centuries to come. This is the story of profound self-hatred made manifest in religious doctrine, of a closeted king whose legacy became a cudgel used to beat down every queer soul who dared to love openly after him.

James Stuart ascended to the English throne in 1603, carrying with him the weight of Scottish Calvinist repression and a heart that burned for men in ways his rigid Protestant worldview told him were damnable. The psychological warfare between his authentic self and his public persona would create one of history's most devastating acts of internalized homophobia…