1
Madara. Figure of a shaman on a tile. According to some theories, the shaman in question is androgynous (a person with sexual characteristics of a man and a woman) because it combines female breasts and facial hair.
2
The word "sodomite", meaning a person who engages in anal sexual intercourse, is synonymous with the word bugger from medieval Latin Bulgarus 'Bulgarian', especially belonging to the Orthodox and Bogomil faiths and therefore considered a heretic by the Roman Church. The meaning 'sodomite' (16th century) originated from the association of heresy with forbidden sexual practices; its use as a common insult in English dates from the early 18th century. (Oxford)
3
The first Penal Law of liberated Bulgaria is from 1896. Article 216 of Chapter XIV "Debauchery" states:
‍216. For buggery (pederasty) between persons older than sixteen years, as well as for bestiality, the punishment shall be: imprisonment for not less than six months.
4
In the spring of 1964, a group trial was organized in socialist Bulgaria against 28 homosexuals. The defendants were actors, civil servants, journalists and others. Three other similar trials were held in this period, in 1961, 1974 and 1981.

Article 216 appeals to anyone with similar information to email us so we can piece together Bulgaria's lost LGBTQ+ history.

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