What were gay people called in the 1600s

Two men at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear indicate their identity with the word gay. Terms used to describe homosexuality have gone through many changes since the emergence of the first terms in the midth century. In English, some terms in widespread use have been sodomite, Sapphic, Uranian or Urning, homophile, lesbian, gay, and queer. Some of these words are specific to women.

Stephen Noble explores manuscript sources recording homosexuality in 17th-century England, using recently catalogued material in the Harley collection. There are difficulties in looking at the history of homosexuality through modern eyes. The term ‘homosexuality’ was coined in the 19th century and we cannot know how people from the past would.