This book is a welcome and powerful intervention in the field of premodern trans studies. [.] [Premodern trans studies] needs to start thinking systematically about the broader historical forces which shaped the material conditions and representational codes of trans life. This requires that trans scholars enter into productive dialogue with fields of enquiry beyond the familiar waters of queer studies. Trans Histories of the Medieval Bookoffers a model for how such engagement can proceed. Sargan demonstrates how bringing trans studies into conversation with bibliography can be generative for both sides of the encounter.[.] Sargan emphasises that his methodology is highly experimental (as per the book's subtitle), and that readers may not be persuaded by all his conclusions.

While I have my own reservations, I nevertheless think that Trans Histories of the Medieval Bookis doing something very important: the field urgently needs vanguard scholarship like this to move us beyond the analytic hesitation of its early work. Medieval trans studies risks intellectual stagnation if it does not engage in dialogue with other fields of enquiry, even when--especially when--the fields in question have a history of resistance to, or hostility towards, minoritised critique. Sargan's work proves the value of such conversations.