The Fires of Lust: Sex in the Middle Ages

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There were some moments, like referring to Harvey Weinstein as Harry, that held it back from 5 star. Forms of retribution could be over-the-top sadistic: one punishment associated with adultery demanded that the errant couple be stripped naked, bound together around their genitals, and then flogged as they were paraded through the streets. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. If Mary Magdalene’s sexual sins did not bar her from Christ’s inner circle, they also offered medieval Christians hope that they too might be redeemed. The Virgin Mary seemed to have a particular weakness for sexual sinners, and collections of her miracles often include stories of fornicators who were saved by her intervention; the Castilian priest Gonzalo de Berceo (c.

By exploring their sex lives, this book brings ordinary medieval people to life, revealing details of their most personal thoughts and experiences. This relationship was clearly about much more than sex: there is something rather touching about this image of a long-term couple keeping each other company in their old age. What all of these individuals had in common, besides their sexual transgressions, was a genuine contrition for their sins.This was great as an audiobook and contained many examples and direct citations that gave a nice glimpse into everyday life. This was not a survival strategy that could endure, however, and he was tried as a sodomite and burnt to death.

Still, same-sex attractions and persons born as one gender who dressed and acted as another were not uncommon. Harvey provides evidence that priestly chastity was honored as much in the breach as the observance. Like us, medieval people faced challenges in finding a suitable partner or trying to get pregnant (or trying not to). I feel like I learned something from it, particularly regarding misconceptions of how people in this time period viewed sex and relationships, and I was entertained whilst reading it. The Fires of Lust is a really solid synthesis of recent scholarship on the history of sex and sexuality in medieval Europe, written with a beginner audience in mind.On display are men who were burnt to death for rape, men who received nothing more but a small fine for rape, women who got impregnated by demons who collected the wasted seed of masturbators, and everything weird and wonderful, normal and shocking you can think of in between (everything, that is, except for oral sex). With unabashed directness, a delicate touch of wit, and constant humanity, Katherine Harvey surveys the world of medieval sex and sexuality . It’s still worth remembering the people at the end of this shortened timespan were as distant from those at the start of it as we are from them. A lively and readable account rooted in a deep knowledge of the scholarly literature on sexuality in medieval western Europe.

There are passionate stories and horrible ones but the infatuation with the Middle Ages as a period so far and almost subhuman compared to our own allows us the pleasure of not recognizing our own flaws: something Harvey forces us to confront. The French poet Eustache Deschamps (1346-1406) favored tight dresses with wide necklines that pushed the bosom and throat forward. He was socialized as a man, even though he had breasts and it was generally agreed that he looked more female than he did male.Some of the topics it discussed helped put history into context, another reason I think it would have been better placed earlier. Her book deals mainly with the years 1100 to 1500, leaving out the first five hundred years of the Middle Ages with the evidence tending to privilege the later part of her period. Arts Remembrance: Jazz Notables We Lost in 2023 For many years now, the Francis Davis Jazz Poll has col. Fara Dabhoiwala, author of The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution ‘A lively and readable account rooted in a deep knowledge of the scholarly literature on sexuality in medieval western Europe.