Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society What Was Sex Like In Medieval Times?
Feb 8, 2024
Explore the raunchiness of sex in medieval times, including the impact of celibacy on monks and the reaction of their wives. Learn about the perception of sex and beauty, hygiene and sex work, and the significance of pregnancy, sexual diseases, and naughty nuns in medieval society.
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Celibacy Was A Later, Contested Rule
- Medieval clergy were required to be celibate from the 11th century, shifting from earlier norms where parish priests often had wives.
- Enforcing celibacy took generations and provoked resistance from priests and their spouses.
Sex Was Framed As Bodily Balance
- Medieval medicine linked sex to bodily balance and saw ejaculation as expelling harmful superfluities.
- Doctors warned both too much and too little sex could harm or even kill, reflecting humoral theory.
Medieval Culture Was More Raunchy Than We Think
- Despite the stereotype of medieval chastity, literature and art often contain explicit, bawdy material.
- Erotic marginalia and filthy literature show a culture far more sexually open than Victorian portrayals suggest.