New Medieval Exhibition Opens at The Met Cloisters
A new exhibition at The Met Cloisters in New York invites visitors to reconsider the medieval past through the art of human desire. Spectrum of Desire: Love, Sex, and Gender in the Middle Ages explores how artists from the 13th to 15th centuries depicted passion, devotion, and identity in ways that were both deeply spiritual and strikingly sensual.
Demonic Seduction: A Dark Medievalism
Explore how medieval beliefs about demons, witchcraft, and sex shaped centuries of theology, persecution, and fantasy—revealing the dark origins of one of history’s most persistent tropes.
Medieval Love Hacks: Romance Advice from The Distaff Gospels
The search for love—and the perfect romance advice—is as old as time. In the Middle Ages, women turned to The Distaff Gospels, a fifteenth-century collection of witty and often bizarre advice on love, lust, and marriage. Want to know your future husband’s name or keep your partner faithful? This medieval guide had answers
Gwerful Mechain and the Joy of (Medieval) Sex
For medieval Europeans, talking openly about sex in what we might think of now as explicit detail was a very normal part of life.
Unveiling the Medieval Brothel: The Maison de Bois and Its Scandalous Past
Discover the Maison de Bois of Mâcon, a medieval gem in Burgundy, France, that offers a captivating glimpse into the audacious and rebellious spirit of the 15th century. From its scandalous past as a brothel to its provocative facade, this well-preserved wooden house is a treasure trove of historical intrigue and artistic whimsy.
Birth Control and Abortion in the Middle Ages
Birth control and abortion did take place in the Middle Ages and, like today, there were many medical and ethical issues that medieval people had to contend with.
Sex in the Middle Ages
Here are some of the more spicy pieces of information we have uncovered about sex in the Middle Ages.
How to Cheat on a Virginity Test
A medieval woman was expected not to have sex until she was married, and her wedding night would be a kind of test to show that she had remained a virgin. However, if she did have sex before, was there a way she could cheat on this test?
New Medieval Books: Erotic Medievalisms: Medieval Pleasures Empowering Marginalized People
The overriding factor on whether or not you want to read this book will probably be how comfortable you are with ‘kinky’ sex.
The Once and Future Sex with Eleanor Janega
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Eleanor Janega about medieval womanhood, the ideal feminine body in the Middle Ages, and how past perceptions of women’s roles are still affecting society today.
Running Naked in the Streets: Repression of Adultery in the Later Middle Ages
Adultery was a serious crime in the Middle Ages, where marriage was sacred, indissoluble, and monogamous.
Medieval prostitutes, concubines, and their relationships – their story told in new research
In late medieval Valencia, city authorities would not punish a woman for being a prostitute or being a concubine, but she could not be both.
The Seduction of Christ: Listening Out for Queerness in the Middle Ages
This article will look at four examples of where lust for Christ pushes in two directions: towards a community of suffers emphasising and imitating his pain, and towards a private and personal relationship with Christ.
How to tell if a woman is in love with you – medieval edition
Are you wondering if a woman is in love with you? Here are ten signs from the Middle Ages.
Sex and Sagas
Would you have sex with a troll woman? In this episode of the Medieval Grad Podcast, Lucie talks with Matthew Roby, who deciphers for us the dirty details of these Old Norse and Icelandic texts. Turns out there are a lot of them, and many include monstrous beings!
Medieval Contraception with Eleanor Janega
One of the things medieval and modern people definitely have in common is an interest in preventing unwanted pregnancies. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Eleanor Janega to get all the details on medieval contraception.
The Art of Courtly Love
The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus is a twelfth-century guide to the ins and outs of medieval love affairs, from how to find love to how to keep it – and why maybe it’s best to avoid it altogether. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Peter Konieczny about this fascinating book, and why it’s probably time to ditch some of its outdated dating advice.
Mutilation as Gendered Punishment: State Violence and Sexual Transgression in Medieval Europe
I want to talk today particularly about the use of mutilation as punishment for sexual offenses and particularly those involving same-sex activity in medieval Europe.
Byzantine Orthodoxy and homosexuality, with Stephen Morris
A conversation with Stephen Morris about the attitudes toward male homosexuality in different sites of Byzantine culture and the prospects for an orthodox recognition…
Spring in the Middle Ages
How did medieval people perceive the arrival of Spring? How was Spring depicted in medieval calendars and literary texts? And, was Spring the “mating season” for humans, as it is for many animal species?
Love, Lust, and Libido: Aphrodisiacs in Medieval Europe
Delve into the period cookbooks, artworks, and courtly feasting cultures of northern Europe to discover ingredients, recipes, and customs thought to arouse the libido, heighten pleasure, increase potency or, conversely, kill the mood.
Byzantine erotic epigrams, with Steven Smith
A conversation with Steven Smith about worldly and sinful epigrams from the sixth century that talk about love, sex, food, and other pleasures.
A Guide to Medieval Marital Sex
With whom and why should you have sex? When can you engage in sexual activities and when should you refrain from them? How and where is it appropriate to have intercourse?
Marriage, Adultery and Divorce in the Middle Ages with Bridget Wells-Furby
Marriage was an important part of many medieval women’s lives, but not all marriages followed the neat path that the church had laid out for them. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Dr. Bridget Wells-Furby about fourteenth-century heiress Lucy de Thweng and what her story can tell us about medieval marriage, adultery, and even annulment.
