The literature on medieval sainthood is substantial, rich and varied, but on one point it is almost unanimous: sexuality, and in particular virginity, was of far greater significance to female saints than to their male counterparts.
The Medieval Magazine: (Volume 4: No. 3): Issue 105: Valentine’s Day
February 11, 2018 by
The Valentine’s Issue!: Love in the Middle Ages, Teutonic Knights, Tudor medicine, and much, much more!
The Medieval Magazine (Volume 3, Issue 8) : Mother’s Day Issue
May 7, 2017 by
In our latest issue: Celebrating Mother’s Day. Mothers Who Weren’t: Wet Nurses in the Late Medieval Mediterranean
Motherly advice from the ninth century, Sex in the Roman Empire: In Bed with the Romans! Feast, Famine, and Food in Medieval Russia, Books: A trip through Welsh past in Mysterious Wales and much, much more!
Queenship in England: 1308-1485 Gender and Power in the Late Middle Ages: Book Tour and Giveaway!
February 15, 2017 by
Medieval Readers! Today, we’re hosting day 3 of Conor Byrne’s Book Tour and running an international contest to give away a copy of his latest novel: Queenship in England: 1308-1485 Gender and Power in the Late Middle Ages Want a chance to win it?
Habere rem: Concubinage and references to sexual life in Catalan pastoral visitations from the 14th century
February 13, 2017 by
The paper I will be presenting is a small selection of the results of my doctoral thesis, in which I studied a 14th-century pastoral visitation to the Urgell diocese in the northwest of Catalonia.
The Scapegoat: Impotence and Witchcraft in the Middle Ages
January 13, 2017 by
This essay investigates the question of how women were used as scapegoats for male impotence during the Witch Craze.
Telling the Truth about Sex in Late Medieval Paris
September 17, 2016 by
Court records that record witness testimony are a rich source for attitudes if not for actual behavior; they provide first-person accounts from people who are otherwise silent in the medieval record.
How to Cheat on a Virginity Test
June 12, 2016 by
During the Middle Ages a woman’s virginity was highly prized. A lady was expected not to have sex until she was married, and that her wedding night would be a kind of test to show that she had remained ‘pure’. However, if she did have sex before, was there a way she could cheat on this test?
Infertility in the Middle Ages
March 2, 2016 by
For medieval people, success meant succession. Heredity was at the centre of law and order, from the king down through the ranks of society. As a result, the moment children reached marriageable age – and sometimes even before that – everyone’s focus was on their fertility.
Chastity belts and birthing girdles
February 13, 2016 by
Chastity belts have been the subject of schoolroom and music hall humour for as long as most of us can remember. But did they really exist and for the purpose suggested?
The Lady’s Man: Gawain as Lover in Middle English Literature
December 26, 2015 by
Gawain’s reputation as a philanderer precedes him; the best known example is the comment of Bertilak’s wife in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, whose disbelief that the famous and courteous Gawain could be alone with her and not crave a kiss is notorious
Movie Review: Dangerous Beauty
August 28, 2015 by
Late 16th century Venice, where a woman can be a nun, a wife or a courtesan. For Veronica Franco, the free spirited girl scorned by because of her lack of wealth, the choice is an obvious one…
Veronica Franco and the ‘Cortigiane Oneste’: Attaining Power through Prostitution in Sixteenth-Century Venice
August 12, 2015 by
Franco was a published author, a poet, and counted the King of France among her lovers.
John Rykener, Richard II and the Governance of London
June 9, 2015 by
Its narrative of cross-dressing, male prostitution, gay sex, clerical promiscuity and the like seems to offer a rare window onto late medieval sexuality and sexual mores.
Genre Medievalisms: Geek Goes Chic!
June 4, 2015 by
Is Cersei a collection of bad medieval stereotypes? Have nerds gone mainstream? Were American cowboys a modern retelling of the medieval knight? Put down that comic, put away your bag of dice, and indulge your inner nerd.
Finding Truth in the Myth of Lady Godiva: Femininity, Sex, and Power in Twelfth Century England
May 30, 2015 by
Although it is now widely accepted that Lady Godiva never mounted her horse ‘bareback,’ the infamous Domesday Book documented she was indeed a landowner in Coventry. In isolation, this tale is a pleasurable story of risk-taking.
Medieval Viagra
April 4, 2015 by
Over a thousand years before Viagra was invented, medieval men were looking for ways to treat erectile dysfunction. We take a look at the prescriptions offered in one of the most popular medical textbooks from the Middle Ages.
How to restore virginity – advice from Caterina Sforza
February 13, 2015 by
If you follow the advice of Caterina Sforza, ‘you will see that thing become so narrow that you yourself will be in admiration.’
The medieval roots of gender and sexuality in Spanish colonial law
February 12, 2015 by
Marie Kelleher will discuss the medieval roots of gender and sexuality in Spanish colonial law, beginning with the written law (both secular and ecclesiastical) and how it defines the parameters of respectable female behavior.
Chaucer the Love Poet: A Study in Historical Criticism
January 27, 2015 by
This thesis is an historically based inquiry into the aesthetic function and moral significance of the themes of marriage, fornication, and adultery in Chaucer’s poetry about sexual love
The Trouble with ‘Female Sexuality’
January 10, 2015 by
Using medieval western art to speak of female sexuality is difficult.
Intersex in the Middle Ages
January 9, 2015 by
A brief look at how the medieval world viewed the Intersex individual.
Medieval Books for Christmas
December 15, 2014 by
It’s that time of year again – the mad scramble for the perfect Christmas gift for the historian, nerd, avid reader on your list. Here are a few suggestions for you – new releases for December and January!
‘Hag of the Castle:’ Women, Family, and Community in Later Medieval Ireland
November 30, 2014 by
In a letter written as part of his work for the Irish Department of the Ordnance Survey in 1840, Thomas O’Conor recorded his reaction to a “Sheela- na-gig” sculpture—the image of a naked woman shown exposing her genitalia (fig. 1)—that he saw on the old church at Kiltinane, Co. Tipperary.
Transvestites in the Middle Ages
November 11, 2014 by
An examination of the lives of the transvestite saints whose legends and myths help set Western attitudes toward transvestism.
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