A round-up of recent blog-posts on pre-modern history.
Early Modern
Sexual Curiosities? Aphrodisiacs in early modern England
Aphrodisiacs were widely understood to be a central component in the fight against infertility.
‘A Temporary Member’: ‘Hermaphrodites’ and Sexual Identity in Early Modern Russia
‘Hermaphrodites’ represented a true puzzle for the authorities and local community.
The Censorship of Female Pleasure: Cleland, Charlie Countryman, Cunnilingus
What does censorship of John Cleland’s novel tell us about attitudes to female pleasure?
The Allure of the Castrato
An introduction to one of the sex symbols of the eighteenth century: the castrato.
"A filthy bruitish offence": Child sex abuse and the law in C17th England
Between 1674 and 1913 there are at least 570 documented Old Bailey cases involving adults accused of sexual relations with children.