Obscenity is useful as a tool for teaching about sex and consent in the Middle Ages, and today.
Medieval
Anticipating Sin in Medieval Society
Anticipating Sin in Medieval Society explores early medieval understandings of sin, looking in particular at childhood, sexuality and violence.
Like a Virgin? The Medieval Origins of a Modern Debate
A recent Vatican ruling on consecrated virgins has caused controversy, but there are medieval precedents for the new approach.
Do I have to have sex with my spouse? Two medieval answers
What role did sex play in medieval marriages, and did spouses owe each other a ‘marital debt’?
Inventing Incest in Early Medieval Europe
The sixth century saw the emergence of a new understanding of the concept of incest, which was swiftly legislated in both secular and canon law.
Child Sexual Abuse? A View from England in the Later Middle Ages
Bringing sex offenders to justice was as challenging in the Middle Ages as it is today.
Maleficent Favourites: Seductive Bewitchment at the English Court
Accusations of witchcraft were often used to explain away transgressive behaviour between kings and favourites.
Recent Posts
“Homosexual Hearers” and Queer Musicality in Xavier Mayne’s The Intersexes (1909)
Squirming in the Dark: Playful Occupations for Sex Workers in the 1870 Census
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“The best fighters of each other’s oppressions”: Trans and Non-Trans Solidarity in Lesbian Communities
“Beyond the Law”: The Politics Ending the Death Penalty for Sodomy in Britain