Medieval people feared that the Black Death was a punishment for sin, and hoped that abstaining from sex could save them.
Tag: Religion and sexuality
Gay penguins, medieval heretics, and the place of animals in the history of sexuality
Medieval theologians, like modern activists, used animals to make arguments about human sexuality.
Virgin Whore
A surprisingly prevalent theme in late English medieval literature and culture: the celebration of the Virgin Mary’s sexuality.
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’?
Carnal Knowledge: Regulating Sex in England, 1470-1600
Sexual behaviour was strictly regulated in late medieval and Tudor England.
Recent Posts
Of Polymaths and Pederasts: Reflections on Rachel Hope Cleves’s <i>Unspeakable</i>
Raúl Luis Suarez’s Smile and The Ruthless Archive
The Shapes of Fancy: Reading for Queer Desire in Early Modern Literature
Queer as Cop: Gay Patrol Units and the White Fantasy of Safety
Campaigning for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ireland, 1981-1993