In the medieval era, life within four walls became more modest due to the influence of the Catholic Church. In the western world, everything related to sex – except procreation – became a sin. Even thinking about it was forbidden! The only one who got along was the feudal lord: in addition to putting a chastity belt on his wife, he had the right to have sexual relations with any bride on his manor on the first night of her marriage. Traditional dating of the Middle Ages ranges from 476, the fall of the Western Roman Empire, to 1453, the fall of Constantinople. In the East, in Asian countries, sexual freedom was greater. Oriental men could, for example, have as many women as they wanted, as long as they managed to support them all. “But the second marriage has to be authorized by the first wife. This was done so that women would not be left alone and helpless,” says historian Claudio Umpierre Carlan, a professor at the Federal University of Alfenas (MG) and a researcher at Unicamp.
PROHIBITION
Sex was a sin and should be avoided at all costs.
flirt
Around the 12th century, the so-called courtly love appeared. At court, the knight carried the handkerchief of the woman he loved. But it was a platonic and unhappy love – as marriages were arranged by economic interests, the knight and the lady were almost never together. The arranged bride and groom often only knew each other through oil-painted portraits.
Positions
Only one position was allowed by the Church: the missionary (current papa-e-mom). It has that name because Christian missionaries wanted to spread its use in societies where other practices predominated. For Christians, she is the only appropriate position because, according to St. Paul, the wife is to be subject to her husband. The modesty between four walls was such that, in some more traditional homes, the couple had sex with a sheet with a hole in the middle!
Masturbation
To discourage solitary sexual pleasure, myths emerged at that time that boys got pimples or calluses on their hands if they masturbated. If a girl touched herself, either she was having an encounter with Satan or she had been bewitched by witches. The paranoia was so great that many bathed in clothes – even bathing was considered a libidinous act.
Marriage
The bride’s family, who could marry right after her second menstruation, paid a dowry (money or goods) to the groom, who was usually between 16 and 18 years old. But there were prohibitions, of course: Pope Gregory I forbade the marriage of third cousins, and Gregory III forbade the union of relatives up to the sixth degree!
Science
Anatomy didn’t evolve much in medieval times, but technical knowledge to avoid sex did! There is no consensus among historians on the invention of the chastity belt, but the oldest model is believed to be that of Bellifortis, from 1405. Made of metal, it had barbed openings that allowed urination, but not copulation. Infibulation was also invented, a technique of sewing the vagina to guarantee the woman’s fidelity to the feudal lord when he traveled
Homosexuality
Homosexual intercourse was called sodomy and was a crime with the death penalty, in addition to being considered heresy by the Church – homosexuals could even be burned at the stake. In the East, it was accepted – but on the sly. For example, in armies at war, the relationship between soldiers was preferable to resorting to prostitutes.
Prostitution
As men could not have pleasure with their wives, with whom they only had sex for procreation, the demand for prostitutes was great. At the same time that they were frowned upon by society and the Church, sex workers had to donate half of their profits to the clergy – this was what Pope Clement II (1046-1047) instituted.
sins
According to the Summa Theologica of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a document written from 1265 to 1273, there were two types of sin by lust:
– Sin against reason
Fornication and adultery, for example
– Sin against nature
They are the sins that go against the natural order of the sexual act. These include masturbation, sex with animals, homosexuality and the unnatural practice of intercourse. Read: sex could not be had in unnatural orifices (mouth and anus), even if it was between husband and wife!
READ MORE
What was sex like in prehistory?
What was sex like in ancient times?
What will sex be like in the future?