The Influence Of Sexuality In The Middle Ages

The sexual behaviors religion deems moral, the levels of scientific understanding in sexual matters and what the media deems sexualy ideal all profoudly influence how a society view and behave with regards to sexuality. For example, if religion being a primary influence in a society deems sexualy activity to only be appropriate between a monogamous, married couple, and should only be talked about between those couples, then it’s likely individuals within that society will hold very conservative views on sex. Additionally, in a society with poor scientific understanding of human sexual behaviour and function, will be a perfect breeding ground for urban myths and misinformation, such as the idea that a woman’s hymen breaks when she loses her virginity. Conversely in a society where media is the primary influencer, of the society promotes and propagates objectifying views of women’s body, it’s more likely that the majority view of sex in that society is that it’s something that’s done by a man to a women, and that giving sex to a man is (or is one of several) a woman’s primary purpose.

The Christian church in medieval Rome held a lot of social and religious authority but along with authority came issues of society that they were forced to deal with. Sexuality was a matter of the churches concern that was more often related to the word "Evil". I am going to attempt to prove that the "evils" involved in sexuality such as prostitution, and homosexuality were necessary for the church to maintain a growing authority over society. The chronological limits I am focusing on will fall between 300AD – 1200AD, with some references to dates both prior and thereafter these dates. I will explore the views on women held by Christians, related to traditional beliefs, gender roles, and sexual norms of behaviour. Prostitution as a

Sexuality is defined as one’s sexual character which possesses the structural and functional traits of sex. In the Renaissance, this definition was accompanied with ideologies of gender. This incorporated knowledge led to their notions of the female being inferior to the male based on what was

I attended Catholic school for eight years, and as a result, my sexual education preached abstinence. I was taught that sexuality was a gift from god, and should only be shared within the sacrament of marriage. Although I no longer believed that sexuality was a gift from god, I still thought of it as something that we were born with, in much the same way someone is born a certain skin color. Even after learning how so many aspects of my reality are socially constructed in other classes, I never thought to apply it to sexuality. I didn’t personally see my sexuality as shaping my life in the same why the gender or race seemed to be so pervasive. My sexuality, although an extremely important aspect of who I am, never seemed to be anything other but “natural” to me. I had never wondered if society and history were constructing my sexuality because I thought it of it as something inside of

Unlike sex, the history of sexuality is dependant upon society and limited by its language in order to be defined and understood.

Also, sexuality and its role in the family life were greatly different for Jews who lived during the Middle Ages. For the Jewish community sexuality was often perceived as an important part of the marriage that was a blessing from God, while Christians thought that sexuality was a sin. The Jewish community placed emphasis on sexuality and the mutuality in a relationship in order for it to be healthy. This standard and the fact that Jewish people also believed that procreation was only obligatory for men demonstrates the vast difference between Jews and their counterparts. By finding sexuality to be an important part of marriage and thus the creation of a family, they isolated themselves from the Christians who believed this to be taboo. All

The Middle Ages were a time of expanding and experimenting sexually for the people. Religious figures who had taken vows of celibacy had children, sometimes with more than one woman. Even some popes of the time had illicit affairs. However,

The book Sexuality in Medieval Europe: Doing Unto Others written by Ruth Mazo Karras introduces the reader to a fresh new way of analyzing sex and gender related topics in the Middle Ages. The book takes on an argumentative approach as it explains the differences in sexual identity as defined by society today versus the way it was defined in a traditional medieval society. The book covers a range of topics in the study of sexual identity in the years between the fifth century and the fifteenth century. It is important to explore sex and gender issues in the Middle Ages because it is where many opinions held today originated from. The book delves into the differences in the way we experience gender and sexuality today and in the way it

“How we think about sexuality is conditioned and inhibited by a complicated history and, to make our problems worse, that history is in the power of those who have necessarily been antagonistic to women for a very long time. Males generally have been economically and socially superior to women since they became the primary producers and possessors of private property.” (Murphy Robinson, 1984: 251)

The review of Women’s Labors:Reproduction and Sex Work in Medieval Europe (from the source Journal of Women’s History) is written by Ruth Mazo Karras, discusses about the role of women and their sexuality during the medieval ages. Ruth Mazo Karras, is a historian Professor, whose study emphasizes on women, sexuality, and gender during the medieval times and middle ages. Karras has written at least five research books and has written for. In the article Women’s Labors:Reproduction and Sex Work in Medieval Europe, she tries to identify the meaning and perspective that “sex work” had during the medieval ages. Karras, like many other historians, also try to find the relationship between women’s sexuality and work

Sex Education in Medieval Christianity attempts to get into the reasoning behind the Catholic Churches stance on sex during the Medieval period. Vern Bullough constructs the complex nature of the attitude toward sex during this time through his selected primary sources. He then sets out to explain the how the Church dealt with sex, and how it conveyed its message to an often uneducated population. His writing contributes a great insight into the mindset of the people at the time.

Human sexuality is the expression of sexual sensation and related intimacy between human beings, Psychologically, sexuality is the means to express the fullness of love between a man and woman. Biologically, is it the means through which a child is conceived and the lineage is passed on to the next generation (new world encyclopedia). Sexuality has existed for as long as creation has been evolving, Egyptians in ancient times weren 't so different than us but they had different views. For instance, Egypt was open and for the most part wasn 't filled with guilt towards the act. Lets not forget that it was ancient times after all, adultery was unacceptable just like it is viewed now except that woman usually got the worst punishment. A man could be just be made to divorce but the woman would be beaten, killed and feed to the dogs. Although, that is merely one set of culture standards, in other parts woman were the ones in power because their ability for reproduction was viewed positively. The ability to give life to a child and procreate was seen as the ultimate gift from “God”. In early religions the procreating power is worshipped in god regarded as its embodiment. Virginity is sacrificed to gods in order to secure their favor. Virginity and continence are enforced either, again, as a sacrifice pleasing to the gods because indulgence in the pleasures of the flesh is regarded as the root of great moral evils.

My first source entitled “Christianity and Sexuality in the Early Modern World: Regulating Desire” by Merry Wiesner-Hank is useful for presenting an account of how sexuality and gender was discussed in Christianity’s New Testament bible. In the letters of Paul to Jesus, Paul warned against those who opposed marriage, and also suggested that widows and widowers do not remarry. “Along with discussing acceptable and unacceptable sexual activities, the letters of Paul introduce a gendered and sexualized metaphor for the Christian community: the bridge of Christ. Human marriage is equated with the union between Christ and church; husbands are admonished to love their wives as Christ loved the church; and wives to be subject to their husbands as the church is subject to Christ (Ephesians 5:21-33) (Wiesner-Hank, 27). This quote presented is very important – it provides a clear illustration of the difference in expectations from the different genders in marriage under the

During the Middle Ages, the positive qualities of virginity were practically universally agreed upon by both secular and non secular authorities. However, the main purpose of virginity was in debate between the two. Religious authorities saw virginity as a path towards salvation, “a treasure to be locked away and promised only to the Divine Bridegroom, Christ”(Heckel). It was a way to keep the obscenities of life on earth from spoiling the soul, and allowed a woman to distance herself from the “distractions of worldly existence and hopefully, therefore, sin”(Heckel). Secular authorities, on the other hand, saw virginity as something to be guarded and kept, but eventually given away in a legal and faithful marriage. In a time long before

The examination of Ancient and Medieval literature allows for the comparison between social attitudes that have changed over time, and the attitudes that instead have stayed the same. This highlights the constancy of gender discrimination over sexuality, but also the improvement in communication between the sexes, and the change in women’s roles in society.