Eroticism in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Magic, Marriage, and Midwifery

By (author) I. Moulton

Book cover: Eroticism in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Extent: 171 pages

Publisher: Brepols Publishers

Subjects: Early Modern & Renaissance Studies, Gender & Sexuality, Medieval Studies

Series: Arizona Studies in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Series volume number: 39

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(May 2016)

ISBN: 9782503567884

Price: $107.00

In stock

Magic rings; seductive she-devils; satyrs bound and whipped on stage; a woman sexually coerced in the confessional; a boy caught masturbating over a midwifery manual; a marriage of true minds between two men; a prince led to repentance at the sight of a naked girl prepared to give her life for his. These varied manifestations of medieval and early modern sexuality–each at the center of one of the essays in this volume–suggest the ubiquity and diversity of eroticism in the period. The erotic is the stuff of legend, but also of daily life. It is inextricable from relations of power and subordination and it plays a fundamental role in the heirarchical social structures of the period. The erotic is also very much a part of the spiritual realm, often in morally ambiguous ways. The seven essays collected in this volume explore the role the erotic played in early modern notions of happiness or fulfillment, in clerical life, in Jewish legend, heretical magic and Christian marriage, in poetry, on the public stage, and in medical manuals.

  • By (author) I. Moulton