The Fires of Lust: Sex in the Middle Ages

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It’s an obvious but confronting thought that uncountable millions of people have lived and died without leaving the slightest trace. Anybody going into this with a notion of the middle ages as "The Dark Ages" will hopefully begin to realise how misinformed they were. The Golden Legend notes that John the Baptist was also a lifelong virgin, while St George was ‘like sand .

In her conclusion, Harvey admits that written records about sex in the Middle Ages focused on the sensational rather than the commonplace. Fara Dabhoiwala, author of The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution ‘A lively and readable account rooted in a deep knowledge of the scholarly literature on sexuality in medieval western Europe. This was great as an audiobook and contained many examples and direct citations that gave a nice glimpse into everyday life.

A lively and readable account rooted in a deep knowledge of the scholarly literature on sexuality in medieval western Europe. A culture in which clerics commissioned sheelagh-na-gigs – graphic carvings of women displaying their genitals – to adorn their holy buildings perplex us.

The story of Simon the goat-lover is just one of hundreds of weird and wonderful anecdotes that rub together in Katherine Harvey’s jaunty study of late-medieval sex . Like us, medieval people faced challenges in finding a suitable partner or trying to get pregnant (or trying not to). You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. There is no better guide to what occurs betwixt the sheets of the medieval bedroom than Katherine Harvey. I appreciate that Harvey did not sensationalise any of these topics, keeping descriptions of these events brief and non-graphic.I can't think of a more brilliant Christmas book to give to one's significant other if they have even a passing interest in medieval Europe or the rich and extraordinary sex life of its inhabitants. Was it Bertrand Russell who opined that, of all the sexual possibilities, the most perverse was abstinence? an expansive, accessible and highly engaging account of what we do – and don't – know about western European sexual culture in the Middle Ages. However, at times its detail is overwhelming, with a barrage of a names and dates that seemingly have little importance to the overall narrative. Rolandino Ronchaia (in 14th-century Venice) might be described as intersex, a man who, because of a hormonal imbalance, was more feminine than masculine.