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How do we learn about sexual practices in the past? Medical treatises talk about it in sterile terms, even though desire factored in the medieval theories of conception. Courtly literature and bawdy tales alike broach the subject in veiled terms and punny language. Illustrations of sex on the other side can, sometimes, be more explicit than language. This collection features images of hetero sexual advances, intimacy and consummation.
Medieval sexual intimacy was regulated by church, legal and community rules. The only legitimate sexual acts were between a man and a woman, within the bounds of marriage, and for the purpose of procreation. Nonetheless, even images of this specific type of sex could be censored, if not by the original creators then by later readers.
Censored ‘Generatio’ James le Palmer, Omne Bonum (England, c. 1375) British Library Royal 6 E Vii vol1, f.181v
Sexual intimacy is also an implicit requirement in the history of humanity, as well as in conceptions of lineage & legitimacy. Though the Old Testament is rife with polygyny (multiple wives), rape and incest, the text is very concerned with creating a legitimate lineage for Christ. While generation of children is visible here, sexual contact (here, incestuous) is only implied.
Generation of children Velislavova Bible (Prague, 1340) National Library of the Czech Republic, MS XXIII.C.124, f.20r
Secular texts were freer to talk about, and depict, sexual activity, legitimate or illegitimate. Married, unwed and adulterous (married but sleeping with other people) sexual contact is usually illustrated by depicting two people in bed, their naked upper torsos embracing or otherwise close. Genital contact is only implied, but veiled by bedcovers.
Vulcan, Venus and Mars Roman de la Rose (France, 1380) British Library, Egerton MS 881, f.141v
In this 11th century miniature in an instructive text, we find an unusually explicit depiction of heterosexual sex. Both figures are naked and not in bed; the sexual position is inventive, rather than the usual side-by-side depictions of intercourse; moreover, the female partner is on top, a practice condemned by moral texts but most likely still widely practised.
Explicit sex in text Boethius; Alcuin De dialectica (Ireland? 11C) Leiden Bibliotheek Rijksuniversiteit, BPL 84
More commonly, depictions of sex are found not centred in the text but relegated to the fringes of the text. Adding to the physical marginality of the illustration, plenty of naught miniatures depict illicit sexual acts, like this one between a priest (supposed to be celibate) and a nun (‘brides of Christ’). The lower-body nakedness and position contrasts usual depictions.
Marginal sex between a priest and a nun Roman de la Rose (France, 14C) Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Français 25526 f.111r
While the only legitimate sex was marital, generative sex, the medieval theoretical concept of sex included oral and manual, as well as homosexual sex. We find this by perusing penitentials, that condemn this kind of contact, in effect defining what counts as sex. The seduction of a married woman, illustrated here, by a sexually forward man, definitely counted.
Lovers cheating on sleeping husband Roman de la Rose (France, 1405) Getty Museum, Ludwig MS XV 7, f.91v
More often, medieval texts reflect the patriarchal society of medieval Europe through explicit textual misogyny. Women were thought of in terms of temptresses, lures, and traps into sin. The devil is often depicted as a beautiful woman offering sex. While a damaging concept, this narrative also showcased the sexual forward woman of the middle ages.
Temptation of a Christian Belles Heures of Duc de Berry (France, 1408) Metropolitan Museum, Cloisters collection, MS 54.1.1b f.191r
Explicit images of sexual intimacy are not the only medieval images of sex. Textual and visual puns and hidden meanings were encoded in stories and their illustrations, for the ones in the know to discover. This allegorical image from a Flemish manuscript depicts a man attempting to unlock a woman’s coffer, with the key sticking out between his bared legs.
Man unlocking woman’s box with key Illustrated allegories (Flanders, 1470) Private collection
If you want to know more: Pocket Miscellanies #5: Sodom Karras (2005) Sexuality in Medieval Europe Block, Jones (2009) Profane Images in Marginal Arts of the Middle Ages Easton (2009) Medieval Erotic Art and Its Audiences, Different Visions Brundage (1990) Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe
COVER: Couple in bed Buch der Beispiele der alten Weisen (Germany, 1475) Universitatsbibliothek Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. Germ. 466 f.158v
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