Dissolute middle ages

People in the Middle Ages were afraid of death from sexual abstinence no less than sexually transmitted diseases, and led a complex lifestyle associated with the desire for sexual health (16+)

In the public mind, the history of sex looks pretty straightforward. For centuries, people in the Christian West have lived in a state of sexual repression, limited by the all-consuming fear of sin, along with a lack of knowledge of their own body. Those who did not reach the high moral standards demanded of them by the church, state and society were subjected to exile and punishment. And then in the middle of the 20th century, everything changed forever when, according to Philip Larkin’s famous phrase, “Sexual intercourse began in 1963, somewhere between the end of the ban on the book Lady Chatterley's Lover and the first record of the Beatles.”

In fact, the story of human sexuality turns out to be much more interesting and wild. Many of the prevailing prejudices about our medieval ancestors lie in the erroneous view that they lived in the uncomplicated era of religious fanaticism and medical ignorance. And although Christian ideals actually influenced the medieval attitude towards sex, they were much more complicated than it is believed according to modern prejudices. Christian beliefs intersected with medieval medical theories and gave rise to unexpected and complex ideas related to sex, as well as a wide range of different sexual practices - long before the " sexual revolution ".

The case of the French minister of the church, Arnaud de Vernol, demonstrates the complexity of medieval sexuality. Once at the beginning of the XIV century, when Arno was a student, he had sex with a prostitute. A few years later, he confessed to this moral misconduct of the Inquisition , explaining that:

When they burned lepers, I lived in Toulouse; I once did this with a prostitute. After I committed this sin, my face began to swell. I was terrified and decided that I had contracted leprosy. After that, I swore that in the future I will never sleep with women again.

Arno's story is not unique. Many medieval men discovered undesirable symptoms after a visit to a brothel, and committed themselves to sexual behavior. Among the various medical wonders attributed to Thomas Becket , was the cure of Odo de Beaumont, who contracted leprosy immediately after visiting a prostitute at the end of the XII century. Too many conclusions were drawn from the medieval tendency to interpret the disease as the result of sexual sin. But the medieval tendency to view diseases as sexual sin was not based solely on moral judgments — it also included elements of medicine.

Concerns about the transmission of diseases through prostitutes through sexual contact are often expressed very rationally. Sometimes, for example, local authorities took preventive measures: a set of 15th-century Southwark regulatory documents prohibited women with a “burning disease” (possibly gonorrhea) from entering local brothels. Moreover, concern for Southwark residents was rooted in medical theory. “The Salerno essay on health issues,” a medical text from the 13th century, explained how a woman could remain intact after having sex with a person suffering from leprosy, after which her next lover could catch this disease: female coldness meant that the leper’s seed could remain in the womb of a woman, and turn into putrid fumes. When a healthy man's penis came into contact with this evaporation, the heat of his body caused their absorption through the pores. In the context of the medical ideas of the time, Arno’s fears about his meeting with a prostitute were completely justified.

Fortunately for Arnaud and many others, it was often possible to cure leprosy, sexually transmitted. The 14th century English doctor John Gaddesdensky offered several protective measures that a man needs to take after having sex with a woman who, in his opinion, had leprosy. He needs to clean his penis as soon as possible, either with his own urine or with vinegar and water. Then he needs to undergo a bleeding procedure and a three-month course, which included bowel cleansing, the use of various ointments and the use of medicines.

If such preventive measures did not work, and the patient's genitals were swollen, itchy, or covered with pustules, he could need one of the many medicines mentioned in medical treatises and prescription lists. A medical compendium of the XII century Trotula noted that there are men "suffering from swelling of the male member, the appearance of holes and injuries under the foreskin." These men were recommended poultices to reduce swelling. Then, “we wash the ulcerated or damaged gate of the foreskin with warm water and sprinkle it with powder of Greek resin [rosin] and dried tree root, or with powder of worms and roses and woody and blueberry roots”.

Such preparation was undoubtedly unpleasant, but the surgical treatment recommended by the 14th century English doctor John of Arden was simply cruel. In one of the cases described, "the man's penis began to swell after coitus from hitting his own seed, which is why he suffered greatly from burning and pain, as men suffer from such injuries." For the treatment of this unfortunate doctor, he cut off the dead flesh with a blade, then applying quicklime to this place — and this, without a doubt, an extremely painful process, seemed to bring the desired results.

Treatise Trotula and John Ardensky, apparently, describe the symptoms of a sexually transmitted disease, with the latter directly associating sexual intercourse with the symptoms of his patient. However, these authors do not describe their treatment as drugs for sexually transmitted diseases. A man with a swollen body his contemporaries could well appreciate as a victim, not infections, but excessive pleasures.

Medieval doctors believed that an excess of sex is a problem from a medical point of view. According to the then widespread opinion, several noble men died due to excessively active sex. John Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , in the XIV century allegedly "died from the decomposition of the genitals and body caused by frequent meetings with women, for he was a famous fornicator." Today, his symptoms would rather talk about a venereal disease, but his contemporaries probably saw parallels between him and the story of Raoul I de Vermandois . This noble French husband of the 12th century shortly before the incident took his third wife, after which he became seriously ill. During his recovery, his doctor recommended that he refrain from sexual intercourse, but he ignored the recommendation. When the doctor, due to the condition of Raoul’s urine, determined that he had still had sex, he recommended that Raoul should put his affairs in order due to the fact that he only had about three days to live - and this diagnosis was correct.

According to medieval notions about the body, based on the system of four elemental human fluids, or humors (blood, phlegm, black and yellow bile), the behavior of these men was associated with problems. The humoral system was born from the idea that health is based on the balance of humors, and the disease is a consequence of their imbalance. Balance and good health were achieved through the expulsion of various body fluids, including the seed. Consequently, regular sex life was part of the healthy behavior for most men, but in this case a measure was needed. Too much sex emptied the body; in the most serious cases, this could lead to fatal outcomes, as Raoul experienced.

On the other hand, the medical specialists of the Middle Ages believed that too little sex was also a problem: abstinence had a detrimental effect on health, especially in young men. Prolonged abstinence meant a delay in excess seed, which had a bad effect on the heart, which, in turn, could damage other parts of the body. Male abstinence practitioners could experience various symptoms, including headache, anxiety, weight loss, and in the most serious cases, death. And while in medieval society, abstinence was revered as a virtue, from the point of view of society, this practice was as risky as debauchery.

Louis VIII of France, for example, insisted on remaining faithful to his wife, fighting in the Albigensian crusade, which lasted from 1209 to 1229 years. The generally accepted view was that the king died from abstinence, which makes him the most famous victim of this practice. According to the poet Ambroise of the Normans, many have fallen victim to abstinence:

Due to hunger and disease
Over 3000 people killed
At the siege of Acre and in the city itself
But according to the stories of the pilgrims I declare
That a hundred thousand men fell there
Because of their weaning from their women.
They limited themselves to the love of God.
And they would not have died if they had not abstained.

For most of the Crusaders, sexual abstinence was a temporary inconvenience, which only had to be tolerated before returning home, when they were reunited with their wives. But for the many priests of medieval Europe, abstinence was lifelong, and this could put them in front of a difficult choice. The physician Thomas Becket urged him to abandon abstinence for the sake of his health, and told him that such a life was not suitable for his age and physique, but the saint had neglected the doctor’s advice. Becket then lived for many more years and ended up falling victim to an assassin, but the other bishops were less fortunate. The unknown archdeacon of Leuven, who suffered for a long time from abstinence, was raised, against his will, to the rank of bishop of the same city. For a whole month, he refrained from all sexual activity, but then his genitals swelled and he became seriously ill. His family and friends urged him to secretly “take a woman for himself,” but he persisted in resisting temptation — and died a few days later.

In the face of celibacy, non-saints usually turned to the obvious "course of treatment." London Bishop of the XI century, Maurice , is said to have received instructions from doctors “to seek the health of his body through the release of humors”, and he extended his life by breaking the vow of celibacy. Others, in order not to get into a difficult situation, practiced alternative forms of excretion, which, as medical theory suggested, was beneficial to the health of men who were forced to abstain from sex.

According to the medical theory of humors, all body fluids were recycled blood forms, and their common source made them interchangeable. Accordingly, it was believed that regular bleeding was necessary for men in the period of abstinence, and such bleeding was widely used in medieval monasteries as a means to balance the monks' humors and minimize the risk of involuntary semen exit. It was believed that crying (“tearful prayers” practiced by pious people) is an alternative to sexuality, since blood, which would have been transformed into a seed, in this case turns into tears. Exercise and hot baths, as a result of which sweat is produced, were also considered useful for people practicing long-term abstinence.

In addition to measures to enhance the release of excess fluids, men during celibacy were prescribed caution in what they put into their bodies. In this regard, the diet was directly related to sexual health. Here the problems were divided into three parts. First, the proximity of the genitals to the stomach suggested that the former must be heated by food or wine contained in the latter, and this heat was considered necessary for the man’s body and for the production of semen. Secondly, the seed was considered a product of completely digested food, and such a nutritious food as meat and eggs was especially conducive to its production. Finally, the food that causes flatulence (including legumes), led to the appearance of excess gases, which in turn contributed to erection. All these factors, put together, could lead to the effect of excessiveness in the diet of the clergy. Many medieval writers talked about monks who ate too well, and as a result experienced a fierce sex drive and almost constant seed withdrawal.

On the other hand, knowledge is power, and religious people could use fasting as a practical strategy to protect against the health risks associated with celibacy. A man who wanted to avoid sex and maintain his health was recommended to regularly fast and follow a diet consisting mainly of cold foods and drinks that "prevent, suppress, and thicken the seed and eliminate lust." Salted fish, vegetables in vinegar and cold water were considered especially suitable food for monks.

In addition, some medieval writers recommended anaphrodisiacs [opposed to aphrodisiacs / approx. trans.] men who want to abstain from sex. A doctor of the 11th century, Konstantin Afrikansky, recommended for this purpose fragrant , and strong bitter tea made from tincture of evergreen shrubs. He wrote that the use of broth rue, "dries sperm and kills the desire for sexual intercourse." Two centuries later, Peter the Spanish (the only practitioner chosen by the Pope of Rome, named John XXI ) was also recommended by the root; In addition, he advised to drink water lily juice 40 days in a row. The 14th century Italian physician Mino de Mineri (who worked for two bishops) included the following advice in his work on human hygiene Regimen Sanitatis: a man who wanted to suppress attraction should use “cold stuff”, for example, lentil water cooled with cauliflower seeds, seeds water lilies and lettuce, and water from the lettuce, vinegar, and portulaca seeds. So at the same time, abstinence and health were hard to observe, but for those who wanted to live a life whose main pleasures were prayers and vegetable water, it was not impossible.

And although most of the known deaths due to abstinence are related to male clerics, women of their kind were also considered vulnerable to this medical problem. According to the medical theory of the time, both sexes produced the seed necessary for intercourse - and, like the male seed, the female seed had to be removed from the body during regular sex life. In a woman who does not have sex, the seed remained inside the body, and, gradually accumulating, could cause suffocation of the uterus. Symptoms of this condition included fainting, difficulty breathing, and in serious cases death. For women, as well as for men, the best way to avoid death from abstinence was to marry and maintain regular, sanctioned by the Church, intercourse with a spouse. If this was not possible, a set of useful practices was proposed, which included diets and vinegar candles. Some doctors have recommended another unexpected alternative - namely, masturbation.

It is not surprising that the medieval Church did not approve of the latter: most reference books for confessors defined masturbation as a sin, and imposed a heavy punishment on it — fasting, usually up to 30 days, but sometimes up to two years. On the other hand, masturbation was somewhere at the end of the hierarchy of sins associated with sex, and confessors could not treat this so strictly (for example, in the case of young unmarried virgins) who lacked any other way out for their desires. This loophole reflects the Church’s understanding of contemporary medical teaching: it was impossible to ignore the fact that medical authorities, starting from Galen , recommended masturbation as a preventive medicine for men and women.

Medieval doctors of a later time were rarely as frank as Galen and other representatives of the ancient world. Medical books of the late Middle Ages rarely mentioned masturbation in men. For women who did not have regular sexual life, they offered a variety of treatments that included genital stimulation (by the patient or a professional doctor). This treatment was considered particularly suitable for women suffering from uterine strangulation. If she could not marry (for example, being a nun), and her life was in real danger, then a massage of the genitalia could be the only solution and could be performed even without any sin. The 14th century English doctor John Gaddesdensky believed that such a woman should try to heal her illness with the help of physical exercises, foreign trips and medicines. But “if she has a fainting fit, then the midwife should insert a finger covered with oil of lily, laurel or backgammon into her uterus, and energetically move them there”.

Other authors of medical writings, including the clergy, followed the teachings of John. Dominican monk of the XIII century Albert the Great wrote many works on human health. Он утверждал, что определённым женщинам необходимо «использовать свои пальцы или другие инструменты до тех пор, пока их каналы не откроются и благодаря теплу трения и соития не выйдет их гумор, а с ним и жар». Альберт считал, что такие действия не только решат женские проблемы со здоровьем, но и уменьшат их потребность в половой жизни, поскольку «их пах охладится и они станут более сдержанными». Мнение о том, что женская мастурбация может предотвратить занятие менее социально приемлемыми формами сексуальной активности, помогло некоторым средневековым медицинским экспертам одобрить такое поведение.

Но, как и в случае с соитием, мастурбацией необходимо было наслаждаться умеренно. Альберт рассказывал о похотливом монахе, встретившем неутешительный конец: «возжелав» красивой женщины 70 раз до начала богослужений, монах умер. Его вскрытие показало, что мозг его уменьшился до размеров граната, а глаза были полностью уничтожены. Такая его смерть отражала одну из ужасных реальностей средневековой жизни: грех был лишь одной из множества опасностей, связанных с сексом.

Задолго до прибытия в Европу сифилиса в XV веке, сексуальное здоровье было предметом всеобщих интересов. Считалось, что проститутки и их клиенты рискуют заразиться проказой, и это была страшная возможность для Арно де Верноля и многих других. Но заразные болезни не были единственной проблемой. Арно поклялся, что не будет спать ни с одной женщиной, но он не просто отказался от секса. Он признался, что «чтобы следовать своей клятве, я начал домогаться до молодых мальчиков».

Это решение было настолько же противным тогда, каким оно кажется и сегодня. Оно также отражало распространённую веру в то, что какая-либо половая жизнь была необходима для большинства взрослых по медицинским показаниям, а также страх перед тем, что воздержание священников заставит их предаваться этому пороку. В случае с сексом у жителей средневековья была дилемма: как предохранить жизненно важный баланс в теле и не подвергнуться болезни и греху? Спад гуморальной медицины и изменения в религиозных верованиях устранили несколько поводов для беспокойства, волновавших Арно и жителей средневековья. Но поменялось не всё. Споры по поводу секса до сих пор идут вокруг конфликтующих между собой потребностей здоровья, социальных рамок и персональных предпочтений. Как и в Средние века, секс в XXI веке остаётся одновременно и удовольствием, и проблемой.