Description
Book SynopsisHow did sexual relationships work before, in and outside of marriage in the pre-modern era? What problems did contraception and sexually transmitted diseases pose? How did people deal with prostitution and pornography back then? What were the possibilities for same-sex and queer desire and practice? Using numerous examples and sources from across the continent,
Sexuality in Premodern Europe shows that even in earlier centuries, sexual life had an elementary significance for the coexistence of couples and communities. It was just as decisive for how individuals saw themselves and others as it was for maintaining the social, economic and political order.Franz X. Eder interestingly emphasises the socio-historical view of sexuality, offering an apt foil for the cultural perspective which is so prevalent in the field. In this book, sexual behaviour is understood and thought about as social practice. From this vantage point, Eder deals with the function of the sexual in upbringing and
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface 1. Introduction 2. Reign of the Phallus: Greek Antiquity 3.
Infamia and
Pudicitia: Roman Antiquity 4. How the ‘Evil’ Thorn Pierced the Flesh: Judaism and Early Christianity 5. Contradictory Sexual Worlds in the Middle Ages 6. Reformation and Discipline: 15th to 17th Century 7. Coda Bibliography Index
