European Sexuality in Medieval Times

European Sexuality in Medieval Times

Today we are continually fighting for our rights as humans to live as we want to live.  We are still fighting, in some places, to allow same sex marriage.  I often think, how can someone tell another person who they can and cannot show their love towards?  This seems barbaric and unjust!  As I think about what is unjust now in society I also look back on what it was like in the past.  Going back to medieval times when there are far worse punishments for those who were part of the LGBT community.  We are lucky to  live when identifying as queer is not, a sin, a crime and at some points punishable by death.  “The rabbinical commentators considered homosexual activity a serious crime that merited death by stoning.” (Brundage, 1995, p. 57)

Several of these theories stemmed from religious beliefs creating homosexuality a “sin”.  I find this very interesting because “Jesus said remarkably little about sexual conduct, and sex was not a central issue in his moral teaching.” (Brundage, 1995, p.2).  If this is being based on religion and is seen as a sin why is there very little to back up what the people are saying?  This is because according to Brundage (1995) his (Jesus’s) followers were much more concerned about sexual morality (p.2). Therefore society pushed for the “religious beliefs” and won the side of the people in power.  This is when society attempted, and succeeded in putting criminal penalties on homosexual acts. (Brundage, 1995). 

The main sexual act that was focused on was sodomy.  The Christian emperors, however, did not leave out the heterosexual couples in this law stating prohibitions to “sexual relations to man and wife in any fashion that does not involve penetration of the vagina by the penis”. (Brundage, 1995, p.108)  I may be looking at this a little strange but I felt that at least this was not a direct attack on the LGBT community.  This was punishable by death.  “Any man guilty of sodomy should be burnt to death” (Brundage, 1995, p.213).  Sexuality should be free and if you connect with someone you should be able to express this in any way including sexually.  It is hard to read that so many people were repressed from attempting to show who they really are.

Someone who is performing homosexual acts in this era were viewed as sexual deviants (Brundage, 1995) and are not really looked at as a person who could love the other person.  The most radical of punishments was given to those who identified as queer, death (Brundage, 1995).  Religion still plays a role in the fight against the LGBT community; I feel it is only a matter of time before this ideology falls away with the thought that homosexuality was a crime. I see how far we have come and know that there is so much farther to go.  Knowing this background allows me to appreciate and keep on fighting and advocating for the rights of the LGBT community.

Britney

Brundage, J. (1995). Law, Sex and Christian Society in Medieval Europe. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press.