Ebook691 pages20 hours
Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this ebook
This monumental study of medieval law and sexual conduct explores the origin and develpment of the Christian church's sex law and the systems of belief upon which that law rested. Focusing on the Church's own legal system of canon law, James A. Brundage offers a comprehensive history of legal doctrines–covering the millennium from A.D. 500 to 1500–concerning a wide variety of sexual behavior, including marital sex, adultery, homosexuality, concubinage, prostitution, masturbation, and incest. His survey makes strikingly clear how the system of sexual control in a world we have half-forgotten has shaped the world in which we live today. The regulation of marriage and divorce as we know it today, together with the outlawing of bigamy and polygamy and the imposition of criminal sanctions on such activities as sodomy, fellatio, cunnilingus, and bestiality, are all based in large measure upon ideas and beliefs about sexual morality that became law in Christian Europe in the Middle Ages.
"Brundage's book is consistently learned, enormously useful, and frequently entertaining. It is the best we have on the relationships between theological norms, legal principles, and sexual practice."—Peter Iver Kaufman, Church History
"Brundage's book is consistently learned, enormously useful, and frequently entertaining. It is the best we have on the relationships between theological norms, legal principles, and sexual practice."—Peter Iver Kaufman, Church History
Read more from James A. Brundage
The Medieval Origins of the Legal Profession: Canonists, Civilians, and Courts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Crusades: A Documentary Survey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe
Related ebooks
The Masculine Self in Late Medieval England Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unmarriages: Women, Men, and Sexual Unions in the Middle Ages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Criminalization of Abortion in the West: Its Origins in Medieval Law Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Marriage and the Family in the Middle Ages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gender and Christianity in Medieval Europe: New Perspectives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Legal History of Wales Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Legal Epic: "Paradise Lost" and the Early Modern Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prostitution in Medieval Society: The History of an Urban Institution in Languedoc Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forgetful of Their Sex: Female Sanctity and Society, ca. 500-1100 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disorder in the Court: Morality, Myth, and the Insanity Defense Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Medieval Family: The Pastons of Fifteenth-Century England Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fallen Bodies: Pollution, Sexuality, and Demonology in the Middle Ages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Same–sex desire in early modern England, 1550–1735: An anthology of literary texts and contexts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLaw, Language, and Empire in the Roman Tradition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTorture and the Law of Proof: Europe and England in the Ancien Régime Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Women in Medieval Society Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Justice and mercy: Moral theology and the exercise of law in twelfth-century England Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Marriage, Sex, and Civic Culture in Late Medieval London Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Women before the court: Law and patriarchy in the Anglo-American world, 1600–1800 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDark Age Nunneries: The Ambiguous Identity of Female Monasticism, 800–1050 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe History of Prostitution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCreating Cistercian Nuns: The Women's Religious Movement and Its Reform in Thirteenth-Century Champagne Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Women in Frankish Society: Marriage and the Cloister, 5 to 9 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Learning to Die in London, 1380-1540 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHellenism and Homosexuality in Victorian Oxford Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Canada's Constitutional Revolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRebellion in the Middle Ages: Fight Against the Crown Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Medieval Woman's Companion: Women's Lives in the European Middle Ages Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Society And Legal Change 2Nd Ed Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Law For You
Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paralegal's Handbook: A Complete Reference for All Your Daily Tasks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Guide To Being A Paralegal: Winning Secrets to a Successful Career! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Socratic Method: A Practitioner's Handbook Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wills and Trusts Kit For Dummies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Legal Words You Should Know: Over 1,000 Essential Terms to Understand Contracts, Wills, and the Legal System Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings8 Living Trust Forms: Legal Self-Help Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text with Exercises Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The ZERO Percent: Secrets of the United States, the Power of Trust, Nationality, Banking and ZERO TAXES! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Law For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Stone Unturned: The True Story of the World's Premier Forensic Investigators Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Secrets of Criminal Defense Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Executor's Guide, The: Settling a Loved One's Estate or Trust Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCriminal Law Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe LLC and Corporation Start-Up Guide: Your Complete Guide to Launching the Right Business Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of Tom Wheelwright's TaxFree Wealth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDrafting Affidavits and Statements Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Think Like a Lawyer--and Why: A Common-Sense Guide to Everyday Dilemmas Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Win In Court Every Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Everything Executor and Trustee Book: A Step-by-Step Guide to Estate and Trust Administration Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related categories
Reviews for Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe
Rating: 4.555555666666667 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
9 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I feel this is an important enough work to post a Library Thing review even though it’s been several years since I last read it. Through an in-depth, comprehensive examination of source material, this book provides a summary of laws related to sexuality from the early days of Christianity through the Reformation.Brundage has divided this book into 12 chapters, 10 of which cover different time frames, one devoted to Gratian’s Decretum, and a final chapter titled, “Modern Sex Law and Modern Society: Recapitulation, Reflections and Conclusions.” This last chapter is largely Brundage editorializing but I won’t criticize that too heavily. Based on the quality of the other 11 chapters, I’d say he’s earned the right.The way Brundage organized this book is by taking time frames, such as from 1140-1190 or 1234-1348 and examine a relatively consistent set of issues for each period. This allows the reader either to go through the entire book as a whole and glean a narrative evolution of sexual laws and restrictions, or to examine, for example, how the laws and penalties regarding nonmarital sex differed between the 14th and 11th centuries. The book begins with an examination of sexual laws in the ancient world and proceeds through the 11th century. With much less source material to work from, these first 4 chapters are briefer, though still valuable. When Brundage begins relating the impact of Gratian’s Decretum, first “published” around 1140, this work really hits its stride. At this time a great deal of material becomes available and Brundage dives in, discussing the Church’s views on marriage, sex within and out of wedlock, divorce, marital property, clerical celibacy, homosexuality, prostitution and concubinage and also how Canon law influenced civil law.There are dozens of interesting aspects which he discusses. Personally, I find greatest interest in what constituted marriage vows during the early Middle Ages, how marriage was a product of mutual consent between two parties, completed through consummation, and without any requirement of participation by a Priest, and how that proceeded to change over time. However there are numerous other examples – the evolution of clerical celibacy is also very interesting as are some of the divorce laws. This work is heavily footnoted which will allow readers to do additional research if they like. Keep in mind this is an academic book and refers heavily to primary and secondary source material. For a work of this type I consider it well-written but even so it is not an easy read. And I would be remiss if I didn’t at least give recognition to the chart on page 162. It’s titled, “FEELING RANDY?” and has a flow chart indicating whether it’s OK to have sex based on the many religious restrictions, ranging from, “Is Wife Menstruating?” to “Is it daylight?” Once you work your way through that, it’s a wonder Western Civilization didn’t become extinct.If you’re really wondering what The Church thought about sex during the Medieval period and would like to learn more on how this influenced civil law, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Just be ready to spend some time working your way through it. Brundage examines a tremendous amount of source material in some detail and that's anything but light reading.
Book preview
Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe - James A. Brundage
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1