Prostitutes and sex in Medieval England

Hizi Zama zilikua za Moto Sana,
Wanawake walidai Sana Haki zao

"William the Conquerer was forced into releasing Norman knights from campaign after being petitioned by their wives. The reason? They wanted their men home to fulfil their sexual urges"
 
Behaviourist said:
Kesho na mimi nakuja na mada yangu inayosema 'Prostitutes and sex in JF'.
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Wee jamaaa....
IMG_20210917_211740.jpg
 
Bila shaka askofu buchard nae alkua memba mzuri tu
"Burchard goes on to list a great many ‘illegal’ sexual practices which truly go into such detail that one is left wondering how exactly this bishop knew about them to begin with."
 
Vijana wa kile chama mngepata tabu Sana kwa adhabu Kama hizi

"This list (illegal sexual practise) is rather exhaustive and covers everything from masturbation .
not allowed to eat meat for four days, unless the ‘defiler’ is a boy who does it a lot, then he is to fast for nearly three weeks and be whipped."
 
DeepPond said:
Hii dunia Ni tambala bovu,
Kanisa takatifu liliufanya ukahaba Kama mradi na kutoza kodi

"Ironically nearly all of the buildings where sex was sold were owned by the Bishop of Winchester giving rise to the rather gentle euphemism of prostitutes being named “Winchester Geese.” Venereal diseases were often known as “bites of Winchester geese.” Certainly the prostitutes were tolerated by the Bishops, for the brothels were highly taxed and upped their income"
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Watu hawajui kuwa Catholisim is Satanism! Creator mkubwa wa yanayoendelea duniani leo yanamilikiwa na Vatican.
The Rothchilds ambao wanamiliki migodi ya Dhahabu na Almasi kwa hapa Tanzania, campuni zile zote NorthMara, Barrick gold nk zote zina connection na Hiyo family ya Illuminati ndo funders wakubwa wa siasa zinazoendelea Tanzania, hata marehemu muda wote kuwategemea Maaskofu wa dini..wakati hao ndo kuna majoka yenye sumu yalipojifichia...
 
sinajinasasa said:
Watu hawajui kuwa Catholisim is Satanism! Creator mkubwa wa yanayoendelea duniani leo yanamilikiwa na Vatican.
The Rothchilds ambao wanamiliki migodi ya Dhahabu na Almasi kwa hapa Tanzania, campuni zile zote NorthMara, Barrick gold nk zote zina connection na Hiyo family ya Illuminati ndo funders wakubwa wa siasa zinazoendelea Tanzania, hata marehemu muda wote kuwategemea Maaskofu wa dini..wakati hao ndo kuna majoka yenye sumu yalipojifichia...
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Umeandika maneno mazito yakufikirisha Sana
 
Sky Eclat said:
Prostitutes and sex in Medieval England.

(Some of our new followers may have missed this post).

..... If you are easily offended then perhaps best to give this one a miss.

“As for you, be fruitful and multiply; populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it .…” Genesis 9:7.

Prostitution is one of the oldest trades in the world and even today, sex sells. When looking back at the medieval era it is tempting and somewhat romantic to see it purely as a time of fair ladies and the proverbial knight in shining armour. The truth is rather less quaint. In medieval England sex was then, as it is now, a very big part of society. It was the norm for men to have sex with whomever they pleased and bastard children were common. Many famous lords had a bastard child or two and nobody cared. Warwick the Kingmaker for example fathered an illegitimate daughter Margaret, John of Gaunt had five bastard children, a daughter with one of his Mothers ladies in waiting and then the four Beaufort’s with his long term mistress and eventual third wife Katheryn Swynford, Richard III had two bastard children, Edward IV had at least four, possibly five. Edward III is known to have had a son with his mistress Alice Perrers, the Black Prince also had bastard children, and Henry IV is known to have fathered one also. These are just well known instances and as stated, common. Men had a sexual freedom that women did not have and even today there are lingering double standards for men and women.

There was a flourishing trade of prostitution in medieval England. The law on prostitution was never clear and for the most part the law, when it did act on prostitution, did not seek to bring the trade to an end, rather it saw the selling of sex as a necessary evil and sought to control it. As noted, there was no clear definition of prostitution or even what made a woman be classed as a prostitute. In effect, any woman unfortunate to be accused of ‘light’ behaviour whether guilty or no could actually be classed in the eyes of the law as a whore which alongside ‘bawd’ was the common word for prostitute. A woman who had multiple sexual partners could also be classed as a whore, that is, prostitute even if no money was not exchanged and the woman had sex with various men quite simply for pleasure.

Prostitution appears to have left the Church in something of a quandary. Much ink was spilt over the matter, with the subdean of Salisbury, Thomas of Chobham (d. circa 1233/6) seeking to categorise women –and men- selling their bodies for sex. He decided that if a woman was giving herself to just one man, or in secret then she was not – strictly speaking - a prostitute. He defined the role of a prostitute as “a woman who sells herself openly to the lusts of many.” There was much debate over what to do with the money earned through selling herself for sex, and it was the aforementioned Thomas of Chobham who stated –rather controversially- that as the woman has gained the money through the labour of her body then she is entitled to keep it. Prostitution, already an old, old trade thus gained a degree of commercialism. These ‘fallen women’ could earn money by having sex and quite rightly, keep it.

Officially, a woman found guilty of being a whore, that is, selling her body for sex or making her home available for others to have sex within- usually for a charge, was supposed to do penance. For a first offence she was to wear a hood, either striped or yellow, her hair was cut off or shaved and she was taken to the pillory. A second offence was anything up to ten days in prison and a third; banishment from the city. Although there are records of this happening, it doesn’t seem to have been particularly well enforced. Medieval records show that the same women, over and over are charged with ‘bawdry’ and fined increasing sums, however the majority of these women do not seem to have been forced from their homes and were so confident that they repeat offended with impunity. It was generally concurred within the church that prostitutes were a necessary evil, for a man who wanted to ‘slake wicked lust’ could visit a brothel rather than resorting to rape. This in turn protected respectable women. Prostitutes also were available for physicians to learn more about the female body and reproductive system as it was quite unthinkable that a respectable married woman or virgin would uncover herself in such a manner.

In larger cities, such as London and York there were repeated attempts to have all prostitutes removed from within the city walls. This was utterly ineffective and instead the women were forced to work within a particular area. The Southwark Stews across the river from the city of London was one such place. Large volumes of Flemish women worked in as many as eighteen separate establishments offering hot baths and one would imagine – a whole lot more- for a man willing to pay. Ironically nearly all of the buildings where sex was sold were owned by the Bishop of Winchester giving rise to the rather gentle euphemism of prostitutes being named “Winchester Geese.” Venereal diseases were often known as “bites of Winchester geese.” Certainly the prostitutes were tolerated by the Bishops, for the brothels were highly taxed and upped their income.

Other areas in London, particularly near Cheapside also became known for the high volume of prostitutes and street names such as “Gropecunt Lane” or “Cocks Lane” brazenly advertised what was happening at these locations. York, Shrewsbury and other towns are known to have had their own ‘Gropecunt Lanes’ before the names were changed to Grape Lane or Grope Lane for decency’s sake in later years.

The medieval attitude towards sex was not as restrictive as one would think. Sexual desire and the act of sex is one of the most primal of human instincts and often won out over piety and ones reputation within society. Historical fiction on the whole is not representative of sex within the medieval period, often showcasing it as romantic act between two lovers, rather than anything remotely seedy and much more often- glossing over the matter completely. Like birth and death, sex was a part of everyday life. People lived in such close quarters with relatively little privacy it perhaps not unsurprising that sex could hardly be a private matter. Children shared beds with their parents, servants shared rooms with their masters or slept outside the door. For a couple, married or no, wishing to have sex, it was very often a semi-public affair.

The actual attitude towards sex, away from the church, was rather more robust. In the 12th and 13th century France there were short stories known as fabliaux which were written to be read aloud to an audience and were usually comedies. These tales were immensely popular and also very crude. They were often anti-clerical in their nature as most tales included a lecherous priest who had a mistress, or several or who practiced bestiality. These witty and often cynical tales included title such as “The Knight who made cunts speak” and “The Maiden who couldn’t hear JamiiForums' Community Engagement Guidelines | Mwongozo wa Ushiriki kwenye Mijadala without heartburn.” (I kid you not.) The church disapproved of sex and it seems that the common people laughed at them for their hypocrisy as priests often made up the majority of regular clientele at brothels. A 14th century English ballad is still extant, and known as ‘The serving girls holiday’ is not as crude as the French fabliaux. An extract;

“Soon he will take me by the hand. And he will lay me on the ground. So that my buttocks are in the dirt. Upon this high holiday. In he thrust and out he drew.”

The implication doesn’t need explaining, and the ballad ends with the serving girl exclaiming that her belly began to swell as round as a bell. The recently discovered court records of an Englishman in 1310/11 who received the rather unfortunate nickname of “fuckebythenavele” could also perhaps be seen as another instance of medieval ribaldry about sex. The historian who found this record speculates that Roger Fuckbythenavel acquired this name after trying to penetrate the belly button of his partner by accident.

The Church had tried to control what people could and couldn’t do in bed (or anywhere else for that matter). The Bishop Burchard of Worms spent a great deal of time writing his Decretum Burchardi, a collection of twenty books dedicated to canon law. One volume was purely about sex and what was and wasn’t allowed. For example, sex was for married couples only, missionary was the only acceptable position for sex as it was thought that it was the least enjoyable. One should also remember that people were told that they should not enjoy sex and that they should only have sex for the begetting of children.

If a woman was on her period, pregnant or nursing a child, then sex was not allowed. Sex was also explicitly banned on fast days, feast days and Sundays. Kissing in a manner that was considered ‘lewd’ (let’s think of a peck on the lips as opposed to making out) was not acceptable. Neither was oral sex. A woman performing oral sex on her husband and swallowing his semen was considered ‘diabolical’ in the eyes of the church and was punishable by seven years of penance. Despite animals mating in the natural way, i.e., from behind, humans doing this was considered unnatural and it was expressly forbidden.

Husbands however did have to fulfil their part of the ‘marital debt’ and satisfy the sexual needs of their wives (for women were seen as lustful creature who quite simply needed to be having sex as much as possible), and they had to do it well, as the Roman physician/surgeon Galen stated that for women get pregnant they had to have reached orgasm. So therefore it was down to the husband to make their lovemaking as enjoyable as possible, which is completely at odds with what the church allowed. However the marital debt was taken seriously for the most part. In 1068, William the Conquerer was forced into releasing Norman knights from campaign after being petitioned by their wives. The reason? They wanted their men home to fulfil their sexual urges.

Burchard goes on to list a great many ‘illegal’ sexual practices which truly go into such detail that one is left wondering how exactly this bishop knew about them to begin with. This list is rather exhaustive and covers everything from masturbation (not allowed to eat meat for four days, unless the ‘defiler’ is a boy who does it a lot, then he is to fast for nearly three weeks and be whipped.) Sodomy wasn’t as serious as bestiality and indeed, there seems to be the general consensus within surviving court records that it was worse to be the passive partner in homosexual sex and play the part of the woman than it was to be the one in the dominant role. However, if the passive partner was an adolescent boy, then it was rather less serious. To have sex with an animal required double the amount of years of penance than sodomy did.

This is a topic that could run for many hundreds of pages, and if there is an interest then I shall come back to this as this is just a tiny glimpse into the medieval thinking about sex. I have not discussed, rape, forced marriage, widows, pimps, cross dressing women, Tudor ideas on sex, medieval aphrodisiacs, midwifery, birth control etc etc.

However, I shall leave you with this. In 14th-century London there was a curious case of a transvestite prostitute. John Rykener was caught having sex with a man (John Brittby) in an alleyway near Sopers Lane in December 1394. He was wearing women’s clothing and referred to himself by the name of Eleanor. This account, unusual in its fullness has Rykener describing how he first became a prostitute in London at a young age and was taught the tricks of the trade by women who also gave him female attire to wear. He further confessed that he had prostituted himself in Oxford where he had sex with many students and priests ‘as a woman.’ It is thought whether his clients, all three knighted, were indeed unaware that ‘Eleanor’ was actually a man. Rykener also confessed that he had had sex with a great many nuns as a man but preferred having sex with priests because they paid more and had had sex with various chaplains in the alleyways round the back of St Katherine’s Church near the Tower of London. He’d also lost count of how many married women he’d fornicated with.

This is probably the least likely conduct to spring to mind when one thinks of medieval people, love, sex, marriage, clerics and suchlike. Desire overcame piety. I suppose that it is thanks to our medieval ancestors' habit of breaking canon law that we are here at all.

HG3

Further reading:
Ruth Mazo Karras, Common Women, Prostitution and sexuality in medieval England.
Ruth Mazo Karras, 'Doing unto Others' Sexuality in medieval Europe.
Alan Haynes, Sex in Elizabethan England.
John W Baldwin, The Language of Sex.
Richard Zacks, History Laid Bare: Love, Sex and Perversity from the Ancient Etruscans to Warren G. Harding.
Ed. Nicola McDonald, Medieval Obscenities.
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Nina uhakika kqa 99% mleta mada hii habari hata wewe hujaisoma yote kabla ya kuileta hapa.
 
Wade 3 said:
Huwez kuiweka kwa kiswahili kidogo?
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Mkuu Wade 3 translation hiyo hapo kwa hisani ya google translartor.


Makahaba na ngono huko Uingereza ya Zama za Kati.

(Huenda baadhi ya wafuasi wetu wapya wamekosa chapisho hili).

..... Ikiwa unaudhika kwa urahisi basi labda ni bora kumkosa huyu.

“Nanyi zaeni, mkaongezeke; ijazeni nchi na mkaongezeke ndani yake…” Mwanzo 9:7.

Ukahaba ni moja ya biashara kongwe zaidi duniani na hata leo, ngono inauzwa.

Unapotazama nyuma katika enzi ya enzi ya kati inavutia na kwa kiasi fulani ya kimapenzi kuiona kama wakati wa wanawake wazuri na gwiji wa mithali katika mavazi ya kung'aa. Ukweli ni mdogo sana. Katika Uingereza ya enzi ngono ilikuwa wakati huo, kama ilivyo sasa, sehemu kubwa sana ya jamii. Ilikuwa ni kawaida kwa wanaume kufanya mapenzi na yeyote wamtakaye na watoto wa haramu walikuwa kawaida. Mabwana wengi maarufu walikuwa na mtoto wa haramu au wawili na hakuna mtu aliyejali. Warwick the Kingmaker kwa mfano alizaa binti haramu Margaret, John wa Gaunt alikuwa na watoto wa haramu watano, binti na mama yake mmoja akingojea na kisha akina Beaufort wanne na bibi yake wa muda mrefu na hatimaye mke wa tatu Katheryn Swynford, Richard III alikuwa na wawili. watoto haramu, Edward IV alikuwa na angalau wanne, ikiwezekana watano. Edward III anajulikana kuwa na mtoto wa kiume na bibi yake Alice Perrers, Mwana Mfalme Mweusi pia alikuwa na watoto wa haramu, na Henry IV anajulikana kuwa na mtoto mmoja pia. Hizi ni matukio yanayojulikana tu na kama ilivyoelezwa, ya kawaida. Wanaume walikuwa na uhuru wa kijinsia ambao wanawake hawakuwa nao na hata leo kuna viwango viwili vya wanaume na wanawake.

Kulikuwa na biashara iliyositawi ya ukahaba katika Uingereza ya enzi za kati. Sheria ya uasherati haikuwa wazi na kwa sehemu kubwa sheria hiyo, ilipofanya kazi ya uasherati, haikutaka kukomesha biashara hiyo, bali iliona uuzaji wa ngono kuwa ni uovu wa lazima na ilitaka kuudhibiti. Kama ilivyoonyeshwa, hakukuwa na ufafanuzi wa wazi wa ukahaba au hata kile kilichofanya mwanamke kuhesabiwa kuwa kahaba. Kwa kweli, mwanamke yeyote ambaye kwa bahati mbaya kushtakiwa kwa tabia ya ‘nyepesi’ awe ana hatia au hapana angeweza kuhesabiwa mbele ya macho ya sheria kama kahaba ambayo pamoja na ‘bawd’ lilikuwa neno la kawaida kwa kahaba. Mwanamke ambaye alikuwa na wapenzi wengi anaweza pia kuhesabiwa kuwa kahaba, yaani, kahaba hata kama hakuna pesa iliyobadilishwa na mwanamke huyo alijamiiana na wanaume mbalimbali kwa urahisi kabisa.

Ukahaba unaonekana kuliacha Kanisa katika jambo la kutatanisha. Wino mwingi ulimwagika juu ya suala hili, huku msaidizi mdogo wa Salisbury, Thomas wa Chobham (aliyeishi mwaka wa 1233/6) akitafuta kuainisha wanawake -na wanaume- kuuza miili yao kwa ngono. Aliamua kwamba ikiwa mwanamke alikuwa akijitoa kwa mwanamume mmoja tu, au kwa siri, basi hakuwa - kwa kusema kweli - kahaba. Alifafanua daraka la kahaba kuwa “mwanamke anayejiuza waziwazi kwa tamaa za wengi.” Kulikuwa na mijadala mingi juu ya nini cha kufanya na pesa zilizopatikana kwa kujiuza kwa ngono, na Thomas wa Chobham aliyetajwa hapo awali alisema - badala ya utata - kwamba kwa vile mwanamke huyo amepata pesa kupitia kazi ya mwili wake basi ana haki. kuitunza. Ukahaba, ambao tayari ni biashara ya zamani, ya zamani hivyo kupata kiwango cha kibiashara. 'Wanawake walioanguka' wanaweza kupata pesa kwa kufanya ngono na kwa usahihi kabisa, kuiweka.

Rasmi, mwanamke aliyepatikana na hatia ya kuwa kahaba, yaani, kuuza mwili wake kwa ajili ya ngono au kufanya nyumba yake ipatikane kwa ajili ya wengine kufanya ngono ndani- kwa kawaida kwa malipo, alitakiwa kufanya toba. Kwa kosa la kwanza alipaswa kuvaa kofia, iwe ya mistari au ya njano, nywele zake zilikatwa au kunyolewa na alipelekwa kwenye pillory. Kosa la pili lilikuwa kifungo cha siku kumi na la tatu; kufukuzwa nje ya jiji. Ingawa kuna rekodi za hii kutokea, haionekani kuwa imetekelezwa vyema. Rekodi za enzi za kati zinaonyesha kuwa wanawake hao hao, mara kwa mara wanashtakiwa kwa ‘uvimbe’ na kutozwa faini ya kiasi kinachoongezeka, hata hivyo, wengi wa wanawake hawa wanaonekana hawajalazimishwa kutoka makwao na walikuwa na imani kiasi kwamba wanarudia kuchukizwa bila kuadhibiwa. Kwa ujumla ilikubaliwa ndani ya kanisa kwamba makahaba walikuwa uovu wa lazima, kwa mtu ambaye alitaka ‘kuzuia tamaa mbaya’ angeweza kutembelea danguro badala ya kubaka. Hii nayo ililinda wanawake wenye heshima. Makahaba pia walipatikana kwa waganga kujifunza zaidi kuhusu mwili wa kike na mfumo wa uzazi kwani ilikuwa jambo lisilowazika kuwa mwanamke aliyeolewa au bikira anayeheshimika angejifunua kwa namna hiyo.

Katika majiji makubwa zaidi, kama vile London na York, kulikuwa na majaribio ya mara kwa mara ya kutaka makahaba wote waondolewe ndani ya kuta za jiji. Hii haikuwa na ufanisi kabisa na badala yake wanawake walilazimishwa kufanya kazi ndani ya eneo fulani. Southwark Stews ng'ambo ya mto kutoka jiji la London palikuwa sehemu kama hiyo. Idadi kubwa ya wanawake wa Flemish walifanya kazi katika vituo kumi na nane tofauti vinavyotoa bafu ya moto na mtu anaweza kufikiria - mengi zaidi- kwa mwanamume aliye tayari kulipa. Inashangaza kwamba karibu majengo yote ambayo ngono yaliuzwa yalimilikiwa na Askofu wa Winchester na hivyo kutokeza maneno ya upole ya makahaba walioitwa "Winchester Bukini." Magonjwa ya zinaa mara nyingi yalijulikana kama "kuumwa na bukini wa Winchester." Hakika makahaba walivumiliwa na Maaskofu, kwa kuwa madanguro yalitozwa ushuru mwingi na kuongeza mapato yao.

Maeneo mengine ya London, hasa karibu na Cheapside pia yalijulikana kwa wingi wa makahaba na majina ya mitaani kama vile "Gropecunt Lane" au "Cocks Lane" walitangaza kwa ujasiri kile kilichokuwa kikifanyika katika maeneo haya. York, Shrewsbury na miji mingine inajulikana kuwa na ‘Gropecunt Lanes’ yao wenyewe kabla ya majina kubadilishwa kuwa Grape Lane au Grope Lane kwa ajili ya adabu katika miaka ya baadaye.

Mtazamo wa enzi za kati kuelekea ngono haukuwa kizuizi kama vile mtu angefikiria. Tamaa ya ngono na tendo la ngono ni mojawapo ya silika ya kwanza kabisa ya mwanadamu na mara nyingi ilishinda uchamungu na sifa zao ndani ya jamii. Hadithi za kihistoria kwa ujumla haziwakilishi ngono katika enzi ya enzi ya kati, mara nyingi huionyesha kama tendo la kimapenzi kati ya wapenzi wawili, badala ya kitu chochote kisichopendeza na mara nyingi zaidi- kufichua jambo hilo kikamilifu. Kama kuzaliwa na kifo, ngono ilikuwa sehemu ya maisha ya kila siku. Watu waliishi katika maeneo ya karibu kama hayo bila faragha kiasi labda haishangazi kwamba ngono haiwezi kuwa jambo la kibinafsi. Watoto walishiriki vitanda na wazazi wao, watumishi walishiriki vyumba na mabwana wao au walilala nje ya mlango. Kwa wanandoa, walioolewa au la, wanaotaka kufanya ngono, mara nyingi ilikuwa jambo la nusu ya umma.

Mtazamo halisi kuelekea ngono, mbali na kanisa, ulikuwa thabiti zaidi. Katika karne ya 12 na 13 Ufaransa kulikuwa na hadithi fupi zilizojulikana kama fabliaux ambazo ziliandikwa ili kusomwa kwa sauti na hadhira na kwa kawaida zilikuwa vichekesho. Hadithi hizi zilikuwa maarufu sana na pia ni ghali sana. Mara nyingi walikuwa wapinga makasisi katika asili yao kwani hadithi nyingi zilijumuisha kuhani mwongo ambaye alikuwa na bibi, au kadhaa au ambaye alizini na wanyama. Hadithi hizi za kejeli na za kejeli zilijumuisha mada kama vile "The Knight who made cunts speak" na "The Maiden ambaye hakuweza kusikia JamiiForums' Community Engagement Guidelines | Mwongozo wa Ushiriki kwenye Mijadala bila kiungulia." (Sikutanii.) Kanisa lilikataa ngono na inaonekana kwamba watu wa kawaida waliwacheka kwa unafiki wao kwani mara nyingi makasisi walifanyiza wateja wengi wa kawaida kwenye madanguro. Balladi ya Kiingereza ya karne ya 14 bado ipo, na inayojulikana kama 'Likizo ya wasichana wanaohudumia' sio ghafi kama fabliaux ya Kifaransa. Dondoo;

“Hivi karibuni atanishika mkono. Naye atanilaza chini. Ili matako yangu yawe kwenye uchafu. Katika likizo hii ya juu. Aliingiza na kutoka akachomoa.”

Kidokezo hakihitaji kuelezewa, na balladi inaishia kwa msichana anayehudumia kwa mshangao kwamba tumbo lake lilianza kuvimba kama kengele. Rekodi za mahakama zilizogunduliwa hivi majuzi za Mwingereza mwaka 1310/11 ambaye alipokea jina la utani la bahati mbaya la "fuckebythenavele" pia labda zinaweza kuonekana kama tukio lingine la uhasama wa enzi za kati kuhusu ngono. Mwanahistoria ambaye alipata rekodi hii anakisia kwamba Roger Fuckbythenavel alipata jina hili baada ya kujaribu kupenya kifungo cha tumbo cha mpenzi wake kwa bahati.

Kanisa lilikuwa limejaribu kudhibiti kile ambacho watu wangeweza na wasingeweza kufanya kitandani (au popote pengine kwa jambo hilo). Askofu Burchard wa Worms alitumia muda mwingi kuandika kitabu chake cha Decretum Burchardi, mkusanyo wa vitabu ishirini vinavyohusu sheria za kanuni. Kitabu kimoja kilikuwa kinahusu ngono tu na kile ambacho kilikuwa hakiruhusiwi na hakiruhusiwi. Kwa mfano, ngono ilikuwa kwa wanandoa tu, umishonari ndio nafasi pekee iliyokubalika kwa ngono kwani ilifikiriwa kuwa haikuwa ya kufurahisha zaidi. Pia mtu akumbuke kwamba watu waliambiwa kwamba wasifurahie ngono na kwamba wanapaswa kufanya ngono tu kwa ajili ya kuzaa watoto.

Ikiwa mwanamke alikuwa kwenye kipindi chake, mjamzito au kunyonyesha mtoto, basi ngono haikuruhusiwa. Ngono pia ilipigwa marufuku waziwazi siku za kufunga, sikukuu na Jumapili. Kubusu kwa namna ambayo ilichukuliwa kuwa ‘upotovu’ (hebu tufikirie kunyoosha midomo kinyume na kufanya nje) hakukubaliki. Wala haikuwa ngono ya mdomo. Mwanamke akimfanyia mume wake ngono ya mdomo na kumeza shahawa zake alionwa kuwa ‘mshetani’ machoni pa kanisa na aliadhibiwa kwa miaka saba ya toba. Licha ya wanyama kujamiiana kwa njia ya asili, yaani, kutoka nyuma, wanadamu wanaofanya hivyo ilionekana kuwa si ya kawaida na ilikuwa imekatazwa waziwazi.

Waume hata hivyo iliwabidi kutimiza sehemu yao ya 'deni la ndoa' na kukidhi mahitaji ya kingono ya wake zao (kwa maana wanawake walionekana kama kiumbe mwenye tamaa ambaye alihitaji kufanya ngono kadri wawezavyo), na iliwabidi kufanya hivyo. sawa, kama daktari wa Kirumi/daktari wa upasuaji Galen alisema kwamba kwa wanawake kupata mimba lazima wawe wamefikia kilele. Hivyo basi ilikuwa chini ya mume kufanya mapenzi yao yawe ya kufurahisha iwezekanavyo, jambo ambalo ni kinyume kabisa na kile ambacho kanisa liliruhusu. Hata hivyo deni la ndoa lilichukuliwa kwa uzito kwa sehemu kubwa. Mnamo 1068, William the Conquerer alilazimishwa kuwaachilia wapiganaji wa Norman kutoka kwa kampeni baada ya kuombwa na wake zao. Sababu? Walitaka wanaume wao wawe nyumbani kutimiza tamaa zao za ngono.

Burchard anaendelea kuorodhesha vitendo vingi vya 'haramu' vya ngono ambavyo kwa kweli vinaingia kwa undani kiasi kwamba mtu anabaki kushangaa ni jinsi gani askofu huyu alijua juu yao kuanzia. Orodha hii ni ya kina na inashughulikia kila kitu kutoka kwa punyeto (haruhusiwi kula nyama kwa siku nne, isipokuwa 'mchafu' ni mvulana anayefanya sana, basi atafunga kwa karibu wiki tatu na kuchapwa.) Sio mbaya kama ngono ya wanyama na kwa kweli, inaonekana kuwa na makubaliano ya jumla ndani ya rekodi za mahakama kwamba ilikuwa mbaya zaidi kuwa mshirika wa ngono ya jinsia moja na kuchukua sehemu ya mwanamke kuliko kuwa yeye katika nafasi kubwa. . Walakini, ikiwa mwenzi asiye na huruma alikuwa mvulana wa kijana, basi ilikuwa mbaya sana. Kufanya mapenzi na mnyama kulihitaji mara mbili ya miaka ya toba kuliko kulawiti.

Hii ni mada inayoweza kuendeshwa kwa mamia ya kurasa, na ikiwa kuna jambo linalonivutia basi nitarejea kwa hili kwani huu ni mwonekano mdogo tu wa mawazo ya enzi za kati kuhusu ngono. Sijajadili, ubakaji, ndoa ya kulazimishwa, wajane, pimps, cross dressing women, mawazo ya Tudor juu ya ngono, aphrodisiacs ya medieval, ukunga, uzazi wa mpango nk.

Walakini, nitakuacha na hii. Katika London ya karne ya 14 kulikuwa na kisa cha kushangaza cha kahaba aliyebadili jinsia. John Rykener alinaswa akifanya mapenzi na mwanamume (John Brittby) kwenye kichochoro karibu na Sopers Lane mnamo Desemba 1394. Alikuwa amevaa mavazi ya kike na alijitaja kwa jina la Eleanor. Akaunti hii, isiyo ya kawaida kwa ukamilifu wake, ina Rykener akielezea jinsi alivyoanza kuwa kahaba huko London akiwa na umri mdogo na kufundishwa mbinu za biashara hiyo na wanawake ambao pia walimpa mavazi ya kike ya kuvaa. Alikiri zaidi kwamba alijifanyia ukahaba huko Oxford ambako alifanya ngono na wanafunzi na makasisi wengi ‘kama mwanamke.’ Inafikiriwa iwapo wateja wake, wote watatu waliokuwa na ujuzi, hawakujua kwamba ‘Eleanor’ alikuwa mwanamume. Rykener pia alikiri kwamba alifanya ngono na watawa wengi kama mwanamume lakini alipendelea kufanya ngono na makasisi kwa sababu walilipa zaidi na alikuwa amefanya ngono na makasisi mbalimbali kwenye vichochoro karibu na nyuma ya Kanisa la St Katherine karibu na Mnara wa London. Pia alipoteza hesabu ya wanawake wangapi walioolewa ambao alizini nao.

Huenda huu ndio mwenendo unaowezekana sana kukumbuka mtu anapofikiria watu wa enzi za kati, mapenzi, ngono, ndoa, makasisi na kadhalika. Tamaa ilishinda uchamungu. Nadhani ni kutokana na tabia ya mababu zetu wa zama za kati ya kuvunja sheria za kanuni kwamba tuko hapa hata kidogo.

HG3

Kusoma zaidi:
Ruth Mazo Karras, Wanawake wa Kawaida, Ukahaba na ujinsia katika Uingereza ya enzi.
Ruth Mazo Karras, 'Kufanya kwa Wengine' Ujinsia katika Ulaya ya kati.
Alan Haynes, Ngono huko Elizabethan Uingereza.
John W Baldwin, Lugha ya Ngono.
Richard Zacks, Historia Iliyowekwa Wazi: Mapenzi, Ngono na Upotovu kutoka kwa Waetruria wa Kale hadi Warren G. Harding.
Mh. Nicola McDonald, Uchafu wa Zama za Kati
 
DeepPond said:
Uzi mzuri Sana huu
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Teyetetttt uongo mwingine bana??? Heee!! Hujasoma hata nukta unasema mzuri.....asa nakuuliza swali....kutoka humo....
1.By giving examples define deeply who did prostitutions, several time in audiance in a very broad day light!!..... Where...when...en why???
2.What kind of categories played a big role on reviving prostitutions in England more commonly in a well learned families?
 
Sky Eclat said:
Prostitutes and sex in Medieval England.

(Some of our new followers may have missed this post).

..... If you are easily offended then perhaps best to give this one a miss.

“As for you, be fruitful and multiply; populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it .…” Genesis 9:7.

Prostitution is one of the oldest trades in the world and even today, sex sells. When looking back at the medieval era it is tempting and somewhat romantic to see it purely as a time of fair ladies and the proverbial knight in shining armour. The truth is rather less quaint. In medieval England sex was then, as it is now, a very big part of society. It was the norm for men to have sex with whomever they pleased and bastard children were common. Many famous lords had a bastard child or two and nobody cared. Warwick the Kingmaker for example fathered an illegitimate daughter Margaret, John of Gaunt had five bastard children, a daughter with one of his Mothers ladies in waiting and then the four Beaufort’s with his long term mistress and eventual third wife Katheryn Swynford, Richard III had two bastard children, Edward IV had at least four, possibly five. Edward III is known to have had a son with his mistress Alice Perrers, the Black Prince also had bastard children, and Henry IV is known to have fathered one also. These are just well known instances and as stated, common. Men had a sexual freedom that women did not have and even today there are lingering double standards for men and women.

There was a flourishing trade of prostitution in medieval England. The law on prostitution was never clear and for the most part the law, when it did act on prostitution, did not seek to bring the trade to an end, rather it saw the selling of sex as a necessary evil and sought to control it. As noted, there was no clear definition of prostitution or even what made a woman be classed as a prostitute. In effect, any woman unfortunate to be accused of ‘light’ behaviour whether guilty or no could actually be classed in the eyes of the law as a whore which alongside ‘bawd’ was the common word for prostitute. A woman who had multiple sexual partners could also be classed as a whore, that is, prostitute even if no money was not exchanged and the woman had sex with various men quite simply for pleasure.

Prostitution appears to have left the Church in something of a quandary. Much ink was spilt over the matter, with the subdean of Salisbury, Thomas of Chobham (d. circa 1233/6) seeking to categorise women –and men- selling their bodies for sex. He decided that if a woman was giving herself to just one man, or in secret then she was not – strictly speaking - a prostitute. He defined the role of a prostitute as “a woman who sells herself openly to the lusts of many.” There was much debate over what to do with the money earned through selling herself for sex, and it was the aforementioned Thomas of Chobham who stated –rather controversially- that as the woman has gained the money through the labour of her body then she is entitled to keep it. Prostitution, already an old, old trade thus gained a degree of commercialism. These ‘fallen women’ could earn money by having sex and quite rightly, keep it.

Officially, a woman found guilty of being a whore, that is, selling her body for sex or making her home available for others to have sex within- usually for a charge, was supposed to do penance. For a first offence she was to wear a hood, either striped or yellow, her hair was cut off or shaved and she was taken to the pillory. A second offence was anything up to ten days in prison and a third; banishment from the city. Although there are records of this happening, it doesn’t seem to have been particularly well enforced. Medieval records show that the same women, over and over are charged with ‘bawdry’ and fined increasing sums, however the majority of these women do not seem to have been forced from their homes and were so confident that they repeat offended with impunity. It was generally concurred within the church that prostitutes were a necessary evil, for a man who wanted to ‘slake wicked lust’ could visit a brothel rather than resorting to rape. This in turn protected respectable women. Prostitutes also were available for physicians to learn more about the female body and reproductive system as it was quite unthinkable that a respectable married woman or virgin would uncover herself in such a manner.

In larger cities, such as London and York there were repeated attempts to have all prostitutes removed from within the city walls. This was utterly ineffective and instead the women were forced to work within a particular area. The Southwark Stews across the river from the city of London was one such place. Large volumes of Flemish women worked in as many as eighteen separate establishments offering hot baths and one would imagine – a whole lot more- for a man willing to pay. Ironically nearly all of the buildings where sex was sold were owned by the Bishop of Winchester giving rise to the rather gentle euphemism of prostitutes being named “Winchester Geese.” Venereal diseases were often known as “bites of Winchester geese.” Certainly the prostitutes were tolerated by the Bishops, for the brothels were highly taxed and upped their income.

Other areas in London, particularly near Cheapside also became known for the high volume of prostitutes and street names such as “Gropecunt Lane” or “Cocks Lane” brazenly advertised what was happening at these locations. York, Shrewsbury and other towns are known to have had their own ‘Gropecunt Lanes’ before the names were changed to Grape Lane or Grope Lane for decency’s sake in later years.

The medieval attitude towards sex was not as restrictive as one would think. Sexual desire and the act of sex is one of the most primal of human instincts and often won out over piety and ones reputation within society. Historical fiction on the whole is not representative of sex within the medieval period, often showcasing it as romantic act between two lovers, rather than anything remotely seedy and much more often- glossing over the matter completely. Like birth and death, sex was a part of everyday life. People lived in such close quarters with relatively little privacy it perhaps not unsurprising that sex could hardly be a private matter. Children shared beds with their parents, servants shared rooms with their masters or slept outside the door. For a couple, married or no, wishing to have sex, it was very often a semi-public affair.

The actual attitude towards sex, away from the church, was rather more robust. In the 12th and 13th century France there were short stories known as fabliaux which were written to be read aloud to an audience and were usually comedies. These tales were immensely popular and also very crude. They were often anti-clerical in their nature as most tales included a lecherous priest who had a mistress, or several or who practiced bestiality. These witty and often cynical tales included title such as “The Knight who made cunts speak” and “The Maiden who couldn’t hear JamiiForums' Community Engagement Guidelines | Mwongozo wa Ushiriki kwenye Mijadala without heartburn.” (I kid you not.) The church disapproved of sex and it seems that the common people laughed at them for their hypocrisy as priests often made up the majority of regular clientele at brothels. A 14th century English ballad is still extant, and known as ‘The serving girls holiday’ is not as crude as the French fabliaux. An extract;

“Soon he will take me by the hand. And he will lay me on the ground. So that my buttocks are in the dirt. Upon this high holiday. In he thrust and out he drew.”

The implication doesn’t need explaining, and the ballad ends with the serving girl exclaiming that her belly began to swell as round as a bell. The recently discovered court records of an Englishman in 1310/11 who received the rather unfortunate nickname of “fuckebythenavele” could also perhaps be seen as another instance of medieval ribaldry about sex. The historian who found this record speculates that Roger Fuckbythenavel acquired this name after trying to penetrate the belly button of his partner by accident.

The Church had tried to control what people could and couldn’t do in bed (or anywhere else for that matter). The Bishop Burchard of Worms spent a great deal of time writing his Decretum Burchardi, a collection of twenty books dedicated to canon law. One volume was purely about sex and what was and wasn’t allowed. For example, sex was for married couples only, missionary was the only acceptable position for sex as it was thought that it was the least enjoyable. One should also remember that people were told that they should not enjoy sex and that they should only have sex for the begetting of children.

If a woman was on her period, pregnant or nursing a child, then sex was not allowed. Sex was also explicitly banned on fast days, feast days and Sundays. Kissing in a manner that was considered ‘lewd’ (let’s think of a peck on the lips as opposed to making out) was not acceptable. Neither was oral sex. A woman performing oral sex on her husband and swallowing his semen was considered ‘diabolical’ in the eyes of the church and was punishable by seven years of penance. Despite animals mating in the natural way, i.e., from behind, humans doing this was considered unnatural and it was expressly forbidden.

Husbands however did have to fulfil their part of the ‘marital debt’ and satisfy the sexual needs of their wives (for women were seen as lustful creature who quite simply needed to be having sex as much as possible), and they had to do it well, as the Roman physician/surgeon Galen stated that for women get pregnant they had to have reached orgasm. So therefore it was down to the husband to make their lovemaking as enjoyable as possible, which is completely at odds with what the church allowed. However the marital debt was taken seriously for the most part. In 1068, William the Conquerer was forced into releasing Norman knights from campaign after being petitioned by their wives. The reason? They wanted their men home to fulfil their sexual urges.

Burchard goes on to list a great many ‘illegal’ sexual practices which truly go into such detail that one is left wondering how exactly this bishop knew about them to begin with. This list is rather exhaustive and covers everything from masturbation (not allowed to eat meat for four days, unless the ‘defiler’ is a boy who does it a lot, then he is to fast for nearly three weeks and be whipped.) Sodomy wasn’t as serious as bestiality and indeed, there seems to be the general consensus within surviving court records that it was worse to be the passive partner in homosexual sex and play the part of the woman than it was to be the one in the dominant role. However, if the passive partner was an adolescent boy, then it was rather less serious. To have sex with an animal required double the amount of years of penance than sodomy did.

This is a topic that could run for many hundreds of pages, and if there is an interest then I shall come back to this as this is just a tiny glimpse into the medieval thinking about sex. I have not discussed, rape, forced marriage, widows, pimps, cross dressing women, Tudor ideas on sex, medieval aphrodisiacs, midwifery, birth control etc etc.

However, I shall leave you with this. In 14th-century London there was a curious case of a transvestite prostitute. John Rykener was caught having sex with a man (John Brittby) in an alleyway near Sopers Lane in December 1394. He was wearing women’s clothing and referred to himself by the name of Eleanor. This account, unusual in its fullness has Rykener describing how he first became a prostitute in London at a young age and was taught the tricks of the trade by women who also gave him female attire to wear. He further confessed that he had prostituted himself in Oxford where he had sex with many students and priests ‘as a woman.’ It is thought whether his clients, all three knighted, were indeed unaware that ‘Eleanor’ was actually a man. Rykener also confessed that he had had sex with a great many nuns as a man but preferred having sex with priests because they paid more and had had sex with various chaplains in the alleyways round the back of St Katherine’s Church near the Tower of London. He’d also lost count of how many married women he’d fornicated with.

This is probably the least likely conduct to spring to mind when one thinks of medieval people, love, sex, marriage, clerics and suchlike. Desire overcame piety. I suppose that it is thanks to our medieval ancestors' habit of breaking canon law that we are here at all.

HG3

Further reading:
Ruth Mazo Karras, Common Women, Prostitution and sexuality in medieval England.
Ruth Mazo Karras, 'Doing unto Others' Sexuality in medieval Europe.
Alan Haynes, Sex in Elizabethan England.
John W Baldwin, The Language of Sex.
Richard Zacks, History Laid Bare: Love, Sex and Perversity from the Ancient Etruscans to Warren G. Harding.
Ed. Nicola McDonald, Medieval Obscenities.
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