Sex in the Middle Ages

Professor McNabb discusses the foundation for medieval views of sex and sexuality.

Professor McNabb and the expert panel consider medieval ideas about procreation and examine how everyday people thought about their own bodies.

Discover what medieval people do behind closed doors and witness the consequences when they break the rules.

Consider the influence of the Church, the clergy, and clerical lawyers on marriage and sexuality.

Examining the status and gender impact forbidden liaisons and sexual violence. Considering how class, gender, and religious divides, along with medieval power dynamics, complicate sex and marriage issues.

Medieval fabliaux shapes modern view of the era via bawdy, explicit tales of sex and physicality, offering a less familiar form of storytelling that still resonates today.