Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe
eBook - PDF

Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe

About this book

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

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe by James A. Brundage in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Law & European Medieval History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Contents
  3. List of Illustrations
  4. Abbreviations
  5. Preface
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Introduction
  8. 1. Law and Sex in the Ancient World
  9. 2. Sex and the Law in Judaism and Early Christianity
  10. 3. Sex and the Law in the Christian Empire, from Constantine to Justinian
  11. 4. Law and Sex in Early Medieval Europe, Sixth to Eleventh Centuries
  12. 5. The Era of Church Reform, Intellectual Revival, and Urbanization: 1176--1140
  13. 6. Sex and Marriage in the Decretum of Gratian
  14. 7. Sexual Behavior and the Early Decretists, from Paucapalea to Huguccio, 1140--1190
  15. 8. Marriage and Sex in Canon Law, from Alexander III to the Liber Extra
  16. 9. Sex, Marriage, and the Legal Commentators, 1234--1348
  17. 10. Sex, Marriage, and the Law from the Black Death to the Reformation, 1348--1517
  18. 11. Sex in the Age of the Reformation: From the Ninety-Five Theses to Tamesti, 1517--1563
  19. 12. Medieval Sex Law and Modern Society: Recapitulation, Reflections, and Conclusions
  20. Appendix 1: Tables
  21. Appendix 2: Marriage Law and the Economic Interests of the Medieval Church
  22. Appendix 3: Survivals of Medieval Sex Law in the United States and Western World
  23. List of Manuscripts Cited
  24. Select Secondary References
  25. Index