Medieval Sex Myths

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

From medieval d*ck pics to sex with monks, how did people in medieval times think about sex and sexuality?

It was a period that spanned roughly 1,000 years and even though views on sex were largely shaped by the dominant Christian faith, whether this filtered down to every day experiences is another question.

Joining Kate today is the legendary sex historian Professor Ruth Karras, author of Sexuality in Mediaeval Europe: Doing Unto Others.

Why did people in the middle ages think that women were more highly sexed than men? What did they believe were aphrodisiacs at this time? And what did they think caused STIs?

This episode was edited by Matt Peaty and Stuart Beckwith. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media.

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Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.