Prostitution in Medieval Europe
Essay Preview: Prostitution in Medieval Europe
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The Christian church in medieval Rome held a lot of social and religious authority but along with authority came issues of society that they were forced to deal with. Sexuality was a matter of the churches concern that was more often related to the word “Evil”. I am going to attempt to prove that the “evils” involved in sexuality such as prostitution, and homosexuality were necessary for the church to maintain a growing authority over society. The chronological limits I am focusing on will fall between 300AD Ð- 1200AD, with some references to dates both prior and thereafter these dates. I will explore the views on women held by Christians, related to traditional beliefs, gender roles, and sexual norms of behaviour. Prostitution as a necessary evil was a well recognized view, with much history and controversy behind it. I will discuss a range of beliefs on prostitution as well as its purpose as a necessary evil to prevent homosexuality. The purpose of many of my footnotes will be to illustrate the strong convictions held by members of the Christian church at this time.
Womans accessibility to take an active role in society is even today still developing; it wasnt until 1920 that women were allowed to vote in America, 1935 when married women in England had the full right to own property, and 1963 that they were granted equal pay for equal jobs compared to men. This view of women as the lesser of the two sexes can be traced back to ancient Rome and earlier. In 131BC the censor Metellus, one of the two officials in ancient Rome responsible for taking the public census and supervising public behaviour and morals, stated, “if we could live without wives we should not have all this trouble. Since nature has brought it about that we can neither live with them in peace nor without them at all, we must ensure eternal benefit rather than temporary pleasure.”1 The acceptance of women in medieval Rome is similar to this quote in the sense that the Christian church accepts women because God has made them necessary for continued existence, not because they value them as a chosen asset. The assertion that men were created in Gods view, women were not is a traditional belief that stems back to the story of Adam and Eve. Many Christian fathers in medieval Rome believe very strongly that the story of Adam and Eve is an indication that women were created to be the helpmate of men, but on the contrary have shown to be an evil temptation for sexual behaviour. The comment of the bishop of Worchester in 1871 about an alternate view to Adam and Eve The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin, was “let us hope it is not true, but if it is, let us pray that it does not become generally known.”2 This indicates to me that if the bishop in 1871 is neglectful of alternative views to traditional beliefs, the authority of the Christian church in 400AD must have held pretty strong to the belief of women as a lesser sex and a source of sexual temptations.
The timing of the Christian religion being implicated with the state as a form of power and control was soon after the city of Rome was sacked by Alaric of Goth, a famous barbarian in 410 AD. The empire was in need of a stable and secure form of governing its people. “The impact of Constantine, whose conversion and backing for Christianity gave the church the opportunity and the funds to consolidate an empire-wide institution, which increasingly had the right to intervene in the lives of individuals.”3 The Christian view and moral law was not only spread but enforced with threats of punishment for defiance. The mission work of Christian followers increased dramatically over the next century, “by the second half of the fourth century, a great majority of the population and all the emperors were members of the church, and the leaders even demanded proscription of paganism.”4 The Christian church had not only a large amount of authority but responsibility to society of the Roman Empire. Part of this responsibility was to deal with the sexual temptations that women as a problem brought to society.
Early medieval Christians viewed sexuality as an evil temptation; they believed that because both Jesus and Mary were virgins, that sex was not an ideal way of Christian life. “Church fathers held that what was of the flesh was inherently evil, and that woman as a whole and man from the waist down were creations of the devil.”5 Of course they realized that intercourse for procreation was a necessity, therefore they labelled it as a necessary evil, or that women were a necessary evil for existence. Most church fathers believed that because women were the lesser creation of God it made them more susceptible to sexual temptations and therefore a temptress of evil ways. To illustrate the contempt some Christians held for women, is a story told by St. Jerome “of a young Christian who was punished by being put in the company of a beautiful courtesan. Fearful that he would not be able to withstand her beauty (blandishments) he preserved his faith by biting out his tongue and spitting it in her face.”6 Sexual desires were recognized as the most difficult urge to control, so as a result modesty was the only true glory a woman could achieve. Although many church fathers have stated that “most women are immodest; one who is sexually desirous and passionate is a whore at heart, though she is not classified as a prostitute as long as she remains faithful to her husband.”7
Women were usually separated into two categories: devoted mother and wife, or those who took as much as they could from men. The second was most commonly referred to as a prostitute, or a lupa which meant she wolf, or were identified by terms such as dirty, bad, sinful, unworthy, perverted, impure, filth and tainted. Some viewed the prostitute as “so evil that she was not satisfied ruining herself with a small band of lovers, but sought to allure all men through her marvellous beauty, to drag them down with her.”8 A prostitute was beneath the laws contempt, not allowed to accuse others of crime, they were not allowed to inherit property, and if you had any descendants of such a history you could never be admitted as a knight. St. Paul was quoted “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her?”9
Although the church did not agree with the act of prostitution they realized that it did serve a purpose in society. There were other problems in society that prostitution helped deter, such as adultery and homosexuality. Prostitution was looked upon as having a similar purpose as sewers, “as