Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England

 

Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England is a well written guide to the morals, habits, and customs surrounding marriage and sexual congress in Medieval England written by Kathryn Warner. Due out 30th Oct 2022 from Pen & Sword, it's 208 pages and will be available in hardcover format. 

I enjoy history and especially English history with bonus engagement on my part for late medieval to the early modern periods. This selection hit a lot of high points for me. The author has done a good job of selecting the (very) mildly salacious stuff which we never get to read about in school history classes whilst remaining layman accessible and without anything salacious enough to scandalise one's maiden auntie. It's arranged thematically in chapters, each of which concern a particular subject with some overlap: appearance & dress, marriage (several chapters on different situations and social classes), relationships, abductions, adultery/ecclesiastics renouncing and marrying, pregnancy & childbirth, menstruation, illegitimacy, ravishment, age of consent, consanguinity, same sex relationships, gender roles (including a solid discussion of transgender and inequality for women property holders), and work and role models.

This is a layman accessible and eminently readable book. Despite the bonafides of the author, it's not written in formal academic language, although there are copious careful chapter notes and citations in the text as well as a bibliography. The comprehensive bibliography and index will provide many hours of further background reading for readers who wish for more in-depth background. 

Four and a half stars. Definitely not a formal academic work, but fascinating for history fans who want a readable & understandable book about the subject. The author does a good job of writing objectively about the class and gender disparities and inequalities of the time which actually has some chillingly appropriate relevance in our own time.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.