Franz X. Eder

Sexuality in Premodern Europe (eBook, PDF)

A Social and Cultural History from Antiquity to the Early Modern Age

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

How did sexual relationships work before, in and outside of marriage in the pre-modern era? What problems did contraception and sexually transmitted diseases pose? How did people deal with prostitution and pornography back then? What were the possibilities for same-sex and queer desire and practice? Using numerous examples and sources from across the continent, Sexuality in Premodern Europe shows that even in earlier centuries, sexual life had an elementary significance for the coexistence of couples and communities. It was just as decisive for how individuals saw themselves and others as it was for maintaining the social, economic and political order.

Franz X. Eder interestingly emphasises the socio-historical view of sexuality, offering an apt foil for the cultural perspective which is so prevalent in the field. In this book, sexual behaviour is understood and thought about as social practice. From this vantage point, Eder deals with the function of the sexual in upbringing and socialization, its significance for the image of men and women, its role in marriage initiation, and the importance of sexual life for marital relationships and concubinage.

Deviant and discriminated sexual forms such as prostitution, pornography and same-sex acts are also addressed throughout. The book explores the ways in which many people gained sexual experiences before, besides or beyond marriage, even if these experiences were forbidden in former societies. While research into the history of sexuality has so far dealt with such forms of the sexual primarily from the point of view of regulation and sanctioning, here they are understood as 'positive' practices that allowed people to understand and take ownership of their sexual desire.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK eBooks
• Seitenzahl: 520
• Erscheinungstermin: 19. Oktober 2023
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781350341074
• Artikelnr.: 69185095

Autorenporträt

Franz X. Eder is Professor of Economic and Social History at University of Vienna, Austria. He is the author and editor of several books which explore various aspects of the history of sexuality, family and consumption.

Inhaltsangabe

List of Illustrations Preface 1. Introduction 2. Reign of the Phallus:
Greek Antiquity 3. Infamia and Pudicitia: Roman Antiquity 4. How the 'Evil'
Thorn Pierced the Flesh: Judaism and Early Christianity 5. Contradictory
Sexual Worlds in the Middle Ages 6. Reformation and Discipline: 15th to
17th Century 7. Coda Bibliography Index