Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe
David Herlihy|James A. Brundage
This monumental study of medieval law and sexual conduct explores the origin develpment Christian church's sex systems belief upon which that rested. Focusing on Church's own legal system canon law, James A. Brundage offers a comprehensive history doctrines-covering millennium from A.D. 500 to 1500-concerning wide variety behavior, including marital sex, adultery, homosexuality, concubinage, prostitution, masturbation, incest. His survey makes strikingly clear how control in world we have half-forgotten has shaped live today. The regulation marriage divorce as know it today, together with outlawing bigamy polygamy imposition criminal sanctions such activities sodomy, fellatio, cunnilingus, bestiality, are all based large measure ideas beliefs about morality became Europe Middle Ages. Brundage's book is consistently learned, enormously useful, frequently entertaining. It best relationships between theological norms, principles, practice.-Peter Iver Kaufman, Church History
The American Historical Review