Watch Sex in the Middle Ages

2024
1 Season

In the 12 episodes of Sex in the Middle Ages, Professor Jennifer McNabb and a panel of experts in medieval history and literature will take you back to the period between the fall of Rome and the rise of the Renaissance to explore the ideals and realities of sex and sexuality. You may be surprised to see just how much medieval views of sex continue to influence us today.

Sex in the Middle Ages is a series that ran for 1 seasons (11 episodes) between July 18, 2024 and on The Great Courses

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Seasons

12. Legacies of Sex in the Middle Ages

July 18, 2024

Explore the ways in which our own culture

11. Medieval Mythbusting: Sexual Odds and Ends

July 18, 2024

People in the Middle Ages held some very interesting theories about the human body and sex. Examine some of the myths and legends in the Middle Ages associated with sex. Learn why numerous ideas about medieval sex have had a lengthy afterlife, even when they have little basis in fact or are anachronistic.

9. Sex in Medieval Christendom

July 18, 2024

Sex may have been the cornerstone of medieval marriage, but it certainly wasn

8. Sex Lives of the Medieval Rich and Famous

July 18, 2024

For the elites of the Middle Ages, marriage was not only a way to avoid the sinful nature of sex, but it was also a way to shore up political alliances and economic security. Examine rules

7. Medieval Romances and Courtly Love

July 18, 2024

Continue your examination of medieval literature by studying courtly love, focusing on some of its most famous characters and stories: Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Then, turn to an author writing in the English vernacular

6. Medieval Fabliaux and Obscene Literature

July 18, 2024

Medieval literature plays a powerful role in shaping modern perceptions of life in the Middle Ages. Turn to what might be the less familiar form of medieval storytelling: the fabliaux, which offered medieval people, as it offers us to today, a bawdy, explicit vision of sex and physicality in the Middle Ages.

5. Sex, Status, and Violence in the Middle Ages

July 18, 2024

Add further depth and nuance to your understanding of medieval sexuality. Dig deeper into issues of status and gender as you consider forbidden liaisons and sexual violence. Look at the divides of class, gender, and religion and consider how the power dynamics of the Middle Ages further complicated matters of sex and marriage.

4. Sex and the Medieval Church

July 18, 2024

Much of what we know about the lived experience of sex for medieval people comes from people who weren

3. Breaking the Rules of Medieval Sex Taboos

July 18, 2024

Find out what medieval people did behind closed doors, as you examine the ways they often broke the rules about sex and what could happen to them when they got caught. From masturbation and prostitution to unmarried sex and homosexuality, there were a great many ways for someone to get in trouble with the authorities.

2. Let

July 18, 2024

The medieval Church set the rules for sex, and the number-one rule was that it was solely for procreation within the bounds of marriage. Consider medieval ideas about procreation and see how everyday people thought about their own bodies and how they worked. Also, look at some of the medieval techniques to increase fertility or to prevent pregnancy.

1. The Ins and Outs of Sex in the Middle Ages

July 18, 2024

Professor McNabb discusses the foundation for medieval views of sex and sexuality. You

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Where to Watch Sex in the Middle Ages

Sex in the Middle Ages is available for streaming on the The Great Courses website, both individual episodes and full seasons. You can also watch Sex in the Middle Ages on demand at Apple TV Channels and Amazon.