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Return to Book Page. Preview β Medieval Prostitution by Jacques Rossiaud. Lydia G. Cochrane Translator.
Even though the Church was a prime mover in medieval society, life in 15th-century France was fraught with sexual paradox. Public prostitution was not only tolerated but condoned by all sectors of society, including clerics and municipal officials. In an atmosphere where rape was commonplace and considered only a minor crime, women were frequent victims of male violence Even though the Church was a prime mover in medieval society, life in 15th-century France was fraught with sexual paradox.
In an atmosphere where rape was commonplace and considered only a minor crime, women were frequent victims of male violence and desire. The author proposes that public prostitution may in fact have been viewed by secular and religious authorities as a means of social control and of preserving marital stability--a means by which the virtue of wives and daughters was actually protected.
Rossiaud examines the background of the prostitute, brothel-keeper, and pimp, as well as the social climate that encouraged even respectable men to use their services. A valuable resource for the historian, sociologist, or interested general reader, this book reconstructs a little-researched part of the medieval world.
