FERTILITY CONTROL AND SOCIETY IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE.

Human sexuality & history; Human sexuality in the Catholic Church; Birth control; Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400; Middle Ages -- Social aspects; Contraception; History

It was once thought that during the Middle Ages the church provided the only opinion on matters of sexuality and reproduction, and women were obliged to get pregnant with uncontrolled frequency. On the contrary, many medieval people were aware of various methods which could be used to limit the size of their families, with varying degrees of success. Furthermore, contraceptive practice was widely commented on, not only in church documents but also by medical writers and famous authors such as Chaucer. Many medieval people sought ways to limit their offspring, and many of those successfully. Moreover, the image of a church-dominated unanimity of opinion on sexual matters must be replaced by the recognition that the Middle Ages was a time of great diversity of opinion where one might find both harshness and compassion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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¹History Department, Fahy Hall, Seton Hall University, 400 South Orange Ave., South Orange, NJ 07079

0069-6412

10.1353/cjm.2009.0004

44526445