Katherine Harvey In the late twelfth century Gerald of Wales, archdeacon of Brecon and a prolific author, wrote a tract on the proper conduct of the clergy. Gerald was writing only a few decades after the First Lateran Council (1123) had introduced compulsory celibacy for all priests, at a time […]
Author: Katherine Harvey
The Bishop’s New Stockings, or The Dangers of Love Magic
Katherine Harvey At some point in the first half of the eleventh century, Archbishop Poppo of Trier (1016-1047) decided to commission a new pair of pontifical stockings. He sent some material to a young canoness who belonged to a nearby religious house; shortly afterwards, he received his new footwear, and decided to try […]
What was the Ultimate Medieval Aphrodisiac?
Katherine Harvey The idea that food and sex are somehow connected is deeply entrenched in contemporary western culture, and one of its most common manifestations is the idea that certain foods and drinks have aphrodisiac properties. Articles on food and drink with aphrodisiac properties are a common feature in newspapers […]
Sex and the King: Rumours, Reputation and the Problem of Royal Adultery in Medieval England
Katherine Harvey The first few weeks of 2014 have seen a flurry of media reports about the private lives of world leaders both past and present, from Bill Clinton and Tony Blair to François Hollande and Barack Obama. Such fascination with the alleged sexual exploits of political leaders is often […]
The Problematic Priestly Body: Celibacy, Sexuality and the Trials of the Medieval Clergy
Katherine Harvey Although Notches is a blog about the history of sexuality, as a historian of the late medieval Church I spend most of my time thinking about a group of men who were not supposed to engage in any form of sexual activity: the medieval clergy. The ideal of […]
Three Wise Men in a Bed: Bedsharing and Sexuality in Medieval Europe
Katherine Harvey One of the biggest challenges facing medieval historians, and perhaps especially historians of medieval sexuality, is interpreting the actions of individuals at a remove of several centuries. Take, for example, the case of King Richard I of England, who has sometimes been considered something of a gay icon. […]
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