Gender And Sexuality During Medieval Europe - 1886 Words

Insert Title of Paper Here Sophia Lisowski History 302: Gender and Sexuality in Medieval Europe Dr. Susanna Throop October 4, 2014 Many historians have attempted to decipher the medieval body, especially the body of medieval women. The knowledge of what constitutes a body and how it works plays into major aspects of a society such as religion, science, and politics. Demystifying how medieval Europe defined the bodies of women can help provide an explanation for how this time period viewed sex and subsequently placed people into specific roles. While there was no concept of biological sex or gender during this expansive period of time, it is clear that biological sex was a determining factor of who a person could or could not be. As it is a very difficult task to study history objectively (one could argue it is impossible), it is common to compare these medieval bodies to our own. That is why it is important to question how medieval bodies were perceived, and why. The intertwined influences of religion and medicine in medieval society defined the morphologies and physical functions of the bodies of medieval woman in a way that is different from our own. The way in which medieval scholars understood the anatomy of the woman’s body in a medical context contrasts with how modern society does today. The basis of the medieval understanding of bodies came from ancient medical texts, which were â€Å"discovered, transmitted, and assimilated in the later MiddleShow MoreRelatedEssay on Abelard and Heloise836 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Jeff HIST 101 11/11/13 Gender As Seen in Abelard and Heloise The gender views of European medieval society were largely built upon the views of Aristotle and others alike that degraded the status of women into a lower form of life, characterizing them as secondary to men. 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