Having sex in the Middle Ages was very difficult

Forget about romance, about beautiful ladies in trouble and noble knights in shining armor on a white horse. Because it was very problematic to show your love, namely to have sex, in the Middle Ages, starting from the V century and ending with the XV.

For example, it was considered a sin to make love on Sundays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. And also during the day and without clothes. If a woman has her period, she is pregnant or nursing a child-even more so. The same applied to the time of Great Lent, Easter, other church holidays and fasts. In fact, it was allowed to have sex if the couple wanted to have a child, but it was forbidden to caress the partner, obscene kisses, "depraved" positions. And God forbid someone will get pleasure during the process, no-no. 

As you can imagine, it was also difficult to find a secluded place to retire in those distant feudal times — often the rooms were cramped, cold and damp. It was even more convenient in the fields or in the barn on the hay.

To help people in this difficult task, the church had a book or a church code on punishments "Penitentiary", which spoke about the period for the conception of children. According to this book, all poses, except for the "missionary", were considered a sin and were prohibited.

Oral and anal sex and masturbation also fell under the strictest ban — these types of contacts did not lead to the birth of children, which, according to purists, was the only reason for making love. Violators were severely punished: three years of repentance and service to the church for sex in any of the "deviant" positions.

But in those days, not only the church condemned any inappropriate types of love — royalty, nobles and landowners violently punished loving young people. The French king Philip IV, known as Philip the Handsome, once discovered that some of the knights were involved in relationships with his three unmarried daughters. He arrested and executed the men, and exiled the daughters to a monastery to atone for their sins.

Interestingly, prostitution flourished in the Middle Ages and was either ignored by the church, or was considered a necessary evil in this world. Even Thomas Aquinas, an Italian philosopher and theologian, believed that "if you destroy public women, the power of passion will destroy everything."

Brothels were operating in many cities, and the priestesses of love could be distinguished by their attire, which was decorated with a bright yellow stripe. Often among the regular customers there were people from the upper classes.

How glad we are that we do not live in the Middle Ages.