sex
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When the name Heloise is spoken, collective memory almost automatically turns to another figure: Pierre Abélard. Their love story, overwhelming, scandalous, tragic, has, over time, become one of the founding myths of Western romantic imagination. Yet to stop there is to betray precisely what makes Heloise an exceptional figure. For Heloise is not merely the
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If today a doctor told you, “To understand what’s wrong with you, let me examine your urine… under the light of the Moon,” you would probably run for your life. In the Middle Ages, however, not only would you not have been scandalised… you would have considered the request perfectly normal.For centuries, in fact, the
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Often, when we think of the Middle Ages, we tend to imagine that historical period as one of darkness, punishments, plagues, and chastity pushed to the limits of asexuality. As if having sex, or even just thinking about sex, were so forbidden that no one dared, under penalty of death. In reality, nothing could be
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If I said the word “godemiché” what would come to mind? Wait, let’s take a step back. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome, sexual satisfaction was considered a fundamental aspect of life. Even then, objects designed exclusively for female pleasure existed, often with purposes that were not even too subtly voyeuristic. In short, pleasure was
