Dear Daron Burrows, et al.,
Yes, castration was often prescribed, and at least sometimes
practiced, as punishment or retribution for sexual offences, as earlier
respondents have pointed out. One particularly dramatic and interesting
account of an actual case occurs in a _consilium_ of Oldradus da Ponte (d.
1335), where Oldradus argues that while sexual intercourse between a Jewish
man and a Christian woman is a crime, castration of the man is an overly
severe punishment for it. The legal reasoning is rather interesting.
Unfortunately for his client, however, Oldradus did not succeed in
convincing the judges in the case and in a postscript to his opinion he
states: "I saw the physical evidence of the excision before the palace."
You can find this and some related _consilia_ of Oldradus (with English
translations, as well as the Latin texts, I may add) in Norman Zacour, _Jews
and Saracens in the Consilia of Oldradus da Ponte_, Studies and Texts, vol.
100 (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1990).
Someone else (I'm sorry, I've forgotten who it was) raised the issue
of castration as a cure for lust. This is, of course, still very much a
live issue in the U.S.A., where both surgical and chemical castration have
supporters among politicians and others as a punitive/preventive measure for
various kinds of sexual offences. A medieval analogue would surely be the
various dietary prescriptions (esp. for monks and nuns, for obvious reasons)
that aimed to eliminate from the menu foods thought to be aphrodisiacs.
This is the only sort of measure to control sexual urges among women that
comes to mind offhand.
JAB
At 09:44 AM 1/21/97 +0000, Daron Burrows wrote:
>
>I have a question which has arisen during the course of my research, in
>answer to which I would appreciate any information, leads or opinions.
>Is anybody aware of any legal documents which prescribe, or even historical
>records which describe castration as a suitable punishment for sexual
>crimes or indiscretions - especially on the part of the secular clergy? My
>particular interest would be regarding anything which could have influenced
>popular opinions in 12th/13th-century Northern France; I have numerous
>literary descriptions of the fact, and am wondering whether there is
>something more than just a sense of poetic justice which has inspired the
>authors.
>
>With thanks in advance for your attention,
>
>DARON
>
>Daron Burrows, Trinity College, Oxford.
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>
James A. Brundage
History & Law
University of Kansas
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