"Women, through whom death, suffering and toil came into the world, were
creatures' dominated by their sex. So taught the Bible and patristic tradition. To
control and punish women, particularly their bodies and their dangerous, disruptive
sexuality was therefore man's work"(Klapische-Zuber 13).
Sexual morality exemplified in the theological literature of the twelfth through fifteenth
centuries and the canon laws that predominated order in medieval life radically affected marital
behaviour and the sexual relationship's women had with their spouses. Marital sexual conduct
based on the patristic beliefs of Christianity during the High and Late Middle Ages subjugated
women to repress sexual desire other then for procreation and bequeath their chastity to their
husbands. This essay will first focus on the basic philosophy of Christian Theology and the ethical
laws that were established by the Church to instruct and control sexual conduct in marriage.
Secondly, this essay will concentrate on the specific virtue of conjugal chastity and it's
importance in the continuity of the medieval family and European culture. The oppressive
discipline that was required of medieval women who suffered as a result of their absolute
subordination to their husbands will also be emphasized throughout this paper.
Early Christian Theology was founded on traditions and justified by interpretations made
from the Holy Scriptures. Jesus said remarkably little about sexual conduct nor was sex a central
issue in his moral teachings yet followers such as St. Augustine during the first four or five
centuries after Jesus's death were far more concerned about moral sexuality than Jesus himself
had been (Brundage 2). It was said that Augustine and his contemporaries among the Fathers
considered sex a grave moral danger in part because they believed that sexual fee...