Strange Fruit

Mostly we think of kings and knights in castles when we think about the Middle Ages (between 500-1500 in Western Europe). A society that was deeply religious and where woman were treated with courtly love. No sex? But the real medieval world was less black and white and more naughty than we might presuppose. 

What to think about the phallus tree in the ‘fertility fresco’ (Massa Marittima, Italy circa 1265)?

 

What to think about the phalli harvested as fruit from trees in ‘Roman de la Rose’ manuscript Francais 25526 (Paris, France 1325-1350)?

 

 

What to think about this pilgrim badge displaying three phalli bearing a crowned vulva in a procession (Brugge, Belgium around 1375-1450)?

 

According to Reiss, these badges - many of them have been found - were sold at religious places and at the end of the pilgrimage thrown into the water. Reiss: "Thus, by buying a phallic badge at a shrine, a pilgrim might have been purchasing a particularly potent symbol of fertility. By depositing it in water (another symbol of fertility), the pilgrim would be magnifying the power of the badge.”

These humorous, sexual objects were certainly not purely religious. Sexual body-parts must be viewed as having multiple layers of meaning: religious, fertility/ sex, humor/ satire/ rude and protection (Reiss page 167 and 176).

What to think about watercolor 'Beauty Revealed' from 1828? Sarah Goodridge sent a selfportrait of her breasts to Daniel Webster when he was a new widower and it was likely intended for his eyes alone.

P.S. Fertility fresco pictures: here.

P.P.S. Whole ‘Roman de la Rose’ manuscript 'Francais 25526' can be found: here. Scans with phalli: 106v, 135v and 160r. It was great fun for me to scroll through a complete Roman de la Rose manuscript. Wondering about the colors, the images and the creativity. Mark, that the picture on the left and right are related to each other just like the harvesting and threshing of grain. Scan 131r:

In that case the picture on top of the three Roman de la Rose pics must be: harvest fertility and ... cut the crap (not literally) ... choose a fertile man among the potential fathers ... stop messing around and let's make love ... when the rose can finally be picked.

P.P.P.S. Reiss, Ben. "Pious Phalluses and Holy Vulvas: The religious Importance of Some Sexual Body-Part Badges in Late-Medieval Europe (1200-1550)." Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture 6, 1 (2017): 151-176. Copy: here.