Beiträge zur Rechtsgeschichte Österreichs 9. Jahrgang Heft 1/2019, pp. 96-114, 2019/05/21
Sexualität vor Gericht
Deviante geschlechtliche Praktiken und deren Verfolgung vom 14. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert
The article shows how sexuality is described in the Chronicle written by Count Froben Christoph of Zimmern (1519–1566). Besides many other issues there are about 200 stories concerning sex. There are sex stories of emperors and kings, followed by a series of dukes, counts and other noblemen, bishops, abbots, capitulars, monks, nuns, and priests, but Froben Christoph also tells stories of peasants, burghers, and businessmen. There is no other German chronicle and no other nobleman of this time who offers so much information about sex. The main intention of these stories firstly was simply to amuse, secondly (and rarely) to denunciate political or private enemies. The article is not primarily interested in the degree of reality of such sex stories but rather in the way the Chronicle talks about sex. As far as this discourse is concerned, the Chronicle gives an excellent impression of what noblemen were talking about when sitting together with their fellow-noblemen. This is the focus of the following text: to present typical examples of such sex stories, and to add some reflexions concerning these examples. There are some really surprising results: Not only male but also female lust was accepted as normal and sometimes the Chronicle even approves of women who have affairs when they have “difficulties” with their husbands.
Keywords: frontiers of acceptance – Germany 16th – century sexual behaviour
