Blurred Lines: History, Literature, the Exeter Book, and the Sexual Climate of Medieval England

The Exeter Book was written primarily for entertainment, and was certainly not intended to be a historical document. Yet in my previous blog posts we see it utilized in obtaining a historical perspective of marriage and as a historical record of writing complexity in the Middle Ages. Obtaining history through literature and garnering literary significance from history are fascinating processes. By highlighting the interplay of literature and history while examining the fun and risqué topic of the sexual climate of Medieval England, I hope to demonstrate how inseparable these fields truly are.

Man and Woman on Scale of Justice
(Image taken from fusion.net)

History is critical to literature in that it provides a frame within which we can read and understand literary works. In the absence of such a frame, many works become confusing if read from the viewpoint of our current cultural paradigm. The sexual climate of Medieval England was not very favorable for women. Women had few rights in marriage and men essentially dominated over their wives. In an article by history professor Dr. Butler on Runaway Wives in Medieval England we learn that during this time period wife-beating was somewhat common. There are several documented cases of women running away from their marriages and homes due to abusive husbands and poor sexual compatibility. In such cases, some husbands would take their wives to court to compel them to return home (and then submit to their will). This historical information about the culture and rights of women in this time period enables us to understand what is described in some of the Exeter book elegies.

Dr. Carol Jamison explains how the elegy The Wife’s Lament is about an exogamous bride who was given for marriage outside of her clan in an effort to form political ties and to solidify peace. Here we see a woman being objectified and used as a bargaining chip. She later goes on to explain that in the Wulf and Eadwacer elegy a similar marital situation occurs. She notes multiple instances in which the narrator pleads for peace for fear that her son may be taken from her. This not only shows that the woman’s son has been objectified, but also demonstrates that she did not have a choice in her sexual partner, as she was forced into a marriage which resulted in a child. When viewed thru today’s cultural lens, the concept of forcing a woman to marry someone is incomprehensible. It is only by employing history that we obtain the cultural frame within which to read such works.

Just as history contributes to literature by providing a frame, literature gives back to history by providing fine details. While history can make broad statements such as “it was unacceptable to publically discuss or write about sexual acts,” literature lets us see how this played out and how writers were able to push boundaries. Enter the Exeter Book riddles. In a journal article entitled, Playing Upon Words, II, medieval literary scholar Eric Gerald Stanley examines the wordplay found in various Exeter book riddles. Stanley specifically focuses on double entendres, and notes that these riddles containing both sexual and innocent meanings are crafted in such a way that the sexual meaning is the first that comes to mind, while the innocent meaning must be searched for. Given that it was more likely for men to own and read literary works during this period, these riddles provided a way for men to derive enjoyment from sexual themes with the protection of an innocent “real meaning.”

History and Literature work together to paint the picture of the sexual climate in Medieval England. History tells us that women had few rights, while literature shows how the lack of rights played out. History tells us that sex was bad to talk or write about, while literature shows just how much one could get away with writing. Together, these disciplines paint the picture that discussions of sex were considered indecent, and that women did not have many rights to their own bodies.


Note: I concede that there is a bit of a logical flaw in this article. The historical source in this article is primarily aimed at the time period a few hundred years after the Exeter book was written. Initially I had hoped to demonstrate the consistencies across a period of several hundred years, however this comes across as a logical jump rather than a valid demonstration and may be confusing to the reader. As such this piece should be treated as a starting point for further thought and research on the part of the reader, rather than a conclusive article on the subject.