#224 Il corpo nel medioevo, tra scienza e fede – ExtraBarbero (Dialoghi di Pistoia, 2026)
Summary
Alessandro Barbero explores the medieval perception of the human body, arguing that life was shorter and less predictable than today, with adulthood reached by age 14 and old age beginning around 45. He discusses how medieval thinkers, influenced by Aristotle and the Bible, viewed the body as a temporary prison for the soul, leading to complex attitudes ranging from Franciscan asceticism to the belief that female sexual pleasure was biologically necessary for conception.
Topics discussed
Introduction to the lecture on the Medieval body
Debunking the myth of short medieval lifespans
High infant mortality and its historical misinterpretation
Parental affection and the Montaigne example
The unpredictability of life and death
Aristotelian concepts of substance and accident
Biblical and Dantean views on the 70-year lifespan
Dante's theory of vital heat and physical quality
The age of 35 as the peak of human life
Examples of early aging: Dante and Pope Pius II
Variability in death ages across the Middle Ages
Defining adolescence: growth until age 25
Dante's stages of childhood desires
Adolescence: friendship, blushing, and beauty
Pier Damiani's memoir on youth and celibacy
Legal adulthood and the age of 14 or 15
Youth (Juventus) as the prime of life
Papal appointments and the concept of super-old age
The dual nature of body and soul
Cathar dualism and the rejection of the body
Christian views on bodily resurrection and value
St. Francis and the metaphor of the body as a beast
Balancing bodily needs with spiritual service
Mystics, extreme fasting, and early death
Catherine of Siena and the debate on holy anorexia
Contradictions in extreme ascetic practices
Scientific interest in the body in the late Middle Ages
Ancient beliefs about menstrual blood
The debate on female semen and conception
Symmetric contribution to conception and female pleasure
Medical advice on sexual performance and positions
The role of atmosphere and psychology in sex
Theological need for medical knowledge on nature
The gap between clerical teaching and lay practice
Marital duty and the legitimacy of pleasure
Biblical perspectives on conjugal rights
Differences in sexual satisfaction between spouses
Theological justification of female masturbation
Classification of sexual sins and their gravity
Nuances in judging homosexual acts
Confessional details on sexual positions
The complexity and uncertainty of medieval sexual ethics
The rise of surgery and anatomical study
Observations from early human dissections
Tension between practical and theoretical medicine
Conclusion and credits
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