Sex and Confession in the Thirteenth Century

Abstract

Private penance or confession was a liturgical ritual falling into three distinct parts, the reception of the penitent, confession and questioning, and the enjoining of penances and absolution. The need to be specific coupled with ignorance among ordinary people of specific differences required the priest to question penitents so as to ensure a true confession. The usual reason given for exercising care in questioning is to avoid having penitents leave confession worse off than when they entered because of having learned novel ways of sinning. Some such division of lechery provides the framework for questioning the penitent in an effort to elicit a full and true confession of sexual sins. The treatment of the defloration of virgins is more concerned about the future fate of the women than with the sinfulness of the sex act as such.

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