‘Power... dictates its law to sex’: The Permeability of Sexual Relations Boundaries in Medieval Iberia

Abstract

This dissertation aims at showing how power- under its many forms- allowed for the permeability of sexual relations boundaries in Medieval Iberia. After a brief outline on the legal code of the three Abrahamic religions, the first section will explore the connection between gender, group membership and power, and will look at what I would define ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ forms of privilege within mechanisms of social tolerance. The second section will focus on power meant as political authority and financial resources, and on how this allowed individuals to escape punishment and obtain tolerance. My investigation explores the extent to which power allowed for interfaith sexual activity in Medieval Iberia, rendering what appears (juridically) as one of the most impermeable boundaries, de facto, extremely permeable.