Despite its reputation for romantic conservatism, Medieval Europe also harbored the tumultuous manifestations of sexuality of the time.

Pink scandals that rocked local communities and involved prominent figures of the time, including kings and priests.

Abelard and Eloisa

In the early 12th century, Peter Abelard in Greece stood out as a prominent philosopher in Europe. His lectures attracted large audiences, and his students were willing to pay to hear his lectures. However, at the age of 37, the French philosopher found himself at the center of a major scandal in Paris.

During this period, he fell in love with his 15-year-old student, Eloise. This love affair between them caused a stir, as Heloise was the niece of Philbert, the priest of Notre-Dame de Paris. Filber demanded the marriage between these two lovers. Although they initially agreed to a secret wedding ceremony, tensions between them soured when their child, Astrolabus, was born. Filber revealed the secret marriage, probably to discredit the philosopher.

Eloisa denied their relationship and Abelard sent her to a monastery in order to calm the spirits. This, however, angered Filbert, who assumed that Abelard wanted to get rid of his niece. In 1117, a group of enraged men, ordered by Fulvert, attacked Abelard’s bedroom and castrated him.

Katerina Hetzeldorfer

Towards the end of the 15th century, a young man settled in the city of Speyer in Germany, living a wild and adventurous everyday life.

During the carnival, he used to have flings and sexually harass women. Although the local people were used to his strange behavior, in 1477 a big secret was revealed: the young man was actually a woman, and her name was Katerina Hetzeldorfer.

The truth was revealed during a trial, during which it was discovered that she had constructed and was wearing a dummy male organ made of leather, cotton and wood. This effigy had deceived the women with whom they were consorting, since they had not understood the truth. In the end, Katerina Hetzeldorfer was sentenced to death by drowning, while her lovers were exiled, as they were thought to have been victims of fraud.

Machiavelli, Da Vinci and the “Truth Holes”

During the 15th century, the leadership of Florence implemented the practice of “holes of truth”, which were literally boxes placed in various parts of the city.

Citizens were able to anonymously send complaints through these boxes, with the aim of being investigated by the authorities.

This practice nevertheless left room for insinuations and accusations to be made, often unjustly, against citizens.

Typical is the case of Niccolò Machiavelli, who was forced to prove his innocence when he was wrongly accused of involvement with a young courtesan.

However, the biggest scandal took place on April 9, 1476, when the famous artist Leonardo Da Vinci was accused of having an affair with a 17-year-old youth, Jacopo Saltarelli.

The news caused consternation in the city, and the “Night Officials”, guardians of morals, were called in to investigate the case. Fortunately for Da Vinci, the accusations turned out to be false, so he was able to maintain his career and reputation.

The cave of orgies

During the late medieval period in Europe, the Catholic Church regarded sexual harassment as the most serious of offenses and encouraged its exposure by heretics.

A famous example involves a German heretic named Lepchet, who reveals activities and contacts taking place in a cave near Cologne.

In this case, a branch of the heretical Cathar community, dedicated to Lucifer, is blamed for his activities. According to Lepchet, in the inner “functioning” of this community in the cave, incredible events took place, including homosexual practices.

The king, his son, his bride-to-be and her brother

Young Richard, also known as the Lionheart, and Princess Alice of France were under the microscope for their behavior from an early age.

From the age of 9, Alice lived in the palace of Richard, her future husband. However, when she reached the age of 16, Richard’s father and King of England, Henry II, refused to approve their marriage.

Rumors circulated that the king was in love with the young princess.

The Pope’s reaction was strong and he threatened to excommunicate England if the marriage did not take place.

The King of France, Louis VII, pressured his English counterpart to return his daughter if the marriage did not take place.

Henry finally agreed to the marriage, but the atmosphere was already negatively charged.

Things got even more complicated when it was revealed that Richard was having an affair with Alice’s brother Philip.

Ultimately, Richard refused to marry Alice after his father’s death, arguing that his half-brother had been born.