Did Medieval Women Really Wear Chastity Belts?

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 31 August 2017

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

According to legends of the Middle Ages, knights used the chastity belt on their wives as an anti-temptation device before embarking on the Crusades. When the knight left for the Holy Lands, his Lady would wear a chastity belt to preserve her faithfulness to him. The metal teeth that surrounded her "credentials" would also tear to shreds the member of any would-be seducer. However, there is no reliable evidence that chastity belts existed before the 15th century. Any reference to them is likely symbolic or a satirical drawing. No actual medieval chastity belt survives, and those that appear in museums are forgeries. Were they ever in use at all? If not, how did the legend appear? TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of North America podcast is a sweeping historical saga of the United States,
0:09.4	Canada, and Mexico from their deep origins to our present epoch.
0:14.2	Join me, Mark Vinet, on this exciting, fascinating epic journey through time, focusing on the compelling,
0:20.8	wonderful, and tragic stories of North America's inhabitants, heroes, villains, leaders,
0:27.1	environment, and geography.
0:29.5	I invite you to come along for the ride!
0:59.5	Welcome to the History Unplugged Podcast, the unscripted show that celebrates unsung heroes,
1:14.6	Mythbust's historical lies, and rediscover the forgotten stories that changed our world.
1:21.3	I'm your host, Scott Rank.
1:29.3	Today's topic is, Why Chacity Belts Are a Myth.
1:32.5	When I was in college, I backpacked through Europe with some friends.
1:35.7	We were in some town in Germany, and we heard of a museum of medieval torture.
1:40.9	We thought, okay, we've seen so many cathedrals, let's do something new.
1:44.8	We went in there, there were lots of heinous devices, and one that really stuck out to us
1:49.4	were chacity belts.
1:51.0	Flexible metal bands that cover the genitals and are closed with padlocks, which the museum
1:55.5	told us dated back to the times of the crusades.
1:58.7	When nights would leave to fight to reclaim the Holy Sepulchre, but wanted to ensure the
2:03.5	fidelity of their wives during their absence.
2:06.5	This is what I learned from the museum, and what I've seen in other sources as well.
2:10.7	The idea of chacity belt is completely false.
2:15.0	According to the book, the medieval chacity belt, a myth-making process, this is a later
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