Sexuelle Gewalt und Gender in den Gerichtsakten von Bologna im 15. Jahrhundert

Abstract

Abstract: Sexual violence and gender in Bologna’s 15th-century court records. The article is based on the analysis of documented trials between 1396 and 1474 concerning 34 rapes of women and 81 rapes of children. Sexual crimes within the family that led to convictions in court represented only a small proportion of the real number of acts of aggression that took place, since the law was not supposed to interfere with misconduct inside the family. For a public investigation to take place, public order had to be arrected. There were twice as many recorded instances of sexual violence against children than against adult women. The sex ratio among the victims of child abuse was more or less balanced. However, a number of sex-speci%c di$erences can be observed. Whilst the name of abused girls was practically always mentioned, the boys’ identities were often withheld. The average age of abused boys was 14.5, whilst with girls the average age was 10 years. However, this difference correlates with the difference in legal age for marriage, which was 12 for girls and 14 for boys. Furthermore, the language used to refer to sexual violence against girls and against boys was completely different. In the case of girls, the same term was used as that referring to the rape of women, whereas sexual violence against boys was described using the vocabulary of sodomy. The sentences for the rape of girls were far less severe than those for sodomized boys, as anal sex was thought to represent a breach of the divine order. Consequently anal sex was a crime punishable by death, while raping a girl was frequently punished merely with a fine.