Of Swords and Rings: Genital Representation as Defining Sexual Identity and Sexual Liberation in Some Old French Fabliaux and Lais

This paper explores, in a restricted inventory of lais and fabliaux, what some specific representations of lower body parts teach us about the way medieval people conceptualised their sexuality. In a first step we shall examine chosen metaphors referring to genitalia and how they are related to gender expectations. We shall then see how genitals are taught and learned within the context of first sexual experiences. Finally, we shall ask what place they have in constructing sexual identity and in contributing to a new sensibility of sexual liberation.