And the Spanish were definitely sexually active.
An English traveler was probably exaggerating when he claimed that 'for fornication and impurity they are the worst of all nations.'
Notably, though, he made that remark having already visited Naples.
The Inquisition judged sexual mores based on the ancient Stoic-Christian rule of thumb: any sex act that couldn't produce a baby was a sin 'against nature.'
So sodomy among men was 'the abominable sin'—classed with bestiality.
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| Spank me! In this cartoon by Bosch, birds fly out of a sodomite's bum while a buffoon spanks him with a lute -- a symbol of lust (University of Seville website) |
Girl-on-girl action was sinful but largely overlooked because no sperm was wasted—unless, of course, the rubbing got out of hand and the women 'wanted to be more masculine than nature permitted.'
In one case in Seville, two lovers were sentenced to 200 lashes and exile for using a strap-on dildo made of sheepskin.
ONCE YOU HAVE BACK...
In the main, though, male sodomites caught the worst of it because the authorities believed that once you got a taste for anal sex, only the flames could cure you: once you had back, you never went back.
A Jesuit confessor in Seville's prison documented 114 prosecutions for sodomy over thirty-eight years, including the tragic case of two mule drivers who were passing through the city when one of them fell ill.
His co-worker found him in bed in the tavern and asked him what was wrong.
'Close the door,' the man replied, explaining that that he'd taken a dodgy purgative that left him with 'abrasions on his secret bits.'
So his friend sat down on the bed to inspect his sores.
'For God's sake, don't hurt me!' the patient yelped.
Unfortunately, a maid had been snooping on them through the keyhole.
And when she saw the one man sit on the bed between the other's naked legs—'Don't hurt me!'—she ran to inform the authorities.
The men were tortured until they confessed and were burnt to death for a crime they hadn't committed.
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