The Battle for Chastity: Miraculous Castration and the Quelling of Desire in the Middle Ages

In 1985, Michel Foucault published an essay entitled, “The Battle for Chastity” using the works of John Cassian to focus on the problem of nocturnal emissions experienced by holy men, primarily solitaries. But Cassian did not focus solely on the end goal of ending seminal emissions. He also laid out a path through the minefield of bodily sexual desire, recognizing that fasting and flagellation were no sure cure. In addition to seminal emissions, attention was given to the genital organs themselves and the movements of the flesh. Perceived as a specifically masculine discourse, stories appeared about various men who experienced the divine gift of mystical castration which put an end to their lust and to movements of the flesh. This article examines dozen incidents of mystical castration, performed by various divine agents, found in medieval sources from the fourth to fifteenth century. While the discourse is ostensibly androcentric, revealing men’s reactions to men’s struggles to contain their own bodies and desires. In fact, however, the phenomenon is equally about women and rooted in the evolution of medieval misogyny