Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Visions Of Indecency: The Intersection Between The Church And Prostitution In Augsburg, Rome, And Southwark From The Twelfth To Seventeenth Century Ce, Samantha Leahy

Young Historians Conference

The following research paper endeavors to present and enhance knowledge on the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and prostitution across Italy, England, and Germany from the 12th to the 17th century CE. The paper traces the Church’s opinion of reluctant tolerance prostitution to openly condemning it and argues that this ecclesiastical shift can be traced to various syphilitic breakouts that occurred in association with the Columbian Exchange and the growing popularity of Prostitute Reform Houses. The paper argues that these aspects of European history, in conjunction with the increased influence of Protestant Reformers in the 16th century, expedited the …