An Ambiguity: The Criminality of Prostitution in Late 14th Century London, England

An Ambiguity: The Criminality of Prostitution in Late 14th Century London, England

 

Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan Outline:

Title of Lesson: An Ambiguity: The Criminality of Prostitution in Late 14th Century London, England
Name: Kaylie Boersma	Age Group: Grade 11-12

 

1. Learning Objectives: What do I want the students to learn?

• Students should be able to grasp how prostitution cannot be seen as a black and white concept, but rather it is a complex, interconnected concept that is both positive and negative based on the situation.
• Students should be able to establish the complexities of prostitution based on the treatment of sex workers and attitudes towards the idea of prostitution.
• Students should be able to highlight how prostitution represents an ambiguity in which prostitution was both legal and illegal.
• Students should be able to emphasize sex workers as victims and agents within the institution of prostitution.
• Students should be able to demonstrate how sex workers were demoralized and taken advantage of even when they were needed to provide a service.

 

2. Assessment: How will the students show their learning and how will I determine if it was successful?

How will the students demonstrate their learning?   Students will be able to demonstrate their learning by providing a baseline of their knowledge at the beginning of the lesson and then they will have the opportunity to establish how their thoughts have changed or stayed the same. They will be able to form conclusions about the treatment of women in general and of those who are criminalized more harshly. Students will also have the opportunity to partake in an activity at the end of the lesson where they will work together to create a story map of prostitution using sticky notes from the knowledge they gained from the lecture.

How will I track their success?   By having students actively write down their preconceived thoughts at the beginning of the lecture, a baseline can be established. At the end of the lecture, they will have the opportunity to talk about how their thoughts have changed or stayed the same, so that the teacher can track the progress of their students’ knowledge and whether the lesson was successful. The student will also have the chance to participate in an activity where they will work in groups to write down what they learned from the lesson on sticky notes. The sticky notes will be placed on the board and the class will work together, or the teacher will talk about what was written on the sticky notes to summarize the lecture but to also see how successful the lesson was.

 

3. Prerequisite Knowledge: What do the students need to know before we start?

 

• Students should have an overall knowledge of the medieval period and they should also be aware of how women were treated during the late medieval period. This lesson is a standalone lesson, however, they should have some basic contextual information of the medieval period provided. Students should be aware of the gender roles that happened in the medieval period. Through this previous knowledge, students will be able to discern how the case study of prostitution in late 14^th century London, England is demonstrative of the patriarchal idea established by men and the limitations placed on women.

 

4. Supplies Needed: What supplies do I need for this lesson?

• Paper
• Laptop (optional for students as long as they have paper, required for teacher)
• Pen/pencil
• Sticky notes
• Projector
• Adapter if using a Mac computer
• Dry erase marker or chalk, depending on what type of board you have to write on

 

5. Layout of Lesson:

Total Allotted Time:

• The lecture portion of the lesson will be 28 minutes long approximately.
• The first activity will take approximately 10 minutes.
• The final questions will take approximately 10 minutes.
• The final activity will take 25 minutes approximately.
• This is for a total 73 minutes.

Set Up: What do I need to do prior to beginning my lesson?	For the purpose of this lesson, the set up is extremely minimal. A laptop needs to be connected to a projector to display the presentation prior to the lesson. For the final activity, students will need sticky notes so that they can write down their thoughts, so it would probably be best to have the sticky notes ready prior to the lesson. The other setup related to the final activity is that you should write on the board the title of the lesson and provide a space underneath for students to put their sticky notes when the activity happens.
Hook: How will I attract the attention of the students and make this learning worthwhile?	In order to attract the attention of the students, they need to have an active role in the presentation. In order to do this, students will write down what comes to their mind when they think of prostitution. They will have about two minutes to write down a list of ten or more terms and then a short discussion will ensue so that not only can the teacher evaluate what the students know, but the students will be able to connect with the lecture in a way that makes them think that the lecture is applicable to themselves.
Lesson: How will I present the information they need to learn?	In order to present prostitution in late 14th century London to students, the lesson will be designed as a slideshow to provide students with a visual both in the form of words and pictures, but it will also allow students to see the main points of the presentation on the screen, while extra points talked about are presented in the lecture notes. The teacher will talk about prostitution with an opportunity at the beginning and end of the presentation for students to actively participate in the lesson. The lesson will be filled with quotes, evidence, and a slide halfway through the lecture, which will have a recap of the lesson up to that point.
Activity: How will the students demonstrate their learning?	Students will demonstrate their learning through two activities at the end of the presentation. The first activity will have students answering three questions. They will answer what they now think of prostitution, which of their thoughts mentioned at the beginning of the lesson stayed the same, and which ones changed, and finally, how were women treated in medieval society based on the study of prostitution in London. The second assignment involves separating the class into groups where they will each work together to write on a collection of sticky notes. They will all write down what they have learned about prostitution in 14th century London, England based on this presentation. Once they are done, they will put their sticky notes on the board to create a story map of prostitution. They can take turns reading the “story” of prostitution, or the teacher can read the “story.” It is the teacher’s choice based on an assessment of the students.
Conclusions: How will I end the activity?	The activity will end with either the teacher reading the sticky notes that are posted on the board, or the students can take turns reading the sticky notes to form the “story” of prostitution. This will perform as a recap for the lecture. If they teacher notices that a large topic is not present in the story map, then the teacher will have the option to add it to the story board.
Review and Summary: How will I summarize the learning and affirm that the students understood?	There will be four points within the lesson where the teacher will have the opportunity to either assess how the students are understanding the lecture or to summarize the content of the lecture. With the activity at the beginning of the lecture and the assessment at the end of the lecture that demonstrates how students’ beliefs have changed or stayed the same, the teacher will be able to see how more informed the students are now. The second opportunity for summary occurs on slide 13 where a short summary of the topics mentioned before will be made before starting the second part of the lecture. The third summary will be a conclusion slide in which the main points of the lecture will be brought up again to reaffirm the content of the lecture. The fourth summary will occur with the activity where students will present what they know on sticky notes and a discussion will occur. Any missing points that the students do not mention can be added to the sticky notes at the end and then everyone can agree on whether this is the “story” they have learned.

 

Lecture Notes

Slide 1: Title

“Hello everyone, my name is Kaylie Boersma. Today I am going to talk to all of you about prostitution. This lecture will focus on prostitution as an ambiguity by taking a look at the criminality of prostitution in late 14^th century London, England. I hope you enjoy.” [Move to slide 2]

 

Slide 2: What comes to mind when you think of prostitution?

“Before I begin to talk about prostitution, I want to know what comes to your minds when you think of prostitution? Is it perhaps sex, [click mouse] or maybe you think of women as sex workers, [click mouse] or maybe you think that sex workers are criminals, [click mouse]. Maybe you decide to think of where prostitution might occur, so you think of brothels, [click mouse] or maybe you believe that sex workers choose to work in prostitution [click mouse]. I want each of you to write down a list of 10 or more terms that come to your mind when you think of prostitution. I will give you each 2 minutes to write down some of your thoughts. Do not worry if you are not totally sure if one of your thoughts is true because the point of this lesson is to show you a glimpse at prostitution. [Give them two minutes or more if needed and then ask for each student to provide some of the terms that they thought of. This will provide you with an idea of what your students know and what topics you may need to spend extra time on.] Now that you have all provided me with some excellent terms, I want you to keep these terms in the back of your mind and pay attention to which of your thoughts are demonstrated in this lesson, and which thoughts changed throughout this lesson.” [Move to slide 3]

 

 

Slide 3: Objectives

“I want each of you to know why I am teaching about prostitution in the first place, and I want each of you to know what this presentation will cover in general. The first objective of this lesson is to establish the complexities of prostitution based on the treatment of sex workers and the attitudes towards the idea of prostitution. The second objective is to highlight how prostitution represents an ambiguity in which prostitution was both legal and illegal. The third objective is to emphasize sex workers as victims and agents within the institution of prostitution because as you will soon see, some women embraced prostitution, while others endured significant hardships. The last goal is to demonstrate how sex workers were demoralized and taken advantage of even when they were needed to provide a service.” [Move to slide 4]

 

Slide 4: What is Patriarchy?

“One of the terms that we need to be familiar with before discussing prostitution is patriarchy. Patriarchy is a concept that involves a power dynamic in which a small group of men have control over some men and all women. It involves the ideology that men are dominant and superior, whereas women are inferior and subordinate to men. This picture to the right demonstrates how patriarchy is so prominent that we may not even realize or know the person exerting force over us. Such patriarchal structures can include government, laws, education, workplace structures and so many more. I want you all to keep this in mind as I talk about prostitution and the way sex workers were treated.” [Move to slide 5]

 

Slide 5: Why Prostitution

“Why does prostitution exist? Is it because women wanted to express some form of freedom over their sexuality? Is it because women were forced into prostitution to fulfill men’s needs, or is it because women wanted to work and make a living, so they chose prostitution as a form of income? All of these questions highlight reasonable reasons for why women entered into prostitution. These questions also highlight that those who became sex workers do not fit into a single, universal category. Through the snapshot of prostitution in late 14th century London many reasons come about for women wanting to join prostitution. The period of study for this lesson occurs after the Black Death struck Europe, which occurred from roughly 1346-1353 and resulted in significant deaths. As Ruth Karras, one of the leading historians on sexuality studies in England, states, the Black Death led to a rise in job opportunities for women, however the jobs they were considered allowed to participate in, which were a lot fewer than the job opportunities for men, were those in which women received limited pay. Ruth Karras says that with the difficulties that some women faced finding a job that could support them, some women chose prostitution due to external forces such as not being able to support themselves from the work they were already doing, or from the lack of available options. P.J.P. Goldberg, another historian, takes the act of becoming a sex worker to another level as he mentions that MOST women chose prostitution because they had to, they needed to support themselves. There were not alternatives as Ruth Karras alludes to. Both historians allude to most women choosing prostitution, but the last reason that women joined prostitution is because they were forced and as you will see in a little bit, we will be discussing a court case in which a woman was forced into prostitution under false pretenses.” [Move to slide 6]

Slide 6: Single Women or Common Women

“The London ordinances, which are sources that detail the rules regarding prostitution in this case, and sources such as court documents detail how something should be, not always how it was, and these are known as prescriptive sources. Ruth Karras states that “Prostitutes represented something that men distrusted in all women. A prostitute was someone who brought her sexuality out of the private into the public realm.” Prostitution represented a problem to the social order, and through prescriptive sources we are able to discover what some of the idealizations are about prostitution that make prostitution more recognizable and less troublesome. Cordelia Beattie argues that the ideal sex worker, as depicted in the London ordinances, is a woman who is single. With the importance placed on marriage and the push to have man and wife be faithful in a marriage, it was seen as wrong to engage in prostitution while married, however, I cannot say that sex workers were only single women as that was the ideal. Not only were sex workers considered to be single women, but they were also known as common women. As Ruth Karras states, “A common woman in medieval England was one who had many sex partners, often for money.” These idealizations and terms used to describe sex workers comes from prescriptive sources that demonstrate the laws that women were regulated by.” [Move to slide 7]

 

Slide 7: The Law

“Sex workers were regulated continually in which their lives were filled with things they could do and things they were not allowed to do. As Ruth Karras states in her book Common Women: Prostitution and Sexuality in Medieval England, “Law does not emerge on its own; society creates it, and law reflects that society’s needs, assumptions and mores. Regulation [of prostitution] was aimed not at abolishing commercial prostitution, but at keeping it accessible while keeping its practitioners in their place.” For the rest of this lecture, we will see examples in which the law worked to punish sex workers, while still keeping prostitution available for those who wished to partake. [Move to slide 8]

 

Slide 8: Separation of Good and Bad

“In London through the late 1300s, sex workers needed to be recognizable and so therefore, there became a push to separate the good from the bad. Cordelia Beattie states, that “concerns that the ‘reputable’ would be ‘corrupted’ are expressed in … London records.” Law makers needed to make sure they upheld the moral standing of their community and as Kevin Mummey reminds us, “The prostitute was formally accepted as the receptacle of a society’s filth, a necessary, if odious, evil.” Another interesting perspective on the idea of prostitution comes from P.J.P. Goldberg, a historian who makes a connection between the push to have pigs removed from urban environments due to their uncleanliness and the removal of sex workers from city limits as both represent lust, movement around the city, and a “threat to the moral order.” Each of these historians highlights that there was a distinction made between moral women and immoral sex workers both through identifiable characteristics as we will see in the next slide and through the separation of women based on their choices.” [Move to slide 9]

 

Slide 9: Clothing: A Required Distinction

“One of the key examples of the ways in which a visible distinction was made between sex workers and other women was through their clothing. Through the statement of rules in “Proclamations as to the Dress of Common Women Within the City; and as to the Sale of Fish,” we can see that those in charge of regulating sex workers stated that sex workers are wearing clothes that disguise them as women of morals and that is inappropriate for their nature. A specific example comes from the London ordinances that states that “If any common woman wears an apron, she shall forfeit it, and make a fine.” When you think of someone wearing an apron, you probably think of someone who is hardworking, so it is possible that a distinction is trying to be made regarding women who have recognized jobs and those who work in prostitution. Another example comes from “Proclamations as to the Dress of Common Women Within the City; and as to the Sale of Fish,” in which there is a rule that states that women of immoral nature cannot wear fur or any clothing that would signify nobility. I cannot just state that sex workers were just targeted for their clothing, but instead sex workers found themselves being regulated in almost every move they made, and some women ended up in court.” [Move to slide 10]

 

Slide 10: Treated as Criminals

“Attempts were made to limit the freedom of the women accused of engaging in disruptive and lewd work according to the social and moral standards of the London Middle Ages. The London ordinances provide examples of some of the ways in which sex workers could get in trouble. If a woman, who is believed to engage in promiscuous acts, enters the Bishop of Winchester’s Liberty while hiding her identity, she can be ordered to pay a fine. The Bishop of Winchester’s Liberty as we will soon discuss controlled Southwark, which was the region of legal brothels in London. Two other actions limiting sex workers movements is the monetary punishment for those who have sex workers live in their brothels as well as payment of fines from sex workers if they break curfew houses. The list goes on. Women involved in prostitution did not just pay fines, but some women faced time in court and even public humiliation. One of the cases we will be discussing comes from the court case of Elizabeth Moring, a woman brought before the courts under accusations from one of her employees.” [Move to slide 11]

 

Slide 11: Quote

“Before I jump right into the court case of Elizabeth Moring, I want to take a step back to think about how the justice system worked when punishing people accused of crimes. Ruth Karras clearly states that “The medieval authorities considered prostitutes both subject and object, agent and victim. In general, prostitutes were blamed for their actions, which they were believed to commit out of lust (even if they were financially needed as well); but when a brothelkeeper or procurer was prosecuted, the prostitutes could be treated as innocent pawns.”” [Move to slide 12]

 

Slide 12: Procuring and the Pillory

“Now I want to show you all a specific case study involving prostitution, but more specifically a case involving forced sex work. In 1385, a woman by the name of Elizabeth Moring was brought before the court in London, England after she was accused of forcing women into prostitution without their consent or knowledge. These women were being propositioned to work as embroideresses, or so they thought. Elizabeth was running an illegal brothel that forced women into prostitution. Due to Elizabeth being charged with crimes, she had to face a room full of people who would choose her fate, however, Elizabeth’s guilt was determined by a room full of men. Her fate was determined by men. Does that by any chance remind you of patriarchy. As I previously mentioned, Elizabeth was found guilty and the reasons for such are listed as “Through such women and the like deeds many scandals had befallen the said city, and great peril might through such transactions in future arise therefore, according to the custom of the city of London in such and the like cases provided, and in order that other women might beware of doing the like,” Elizabeth was chosen to be publicly humiliated through the public punishment of being placed in a pillory.  Now I want you all to think back to the quote we just read on the previous slide and keep that in your mind as a mention this next point. Based on the information presented in this court document, “Illegal Prostitution in London,” Johanna, the woman who provided a victim statement, and the unnamed male client do not appear to have been charged for their indiscretion in prostitution, so it was a case of just punishing the procurer.” [Move to slide 13]

 

Slide 13: Prostitution: A Double-Edged Sword

“We have been learning about how prostitution and those who were sex workers were seen as immoral, criminals, and needing to be regulated. Looking at sources that try to demoralize sex workers only gives one perspective to the conception of prostitution, but as we should all know, just because something is written as law does not mean that people will always follow the law. Prostitution continued in London through the late 14^th century, and it cannot be seen as strictly negative, but rather there were some benefits to be gained through prostitution, such as women who chose prostitution, and as we will soon see there were multiple benefits to the institution of prostitution to be exploited.” [Move to Slide 14]

 

Slide 14: Quote

“Historian Kevin Mummey wrote the book chapter, “Prostitution: The Moral Economy of Medieval Prostitution,” in which he states that quote, “Each day medieval societies made choices that pit prostitutes in an intriguing gray area where they were both marginal and central, persecuted and accepted.” Prostitution is medieval London was not viewed simply in terms of being completely immoral, although prescriptive sources try to make it seem like it was that simple. In reality, however, prostitution was a business that made money and so therefore there were reasons for turning either turning a blind eye to prosecuting sex workers or being extra hard on sex workers in the case of the Bishop of Winchester.” [Move to slide 15]

 

Slide 15: Southwark Stews pt. 1

“Prostitution in London was not considered legal in the city limits in the late 14^th century, but yet there was reason to keep prostitution ongoing. In order to create a divide between moral women and immoral women so as not to corrupt those of good standing in society, brothels were established legally in the suburb of Southwark which was located on the outskirts of London and the brothels in this region became known as stews. No matter where sex workers conducted business, they were still regulated. As one regulation states, “We do by our command forbid … that [any woman accused of prostitution] shall go about or lodge in [London], or in the suburbs thereof, by night or by day; but they are to keep themselves to the places thereunto assigned, that is to say, the Stews.” Sex workers were being separated from the rest of society. As you can see, to the left is a representation of a stew.” [Move to slide 15]

 

Slide 16: Southwark Stews pt. 2

“As Ruth Karras mentions, the Southwark stews were established to “maintain social order,” not to keep prostitutes safe. There was something to gain by keeping brothels operational and when those who controlled the brothels, such as the Bishop of Winchester, found out there was money to be made, the brothels started to be regulated as Ruth Karras states. The regulations, in part, limited the power that brothelkeepers had over sex workers and the regulations also allowed the Bishop of Winchester, in particular, to grow in power by punishing those involved in prostitution.” [Move to slide 17]

 

Slide 17: A Profitable Business

“The legalized brothels in Southwark, which were under the Bishop of Winchester’s control, was ironic due to the church’s adamant disapproval of prostitution. What is even more ironic, as P.J.P. Goldberg mentions, is the prominence of clergy members as clients of sex workers. These two statements just demonstrate how complicated the attitudes towards prostitution were. Since the bishop of Winchester controlled all of the Southwark stews, he was able to maximize his profits, which he did by punishing sex workers through the laws that required payment for misdeeds. The image to the left depicts a sex worker who is giving money to a church leader. It is likely that the sex worker is giving the church leader money because the sex worker committed a crime and was told to pay monetary repercussions.” [Move to slide 18]

 

Slide 18: Conclusion

“Throughout this lesson we learned that sex workers in medieval London were treated unfairly, while simultaneously being appreciated for their services to please men, but to also to make a profit. Prescriptive sources that describe the law demonstrate how the regulation of prostitution was wanted among officials while simultaneously church officials were partaking in sex with sex workers. This double meaning did not stop there however, as the Bishop of Winchester used the regulations of prostitution for his own gains in order to make a profit. He was not necessarily using the regulations due to wanting sex workers to be punished, but rather he used the laws to make sure that he had power. Patriarchy is intimately connected to the reasoning behind why prostitution was regulated; it was simply about control, maintaining order, and gaining the benefits of prostitution. No matter the intense regulations placed on women, many women chose prostitution, and many kept working as sex workers due to the income they received, but also the sexual freedom that sometimes was a part of prostitution, despite the regulations. No matter what, through a look at Elizabeth Moring’s court case, the criminalization of sex workers, the legalization of brothels in Southwark, and the benefits of prostitution, one can discern that prostitution in late 14^th century London, England was an ambiguity.” [Move to slide 19]

Slide 19: Check your understanding

“Now that I have concluded teaching all of you, I want to know what each of you now believe about prostitution. Have any of your previous beliefs, or the terms you came up with at the beginning of this lesson changed or stayed the same? If so which ones? Based on this study of prostitution in late 14^th century London, what can you tell about how women were treated in medieval society? [Have a discussion with the students as they answer these questions. Once the discussion comes to a close, start the activity.] Now that we have had a wonderful discussion together, I have just one more activity for each of you. I want each of you to work in groups to think about what you learned in class. Everyone will have a stack of sticky notes and I want you all to fill out these sticky notes with what stood out to you. Once you have written everything you can think out, I want you all to come up and put your sticky notes on the board so that we can create a story map of prostitution in the late 1300s in London England. Thank you all.”

Bibliography Primary Sources “Illegal Prostitution in London.” In The Intolerant Middle Ages: A Reader, edited by Eugene Smelyansky, 255-257, translated by Henry Thomas Riley. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2020. Karras, Ruth Mazo. “Text of Ordinances.” In “Regulation of Brothels in Late Medieval England.” Signs 14, no. 2 (Winter 1989): 427-433. “Proclamations as to the Dress of Common Women Within the City; and as to the Sale of Fish.” In Memorials of London and London Life in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Centuries: Being a Series of Extracts, Local, Social, and Political, From the Early Archives of the City of London, A.D. 1276-1419, edited and translated by Henry Thomas Riley, 267-268. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1868. “Regulation as to Street-Walkers by Night, and Women of Bad Repute.” In Memorials of London and London Life in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Centuries: Being a Series of Extracts, Local, Social, and Political, From the Early Archives of the City of London, A.D. 1276-1419, edited and translated by Henry Thomas Riley, 534-535. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1868. Secondary Sources Beattie, Cordelia. “Governing Bodies: Law Courts, Male Householders, and Single Women in Late Medieval England.” In The Medieval Household in Christian Europe, c. 850 – c. 1500: Managing Power, Wealth, and the Body, edited by Cordelia Beattie, Anna Maslakovic, and Sarah Rees Jones, 199-220. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2003. B, Silvani. “Once you Hand Them the Strings, They Become the Narrator of Your Life.” – Unknown. Photograph. Unsplash. June 20, 2021. https://unsplash.com/photos/bczrpU9n8f4. Goldberg, P.J.P. “Pigs and Prostitutes: Streetwalking in Comparative Perspective.” In Young Medieval Women, edited by Katherine J. Lewis, Menuge, et. al, 172-193. Stroud: Alan Sutton, 1999. Karras, Ruth Mazo. Common Women: Prostitution and Sexuality in Medieval England. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Karras, Ruth Mazo. “Sex, Money, and Prostitution in Medieval English Culture.” In Desire and Discipline: Sex and Sexuality in the Premodern West, edited by Jacqueline Murray, and Konrad Eisenbichler, 230-245. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996. Karras, Ruth Mazo. “The Regulation of Brothels in Later Medieval England.” Signs 14, no. 2 (Winter 1989): 399-433. Accessed May 17, 2022. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3174556. Lister, Kate. A 15th-Century Bathhouse. Photograph. Brewminate: A Bold Blend of News and Ideas. November 23, 2018. https://brewminate.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/111018-64-History-Medieval-Middle-Ages-Prostitution-Religion.jpg. Lister, Kate. In 14th-Century London, Church Leaders Discovered How to Make a Tidy Income From Sex Workers. Photograph. Brewminate: A Bold Blend of News and Ideas. November 23, 2018. https://brewminate.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/111018-63-History-Medieval-Middle-Ages-Prostitution-Religion.jpg. Mummey, Kevin. “Prostitution: The Moral Economy of Medieval Prostitution.” In A Cultural History of Sexuality: In the Middle Ages, edited by Ruth Evans, 165-180. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2011. The Treehouse. Photograph. Tes. February 27, 2020. https://www.tes.com/teaching- resource/medieval-crime-and-punishment-11393228?theme=4.

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