Author: Elizabeth Casteen, History Department, Binghamton University

Abstract: »The cultural logic of slavery as an extension and expression of “just war” shaped the possibilities open to enslaved Muslims in the late medieval Midi, and it shaped how Muslims in French‐ruled territories across the Mediterranean were understood. Although there were likely fewer enslaved people in the Midi than in Iberia or Italy, slavery played an important role in the cultural imaginary of the Midi's cities, as it did in the broader Mediterranean world—including the extensive Angevin realm that connected Provence to Naples. Indeed slavery, as a component of crusading and expression of Christian victory, was vital to communal self‐definition in what is now southern France. The sexual coercion and commodification of enslaved women in particular tied the Midi and the Francophone Mediterranean cultural zone of which it was an integral part to a broader culture of slaving and crusading, and it helped define the communal integrity and identity of cities across Languedoc and Provence. Rather than being the exclusive preserve of elites and aristocrats and therefore largely insignificant for the cities of the Midi, slavery played a pivotal role in delineating the boundaries of the Christian community and shaping sexual ethics in cities where enslaved people were present.« (Source: French Historical Studies)

Wikipedia: History of Europe: History of France / France in the Middle Ages, Southern France | Prostitution Forced prostitution | Sex and the law: Sexual violence