#medieval incest

[litcest]

Incest and the Medieval Imagination, by Elizabeth Archibald: Chapter 5: Siblings and Other Relatives: Siblings

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 Part 1 | Chapter 3 Part 2 | Chapter 3 Part 3 | Chapter 4 Part 1 | Chapter 4 Part 2 | Chapter 4 Part 3 | Chapter 5 Part 2 | Conclusion

Sibling incest in medieval literature is often portrayed as significantly less egregious sin than parent-child incest. It typically functions as a subplot rather than being the central narrative and frequently involves minor characters instead of protagonists. In hagiographies and exempla, it's usually 'secondary' to parent-child, and, in romances, it appears as detail within a larger narrative. Indeed, there was a tendency to interpolate sibling incest in larger legendary cycles, such as the Arthurian, Carolingian, and Völsunga sagas. This makes identifying consistent patterns and motifs in these stories more challenging than in parent-child incest narratives.

While Medieval writers often referenced the stories of Byblis and Canace, familiar to them through Ovid and the mythographers, few chose to retell these tales in detail, and even fewer created new narratives about brother-sister incest. Whether the intent was to titillate readers or to inspire moral reflection and confession, stories of sibling relationships were seemingly less shocking, and thus less impactful, than the parent-child incest narratives that captivated audiences in the later Middle Ages.

In sections referring to Arthurian Legends, I had to look for external information to fill in the gaps left by Archibald. I would like to thank @haljathefangirlcat, @fuckyeaharthuriana and @liminalpsych-in-teyvat for helping me with the search.

Siblings in Exempla

In the English edition of Gesta Romanorum there's a story in chapter LXXI that is absent from the Latin versions. This story is about a man who seduces his sister and then kills her after she gives birth to their son. He then marries a rich woman and comes to regret his earlier sins in his deathbed, when he finally confesses. Like many other exempla, this story focuses on the importance of confession and that God can forgive anyone as long as they repent.

The legend of Saint Gregorius (mentioned in Chapter 3) begins with brother-sister incest and in some versions, such as Hartmann, the narrative takes the time to showcase the sibling's devotion to one another and the love which grows between them. However, the romance between them is set aside once Gregorius is born and the main point of the story is the relationship between Gregorius and his mother, followed by his penance and sainthood. Most versions don't even bother going in depth about the sibling incest, just mentioning it in passing as the reason as to why Gregorius' mother choses to expose him.

In stories such as Albanus and Vergogna, which open with of father-daughter incest the offspring of this liaison is technically his mother's brother, but the emphasis is placed on the fact that they are mother and son, with their half-sibling status usually not even being mentioned.

Siblings in Romance

While the father's incestuous desire for his daughter is a frequent reason for her flight, there's only one case that a girl must escape her brother: Penta of the Chopped-off Hands by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 in the collection Pentamerone. The narrative follows closely the structure of the flight from the incestuous father, with the difference thar here it's Penta's brother who wants to marry her. Coincidently, the middle 17th Century is also the same time frame in which 'Tis a Pity She's a Whore, a play about sibling incest, was written and performed (the play premiered between 1629 and 1633).

Before the 17th Century, sibling incest is mostly found in sub-plots of romances such as a scene in Chrétien de Troyes' Conte du Graal (12th Century) in which the Gawain meets his mother and sister, but doesn't recognizes them, which almost leads to him almost marrying the sister. In a story found in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogion (12th - 13 Century), two brothers, Gwydion and Gilfaethwy, are punished for rape by being turned into animals, one male and one female. This results in the brother's, in animal form, having offspring together. As such, they are pushed into as punishment for rape. In Méliador (14th Century) by Jean Froissart, the protagonist's sister is in love with him and marries another knight whom she mistakes for her brother.

The Questing Beast from Arthurian story Suite du Merlin (13th Century) was born from sibling incest: a woman desired her brother and so made a deal with the devil to make the brother love her. The devil manipulates the sister into accusing the brother of rape, which leads to him being sentenced to death. As the brother dies, he curses the sister to give birth to a monster. This monster becomes the Questing Beast, who appears to King Arthur the night after his unwitting sexual encounter with his half-sister Morgause. Since the Beast's origins was a later addition to the Arthurian Legend, one must wonder if it was meant to foreshadow the monstruous nature of Mordred, born of brother-sister incest.

Another Arthurian tale, Queste del Saint Graal (13th Century) deals with Galahad, Perceval, and Bors fighting against three brother who all fell in love with their sister, raped and killed her, before usurping the throne from their father. The incest is presented to further emphasise the evil nature of those three brothers, and has no relevance to the main plot.

Charlemagne and Arthur

While sibling incest wasn't a frequent motif of exempla or romances, it did appear in some famous medieval narratives, such as the legend of King Arthur and King Charlemagne, two of the most admired kings in medieval literature.

Starting in the 9th Century, there began to appear many stories of Charlemagne initially refusing to confess a particular sin, but eventually doing so and being forgiven. By the 12th Century, the story had evolved and the sin became the deliberate incest with his sister Gillen, which resulted in the birth of a son, Roland. The first account of such is found in Karlamagnús Saga (13th Century), which mentions Charlemagne sleeping with his sister and then hiding it from his priest, the secret eventually exposed by an angel and Charlemagne confesses and receives forgiveness. In here, the incest is witting and consensual, and no demonic influence is given as an excuse. In some versions, it is St. Gilles who is told of the incest by an angel and then persuades Charlemagne to confess. This is a stark contrast to St. Germanus, who has King Vortigern burned for sleeping with his daughter.

One must question why such a myth was created and popularized, when considering that Charlemagne is one of three Christian Worthies (with the other two being King Arthur and Godefroy de Bouillon). One possibility is that the story was meant to highlight further the tragedy of Roland's life. His death become even more significant for Charlemagne if Roland is not only his favourite knight, but also his son. The link then could be done that Roland's premature death was the price for Charlemagne's sin of incest.

Regarding King Arthur, the incest was similarly a late edition to the legend, seemingly arriving in the 13th Century, and perhaps wasn't as widespread as it is nowadays, given that neither Dante or Boccaccio mentions incest in relation to King Arthur. In the first biography of King Arthur, by Geoffrey of Monmouth in 1135, Arthur is said to have a sister called Anna, who is mother of both Gawain and Mordred. In later accounts, Morgan la Fée and Morgause, Queen of Orkney, are named as Arthur's half sister through their mother Ygraine. Morgause is the mother of Gawain, Mordred, Gareth, Gaheris, and Agravain.

The first recorded mention of Mordred as Arthur's son appears in five passages from Lancelot-Graal (also know was the Vulgate Cycle), written at the start of the 13th Century. In the section called the Agravain, Mordred meets a hermit who tells him that he is destined to kill his father, and be killed by him. When Mordred says that his father is dead, the hermit reveals that Mordred is not Lot's son, but Arthur's. In this part, it's not named the mother, but before the texts states that Mordred is the son of the Queen of Orkney, daughter of Ygraine and half-sister to Arthur, she is, however, not named. The others mentions appears in the final part of the Vulgate Cycle, the Mort Artu. The first is by Mordred himself, when he forges a letter from Arthur naming him as the heir, saying "Mordred whom I treat as a nephew—but he is not". The second is when Guinevere confesses that she knew that Arthur was the father of Mordred, but had kept the secret. The last mention comes from Arthur, when he learns that Mordred is plotting against him, he admits that Mordred is him son and vow to kill him.

In Estoire de Merlin, another section of the Vulgate Cycle that was written after the previous sections mentioned, Merlin tells Arthur that Arthur is the father of one of King Lot son's, with King Lot being the publicly acknowledged father of Mordred. In another part of Estorie, there's the full account of how Arthur slept with the Queen of Orkney. Arthur came to her one night while she was visiting Camelot, and she mistook him for her husband and welcomed him to her bed. At the time, neither of them knew they were related, as Arthur hadn't yet been acknowledged as Uther's son. The texts mentions that the Queen came to love Arthur more than she loved Lot. This is story is a parallel to Arthur's own birth, as Uther went to Ygraine disguised as her husband, Gorlois.

In a later text from the Post-Vulgate Cycle, the aforementioned Suite du Merlin, the incestuous union between Arthur and his half-sister takes a more preeminent role, with Arthur's death being explicitly linked with his incestuous affair. This version goes similar to the previous one, with the Queen of Orkney visiting the court of Camelot and laying with Arthur, who is already King, their kinship unknown to both. The next day, Merlin informs Arthur that the Queen was his half-sister and that the child of the union would bring disaster to England. Around the time that the child is to be born, Arthur orders that all new-borns be brought to him, however, the boat carrying Mordred is hits by a storm and wrecks. Mordred is presumed dead, but in actuality, he is rescued by a fisherman. Arthur sends all the children he collected away, saying they are a threat to the kingdom.

While Arthur didn't know it to be incest, he is knowingly guilty of adultery, which is another sin (and rape in the Vulgate version, since he tricked the Queen), therefore, it's his own lust that brings about his death, his desire for the married Queen results in the birth of the one who would be his downfall. There are some versions of the Suite, such as the Cambridge manuscript, in which the Queen has heard rumours that Arthur may be Ygraine's son and went to his court to find out the truth.

Arthur's kidnapping of the children calls to mind the actions of Herod, who similarly ordered to all children to his kingdom be brought to him for he feared the birth of Jesus, the true king. Another parallel can de drawn to the story of Oedipus, since there's a prophecy regarding the son killing the father, and to the story of Judas, who is prophesized to bring tragedy to the human race. The story of Mordred borrows some of the key elements of medieval incest stories, such as the exposure of the child from the incestuous unions.

The key difference is that while most stories focuses on the child and the life they grow up to lead (and their own incestuous sin later on), here the focus is on Arthur and his reaction to the birth of Mordred. There's no journey to discover his origens nor recognition scene for Mordred: Arthur is the hero of the narrative, not Mordred. While the other children of incestuous unions go on to repent, Mordred, much like Judas, can never find absolution and dies in sinful disgrace. Arthur, likewise, never does his penance for incest and adultery. And the consequences for him are secular ones, nor religious: there's no worry over one's soul or eternal damnation, the consequence of Arthur's actions is the destruction of the kingdom.

The scholar Helen Adolf has theorized that the incest was included "because incest is the worst kind of lust, and therefore symbolizes original sin", which made Arthur more relatable to the readers, showing he was as capable of sin as anyone else. Other possibility is that due to Arthur's secret parentage, it was only natural that he would eventually commit incest. The adultery committed by Uther is paralleled by Arthur's adultery with the Queen: Uther's deceit and lust results in the heroic Arthur, who leads Britain to greatness; while Arthur's lust (and sometimes deceit) results in the treacherous Mordred, who is the fall of Britain.

Volsunga Saga

In the Volsunga Saga, the incest is very deliberate and calculated. Signy, wanting vengeance on her husband, Siggeir, for the slaying of her father, tricks her brother, Sigmund, into sleeping with her and bearing Siegfried, who grows up to kill Siggeir, since only someone who is "King Volsung’s grandson on his father’s as well as his mother’s side" would be strong enough to kill Siggeir.

Signy is not moved by an incestuous lust, but rather by a desire to avenge her family. She kills herself right after revealing the truth about Siegfried's parentage, but she doesn't name incest as one of the reasons to kills herself, mainly doing it out of shame for betraying her husband and having killed her children by Siggeir.

[melrosing]

do u ever forget that apart from literally everything else asoiaf is a zombie apocalypse story

[wodania]

jaime and cersei sharing wardrobes

bonus under the cut

[mordredpendragon]

i'm seriously baffled that i've seen posts going around that Knight of The Lion has homoeroticism with gawain/yvain, or that they have a homoerotic undertones in general. what the fuck are you people talking about. like yes, they're very close and gawain accompanies yvain when he goes into exile, or when they gave up the fight at the end of KOTL because they said they wouldn't hurt each other anymore. that doesn't fucking mean shit, you could say the same thing for literally ANYTHING. gawain is literally buried with gaheriet in vulgate does that also equate to "homoeroticism" ???? they're FAMILY for goodness sake.

it's wrong and blatant misinformation to say otherwise. i'd love for people to try to prove me wrong on this because i seriously don't see it.

[an-ruraiocht]

medieval author, slapping the roof of the fourth branch: this bad boy can fit so much incest in it

(from katherine millersdaughter "the geopolitics of incest: sex, gender and violence in the fourth branch of the mabinogi", exemplaria 14.2)

[findroleplay]

Hi! 24 (she/her) looking for roleplay partners that will be somewhat active at least. 18+ only please! ✨💌

What I'm looking to write:

- incest dynamics: mom/son, dad/son or daughter uncle/nephew, aunt/nephew or niece.

- omegaverse or pregnancy, slice of life kinda thing

- medieval AUs with fantasy elements

- mafia AU

- Serial killer/mental patient x nurse or intern

I prefer MxM ships but I don't mind any honestly. We can discuss face claims and plots together if you're interested! I'm pretty easy going and chatty so prefer someone similar to that. Plus I'm dead dove friendly : )

-

[rp-partnerfinder]

✍🏻Hi! 25F, I'm tired of people taking 2 business weeks to reply to even a message, so I'm looking for 21+ RP MxM partners that like to OOC talk often and write whenever they can. Be okay with dead dove themes please! 🕊️

I have 3 OCs that I've made that I'd like to use:

Mafia boss with a complicated past. Is doing his best but is super lonely deep down (Dom)

Shut in classy artsy type, can set it in modern or medieval settings. Unhinged and may have done some things in the past (Dom/switch/sub)

Average middle class college guy that sometimes deals drugs on the side, sometimes relapses and falls for the bad boys and influence (switch/sub)

Things I'm really into: incest, omegaverse, life of crime, age gaps, power imbalance, corruption, arranged marriage, medieval settings, grooming, morally gray characters, world building, angst, drama

I do 3+ paragraphs on discord and I'm pretty chatty. CEST timezone. Prefer realistic FCs but drawn are fine too.

I have a few plots in mind but being me your OCs and we can cook together 👏🏻

.

[teh-nos]

maybe i should feel bad about this but one of the few things i know about george r r martin is that he insisted the dragons have only four limbs because it's not realistic for dragons to have four legs AND two wings (as demonstrated by the dragon species we all know and fear from real life) so when the dragons on the dragon house show move stupidly i know it's not the CGI being bad it's probably just that nobody wants them to walk like pigeons in case that looked silly but they also couldn't just give them extra legs because that would not be convincing and that's hilarious to me :D

[ilynpilled]

saw an anon that was politely asking a meta blog to make them an extensive list of what makes jaime a dating red flag and ill be real that kind of killed me like do u need someone else to do this for u fr

[litcest]

Incest and the Medieval Imagination, by Elizabeth Archibald: Chapter 1: Medieval Incest Law - Theory and Practice

Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 Part 1 | Chapter 3 Part 2 | Chapter 3 Part 3 | Chapter 4 Part 1 | Chapter 4 Part 2 | Chapter 4 Part 3 | Chapter 5 Part 1 | Chapter 5 Part 2 | Conclusion

This is a departure from the typical books I talk about. Usually, I cover fiction books involving incestuous narratives. This time, I'll be talking about a book that analysed incest stories from the medieval period.

Incest and the Medieval Imagination was published in 2001 by the Oxford University Press and is well regarded in the academic community, with both The Medieval Review (from the Indiana University) and Studies in the Age of Chaucer (from the The New Chaucer Society) praising the research and scholarship demonstrated by Archibald.

Elizabeth Archibald herself is also worth of praise, having a PhD in Medieval Studies and having lectured in Cambridge, King's College, University of Bristol and University of Durham, among others. Other than Incest and the Medieval Imagination, Archibald has written several books regarding the Arthurian Cycle, Middle English romances and medieval culture.

The first chapter is shorter, as it explores incest Church laws in Europe, how they changed over time and how the closely they were followed by the peasantry and nobility.

Medieval Incest Law—Theory and Practice

Staring around the 6th Century, Church Law forbade marriage and intercourse not only between biological family members (up to the seventh degree), but also between legal (such as in-laws) and spiritual (such as godparents) ones. However, those rules were often broken, mostly because it was difficult to keep track of all of those relationships. These laws were changed by Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, which decided that the forbidden relationships were only to the fourth degree.

However, just because those were the laws, it doesn't mean they were followed. Clerics themselves often offered dispensations so that aristocratic family could marry their cousins.

"Failure to recognize an attractive sister is a frequent problem in folklore and literature, but was it really so common in real life?"

While in literature we often see the trope of laying unknowingly with one's parents or siblings, in real life this was more frequente occurrence between longer distance relatives, such as cousins or "spiritual" relatives. Normally, if the consanguinity was discovered after the marriage, the couple would be allowed to remain married as:

"It is more tolerable to leave some people married in contravention of the laws of man than to separate those who are legitimately married, in contravention of the laws of God."

A common belief was that incestuous unions would result in deformed children. Not because of biology or anything like that, but because of divine punishment. Curiously, we don't see a reflection of this belief in literature.

"In exemplary literature, many children of incestuous liaisons are killed at birth because they are a social embarrassment and a sign of sin; in real life, they may also have been killed because they were deformed. In fictional texts, however, those who survive infancy often turn out to be heroes or saints rather than monsters, as we shall see in the chapters that follow."

[collegeboysam]

been purposedly avoiding watching the new hotd episode because i don't think i can stomach daemyra divorce when i need them together commiting awful crimes all over westeros for sweet revenge

[devilsburger]

my take on sexualities in this Burger King AU

Henry - bisexual but believes he is Straight bc he got hetmarried. Does not consider himself homophobic bc “everyone can appreciate a hot dude” but also bc of his one big previous homoerotic situationship breakup heartbreak staunchly has the amazing opinion that Men are Incapable of True Romantic Attachment, because they’ll leave you for Jesus

Eleanor - technically Straight tho has gotten a kick out of playing around with girls to mess with guys’ attentions and stuff and in the married life, does fun mind games with the side chicks. But prefers more the undivided attention.

Junior - is Straight for real, really tries to be an Ally(tm) to varying degrees of success. Maybe would be a bit curious about experimenting just for curiousity’s sake but bc he is spoken for and in a very standard relationship is afraid to talk broach the subject.

Richard - Gay with some demi tendencies but unself-aware of this so he just judges everyone for being “shallow” and bc of this is getting into some weird nofap ideologies (immediately ditches as soon as he gets laid)

Geoffrey - bisexual and pretty cool about it however is stuck in the “damn no one want u fr” meme stage for an embarrassing amount of time due to being in Jr’s shadow (Richard and his band buddies tease him about this bc they are meanies)

John - Also straight. tho he’s a young and kind of left to his devices so his exposure to sexuality is just the spam and virus ads. He’ll grow up to have more charm tho

Philip - also bisexual but will swear up and down in his later adult life that the whole Richard relationship was some foolishness of youth hetero Exception sort of thing

[magnoliamyrrh]

apart from house of the dragon unfortunately becoming more dissapointing as episodes went on imma still watch it but BOY am i not excited for the discourse again. the whole fun of the show is that most characters are horrible immoral ppl who u still like watching pls keep ur moralizing out of this this whole show has always been fucked

[nebula-sims]

A New Princess

Magnus reached down and placed his hand on Gunhild's stomach. She was due any day now. Gunhild grabbed his arm, suddenly swaying. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm just tired."

Magnus helped her sit in the nearby chair. Her mother had been his sister, and she had died giving birth to Gunhild. That memory caused his stomach to twist in anxiety.

Soon, the day came for the birth of their second child. They called for the midwife.

After a long afternoon, Gunhild collapsed back onto the pillows in exhaustion, a wailing daughter in her arms. "Her name is Ingrid."

As Magnus left Gunhild and their daughter to bond, the midwife took him aside. "We need to talk."

"Is something wrong with Gunhild? The baby?"

"Not this time. But we need to discuss whether she should have any more."

[yar-kalibrun]

This is the baseline.

People playing Elden Ring and looking for the "good" demigod to root for are missing the point. Pick your favorite mass murdering war criminal megalomaniac with mommy issues and endlessly simp for them like the rest of us, cowards.

[litcest]

Incest and the Medieval Imagination, by Elizabeth Archibald: Conclusion

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 Part 1 | Chapter 3 Part 2 | Chapter 3 Part 3 | Chapter 4 Part 1 | Chapter 4 Part 2 | Chapter 4 Part 3 | Chapter 5 Part 1 | Chapter 5 Part 2

Medieval narratives surrounding incest are filled with contradictions. In some stories, incestuous relationships surprisingly resulted in the advancement of a character's social standing, as seen in the tale of Gregorius; however, such as in the Arthurian legend, those relationships could lead to the downfall of the hero's kingdom. While medieval literature often depicted incest as the ultimate manifestation of human sinfulness, it simultaneously celebrated the Virgin Mary, who was paradoxically both mother to God, and, in theological terms, the bride and daughter of her divine son.

The prevalence of incestuous themes in medieval literature suggests that such occurrences weren't uncommon. If incest had been rare, highlighting the remorse of incestuous sinners would have been of no use for the Church, since cautionary tales need to remain somewhat believable to be effective. Medieval theologians considered incest with an unknown relative a less severe sin than deliberate incest but, as exemplified by the stories, it still demanded repentance and atonement. It's plausible that the Church employed stories of incest to showcase humanity's inherent sinful nature while simultaneously highlighting God's boundless compassion.

Incest in the Renaissance

A comparison of medieval incest narratives with their Renaissance counterparts reveals significant shifts in perspective. Two key factors driving these changes were the Protestant Reformation and the renewed interest in classical literature during the Renaissance. Classical literature often portrayed a fatalistic worldview where protagonists were doomed, regardless of their repentance. Similarly, the Calvinist branch of Protestantism emphasized predestination, suggesting that salvation was predetermined and independent of individual actions. Therefore, confession, penance, and good works, which were central to medieval religious life, became futile efforts. While medieval writers highlighted human fallibility and the possibility of salvation, in the Renaissance, depictions of incest primarily focused on the societal implications rather than the individual's spiritual state.

Incest emerges as a recurring theme in English drama of the 16th and 17th Centuries. Comedies frequently employed a "recognition scene", inspired by the classical sources, to narrowly avert incestuous unions, revealing long-lost identities and dispelling the threat of forbidden love, as seen in Lyly's Mother Bombie and Beaumont and Fletcher's A King and No King. However, in more tragic works like Ford's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore and Middleton's Women Beware Women, incestuous relationships become catalysts for widespread destruction. Consummation of incest in these plays leads to inevitable tragedy, with both villains and innocent victims dying.

Moreover, unlike their medieval counterparts, Renaissance dramatists delved deeper into the psychological motivations behind incestuous desires, exploring a range of complex and disturbing motives, with incest and violence often being linked.

Inbreeding Genetics

A notable absence in medieval incest narratives is the emphasis on the genetic dangers of inbreeding, a prominent concern in contemporary discussions. While there's some evidence of associating deformity with incest, it was primarily viewed as divine retribution rather than a predictable biological outcome. Although characters like Mordred, born of incest, may exhibit moral flaws, these are rarely attributed directly to the genetic consequences of inbreeding.

On the contrary, classical and medieval literature often include what could be termed "positive inbreeding", with exceptional children being born out of incestuous unions. Adonis, renowned for his exquisite beauty, was the product of father-daughter incest. Later in the Medieval age, children born of incestuous unions were often depicted as saints, such as Gregorius, Albanus, and St. Cuimmin, or as a heroes, including Cuchulain, Hrólf, and Siegfried.

These examples suggest that inbreeding, while often condemned, was not always perceived as inherently negative in these earlier narratives.

The Immaculate Exception to the Rule

While Tertullian, a 1st Century theologian considered the father of Latin Christianity, emphasized the divine purity of Christ's birth, contrasting it with the tainted origins of Greco-Roman deities born of incestuous or adulterous unions, incest became a recurring theme in the context of Christ's birth throughout the Middle Ages, not as source of shame but rather a cause for celebration.

The concept of the Virgin Mary as both the mother and daughter of Jesus Christ, the mater et filia paradox, is foundational for Marian theology. This concept predates St. Augustine, though he popularized it. It wasn't merely a metaphorical ideal: the Eleventh Council of Toledo in 675 officially declared Christ as both the father and son of the Virgin. From the 12th Century onwards, the Song of Songs was increasingly interpreted as an allegory of Mary, which would also make her the Bride of Christ. The mater et filia paradox remained prevalent throughout Europe, being widely employed in Marian lyrics.

The great diffusion and acceptance of this paradox is highlighted by its perversion in the Antichrist legend. In a macabre inversion of the Christian narrative, and drawing upon the concept of incest as the embodiment of original sin, Berengier's De l'avenement Antecrist (13th Century) depicts Antichrist as being born from the union between the Devil and his own daughter, Sin. This theme appears in other works as well, such as John Gower's Mirour de l'Omme (14th Century) and Milton's Paradise Lost (17th Century). In both works, the Devil and his daughter Sin birth Death, who then engages in intercourse with his mother.

It's important to clarify that it's never actually said that Mary committed incest, with her complicated relationship with God the Father and God the Son being considered unique and distinct from the 'sinful' act of incest. However, the intriguing aspect lies in the presence of allusions to Mary's "holy incest" even in more secular contexts. This observation suggests that the mater et filia paradox transcended religious discourse and permeated the broader cultural context, becoming a familiar and widely understood concept within medieval society.