Albrecht Classen is university distinguished professor of German studies at the University of Arizona.

In Prostitution in Medieval and Early Modern Literature: The Dark Side of Sex and Love in the Premodern Era, Albrecht Classen builds on the considerable work of cultural historians on the subject of prostitution by focusing on literary discussions of the topic. The appearance and treatment of the phenomenon in literary texts attest to the fact that prostitution was a salient topic for artists and the discourse surrounding it was not limited to the Church or other authoritative institutions. In examining a wide-range of works from Germany, France, and Spain, Classen finds that not all authors portray prostitution in a negative light. This study shows that although criticism of prostitution is present, the subject was also treated satirically or as a way to challenge dominant concepts of morality and ethics.

• Chapter 1. Prostitution: A Historical Phenomenon from Late Antiquity to the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Ages, Mirrored in Literary DocumentsChapter 2. Modern Voices and Witnesses of Prostitution in LiteratureChapter 3. The Canoness Hrotsvit and the Prostitute: An Early Medieval Playwright and Her Responses to the “Sordid” World of ProstitutionChapter 4. Christine de Pizan’s Advice to Prostitutes: A Late Medieval Perspective by a Woman Writer Regarding ProstitutionChapter 5. Prostitution in the Work of Late Medieval Poetry: Oswald von Wolkenstein (1376/77–1445)Chapter 6. Prostitution in the Works by François Villon: Autobiographical-Erotic Discourse from the Underside of Courtly CultureChapter 7. The Prostitute as Protagonist: The Intriguing Case of Fernando de Rojas’s Celestina (1499)Chapter 8. The Sojourn in a Brothel: An Unusual Perspective in a Late Medieval German Verse NarrativeChapter 9. The Prostitute and Prostitution in Late Medieval and Early Modern German Song PoetryChapter 10. Prostitutes in fabliaux, mæren, and novelli: The Rise of Realism in Late Medieval and Early Modern Literature Seen through the Lens of Commodified SexualityChapter 11. Prostitutes in Sixteenth-Century Schwänke (Prose Jest Narratives)Epilogue