Sexual cruelty in the marital bed: unconscious sadism in non-forensic couples *

Back in the late tenth century, more than one thousand years ago, an aristocrat called Foulques Nerra—sometimes known as “Fulk the Black”—reigned over the comté of Anjou in the heart of France. A devout Christian who had founded numerous abbeys and monasteries, and a patron of architecture who had built many castles, Foulques Nerra had also established a school for the education of the poor. But like many medieval potentates, Foulques dedicated himself not only to charitable works but, also, to violence; and over many years, he distinguished himself in bloody combat, defeating the forces of Conan, the duc de Bretagne, in the Battle of Conquereuil in 992, killing his enemy’s son, Alain.