ABSTRACT
An examination of medieval Icelandic sources reveals a smorgasbord of sexual practices known to the people. From seduction to genital size, from multiple sexual partners to adultery, the frankness of medieval Icelanders regarding these topics is rather surprising to a modern reader. This chapter examines what the sources say about specific sexual practices, and focuses on what the frankness may illustrate about the medieval Icelandic society. The legendary sagas, with their penchant for supernatural beings, provide with further references to female body parts and sexual appetites. Inclusion of sexual references in the sagas strongly indicates that Iceland did not share in the ethos which attempted to discourage or ignore sexual acts. The sexuality implicit in horses is affirmed in a number of Old Norse passages. Various categories of Old Norse sources treat sexual themes.
