Hinduism valued virginity of the male. Specifically, the virginity was held to be a source of power, which could be expended, or kept without expending it. An example of such a story from the hindu mythology is that of Rishyasringa who was tricked to use his virginity to cause rain in a kingdom. Another is the example of the historical figure Sankara who had to answer questions about sexuality without actually losing his virginity. Further examples include the practice of Brahmacharya specifically lifelong practice, which required virginity and celibacy.
In many German tribes in the Iron Age, such as the Suebii, male virginity was very highly valued. In book VI of his Comentarii De Bello Gallico, Julius Caesar documents this, writing that the Germans felt that male virginity "makes young men taller, stronger, and more muscular." Amoung the Germans, "to have had intercourse before the age of twenty" was frowned upon highly." Those who did manage to stay chaste were "most highly commended."
While by no means as emphasized or glorified as feminine virginity, masculine virginity and chastity played an important role in medieval monastic practice. From the outset masculine virginity presents difficulties as it existed at the intersection of various perceptions of masculinity, virginity, and chastity that are constantly in flux and change across time and between authors. Masculine virginity was a complex and delicate issue, and historians have debated how medieval societies gendered males that maintained virginal status or took a vow of chastity. I want to stress that while masculine virginity was valued, it was not treated in the same way as feminine virginity (which was shaped by its own cultural and social context) and although the feminine strain gradually came to the forefront in virginal discourses over the course of the medieval period, the sexual integrity of men was still a crucial subject that required the attention of liturgical communities.
That being said, the value that masculine virginity and chastity played in monastic communities and liturgical practice during the heyday of medieval monasticism is fascinating. The monastic and ecclesiastical reforms of the eighth and ninth centuries provide an interesting insight into the emphasis on monastic purity and orthopraxy. For God to be honored, the liturgy had to be performed perfectly by a purified community. As such, the Carolingian reforms were geared towards revamping and cleaning up monastic communities and setting a uniform rule and custom. Eventually, the Rule of St. Benedict gained prominence, as did the influence of Irish monasticism, exported back to the continent and popularized in various penitential texts. These texts stressed the purity of the community and the individuals who comprised it, and sexual purity by no means played a small part. The claustrum or cloister, around which the monastic life was centered, was taking shape not only as an architectural space, but as an ideological one as well, guarding the purity and sanctity of an introspective and secluded community of ascetics from the outside world.
So what does this all have to do with masculine virginity?
In the ninth century, as the Carolingian reforms were in full swing, the primary means of entry into a monastic community was through oblation, or child offering. While it was still possible to take up the habit as an adult in a personal renunciation of the world, the majority of monks grew up within the confines of the cloister. The Council of Aachen (817) outlines a ritual in which the parents present the child for oblation during the Offertory of Mass, with witnesses to testify to the parents’ vow. Now virginity and chastity are difficult terms that both carry their own connotations at different times for different authors (it doesn’t help that in spite of this they are often used interchangeably in medieval texts). That being said, I think it is possible to speak of virginity in a general sense for novice monks. Oblates were carefully guarded by the community- Garrulous Hildemar describes a system in which three to four masters watch over the children at al times: at their studies, during meals, and in the bathroom and dormitory (all potential sources of temptation). The Irish penitential of Cummean, one of the many that was in circulation on the continent and much esteemed by Carolingian ecclesiastics, lists multiple infractions viewed as sexually polluting, committed by children, and the appropriate penance. The sexual purity of oblates was jealousy guarded, and appropriate discipline was seen as necessary in the formation of perfect monks capable of performing effective liturgies for the Carolingian society.
Now in this case, the value of the sexually pure monk is related to his ability to properly participate in ritual, it is my no means the only take on masculine virginity in medieval thought. The preoccupancy with novice virginity and general chastity extended into the high medieval period and the Gregorian reforms, with authors writing at length on the subject. Guibert in the eleventh an twelfth centuries stressed the value and benefits of virginal ideal for the individual, specifically targeting adolescent monks and exhorting them to combat and renounce sexual desire in the pursuit of a holy lifestyle. In the Opusculum, Guibert places a strong emphasis on virginal integrity, raising it above chastity (though he still recognizes it as praiseworthy). Like the Carolingians before him, Guibert also recognizes the need for wardens and teachers to watch over and protect the young novices and this need for constant vigilance of monastic youths is mirrored in the regulations set by the monks of Cluny, which even warned against casual touching and conversation for fear that it might awaken impure desires. Others, such as Bernard of Clairvaux, differed in emphasis, stressing instead the importance of chaste humility, but the Cistercians are a little outside my realm of knowledge so I will have to leave it there.
Suffice to say, the virginity of novices -and the sexual purity of the monastic community in general- was highly valued during the high tide of medieval monasticism, and while there were at times multiple takes on how the virginal ideal was presented, the instruction and guardianship of novices in sexual purity was crucial in their development as participants in a liturgical community where orthopraxy was seen as vital for the performance of effective ritual and the health of the both the individual and the spiritual community.
Sources/Further reading:
Mayke De Jong. “Carolingian Monasticism: the Power of Prayer.” in The New Cambridge Medieval History, ed. Rosamond McKitterick, Vol. II .Cambridge University Press: 1995. pgs. 622-653.
Karen Cheatham They Hasten toward Perfection: Virginal and Chaste Monks in the High Middle Ages. 2010