I was reading the stories of King Arthur by T.H White. In it he presents the knights of Arthur (especially Lancelot and later his son) as regarding staying pure and a virgin as massively important and, in the case of Lancelot, being very traumatised when he loses it. How accurate would this be. From what I understand female virginity is usually more valued. Was the middle ages an exception? How important was being a virgin before marriage in the middle ages to a man? How was male virginity viewed in general? Is this a theme that is ever addressed in the original legends of King Arthur or other medieval stories.
Hi there, I can't comment on sex before marriage, or on any specific literary context, but I can spin you a bit of theology:
From a theological point of view virginity was idealised for both sexes. Sex was viewed as necessary for procreation, but it was also seen as deeply sinful. This stems from the Genesis narrative where Adam and Eve’s eating from the tree of knowledge is a clear reference to sexual activity. Their punishment, of course, was that they were expelled from Eden and condemned to a mortal existence. As Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) puts it:
'Human flesh was indeed constituted in one way before there was sin – that is, it was made so that it could not suffer death; and in another way after sin…'
The logic extending from this is that virginity has a close relationship with immortality. In the words of Gregory of Nyssa (d. 394):
'…death cannot pass beyond virginity, but finds his power checked and shattered there, it is demonstrated that virginity is a stronger thing than death…'
Virginity was viewed as the ‘portion of angels’ and hence virgins were considered among the three primary forms of saints; the others being martyrs and confessors.
Monastic orders sought to emulate the saints by example. Although the rule of St Benedict (d. 547) does not contain any specific sexual prohibitions, chastity and/or virginity are, nevertheless, heavily implied as an ideal living condition for monks. Indeed, Gregory the Great’s (d. 604), Life of St Benedict (Chapter 2), provides an anecdote whereby Benedict overcomes a sexual urge -brought on by a demon in the form of a black bird - by throwing himself into a thicket of thorns and nettles.
You’re right though, while it was not unusual for male saints to be represented as virginal, it was often considered a lesser part of their character. The virgin, as exemplified through Mary mother of God, was primarily seen as a female figure. Any quick Google search of the words ‘medieval virgin’ will reveal that this association continues within modern scholarship. However, there was one particularly famous male ‘virgin’ from the middle ages: Edward the Confessor (d.1066). According to William of Malmesbury (d. 1143), who had reservations about the story, Edward, despite being married for over two decades: ‘…never marred his purity by intercourse with any woman.’