So I ask this question because of playing the game Kingdom Come: Deliverance. [Minor Spoilers Ahead] In this game they imply/show premarital sex being a relatively common thing (though everybody acts and pretends like it never ever happens... like it is an open secret). Is this in any way accurate? They present "bathhouses" as being common where it is an open secret that as a man you can pay to have sex there... and then in relationships you soon start having premarital sex while courting but you pretend nothing ever happened. Is there any information on this?
Hi, a Czech, an anthropology student, and newly an avid player of KCD here so I hope I can answer your question.
First we have to look at the institution of marriage itself in the era and especially marriage of the common people. Marriage then was quite different from our contemporary idea of "a traditional marriage". For example, it wasn't until the 13th century (the 4th Council of the Lateran) when the Church agreed on their stance on marriage. Specifically in Bohemia, it wasn't until the 14th and 15th century when the Church actually started becoming involved in the wedding rituals of the common people. Even then, weddings in the presence of a priest weren't a thing for commonfolk (they were for nobility). The key moment for a marriage were marriage vows uttered ideally in front of a rychtář (bailiff) or other secular authority or at least in front of the bride's father however it was possible for the bride and groom to utter the vows just between the two of them. A rule of thumb is the lower in the social hierarchy the less people cared. Sometimes it was sufficient to just move in together to be considered married. The role of Church in that then was to bless the marriage afterward.
However, there were different restrictions for being able to marry. Speaking of Kingdom Come, if Skalitz hadn't been sacked and Henry's adventure hadn't started, he likely wouldn't have been allowed to marry Bianca until he would have become a master blacksmith. If he had live in Rattay, his intent to marry would have had to be approved by the local blacksmith guild. Also it's important to mention people didn't marry particularly soon either, usually in their late 20s or even early 30s. Therefore, premarital sex was more or less inevitable as were different forms of concubinages.
It's true the Church frowned upon premarital sex and from what we know from retained sermonies, it was a common topic of them, but they knew they couldn't do much to prevent it so they at least insisted there should be a promise of marriage between the two before the act or simply turned a blind eye.
Regarding bathhouses, Kingdom Come was maybe a bit too straight forward about them being informal brothels but it's true bathmaidens were often associated with prostitutes. Actually, we still occassionally use the term "lazebnice" (bathmaiden) in Czech as an euphemism for a prostitute. They were often only a step above actual prostitutes in the social hierarchy so many bathmaidens probably decided to use prostitution as an additional income when they were treated like ones nevertheless. However, I'd say it was more common for them to have a sort of "sugar daddy" relationship with some of their regular customers rather than outright offering their services to every Henry entering the establishment. For example, Sir Hans Capon most likely had his favourite in the Rattay bathhouse. Also, while prostitution was legal and regulated in towns, it was not always tolerated in villages so there prostitutes had to offer their services under cover, usually either like bathmaidens or tavern maids.
By the way on a related note, it seems the king Wenceslas IV, mentioned in the game, had a sort of fetish for bathmaidens which likely boosted this "reputation" of theirs in the times the game takes its place. He was known to be a regular guest in the bathhouse near the Charles Bridge. In the 16th century Chronicle of Hájek of Libočany, there's a story about him being briefly imprisoned in the Prague Town Hall for being incompetent in 1394. He demanded his regular visit to the bathhouse and managed to escape naked with the help of bathmaiden Zuzana as depicted on this painting, fled to his castle in Kunratice (now in Prague, then far from Prague), invited her for a dinner and later slept with her saying something like: "Since you accompanied me the whole day, it would be appropriate if you accompanied me to my bed as well." Whether it's a true story or just a fantasy of his is up to debate but it's true he had his personal copy of Bible illustrated with pictures of half-naked bathmaidens in suggestive poses as seen here, here, and here.
edit: If anyone's interested in a further reading on the pre-modern marriage and family in the Czech lands, I recommend this book, unfortunately only in Czech:
