Intimate life of the Middle Ages. Secret museum of erotic art in Naples Fashion: Is it a codpiece or are you just very happy to see me

According to the church decree, the wife had to behave modestly and quietly during sexual intercourse, that is, lie quietly, move as little as possible, not make sounds, etc., of course, her nightgowns were not taken off. And then one day my husband
Returning home from hunting late at night, he went to his wife’s bedroom and fulfilled his marital duty.
It must be said that the wife behaved as usual, that is, she was cold and silent, and in the morning it turned out that she had died in the evening, while her husband was hunting. This story reached the pope himself, since the unfortunate man was not satisfied with the usual confession and went to atone for his sin in the Holy City. After which a decree was issued in which women, during the performance of marital duties, were supposed to show signs of life from time to time. Briefly speaking, the church lifted the ban on absolute female passivity, without denying great restraint.

In fact, sexual prohibitions and regulations permeate not only the Middle Ages, but the entire history of mankind. Priests and legislators, thinkers and revolutionary figures have exhausted many tons of clay, papyrus, parchment and paper, trying to explain to people how, with whom, when, why and under what conditions one can or cannot have sex.

And in the Middle Ages, this trend was simply global.
This is a time that we call “dark,” and we gleaned many basic ideas about sex and morality from them, obscurantist and terrible, carrying these ideas as the banner of the triumph of morality.

In those times sex life people were under the vigilant control of the priests. The vast majority of types of sex were called the capacious word “fornication.” Adultery and fornication were sometimes punishable by death and excommunication.
But, at the same time, these same controllers - the priests - were very curious about the intimate life of a person, they really wanted to know what was happening in the beds of the laity. Spurred by curiosity, theologians left a lot of descriptions and evidence, thanks to which we have at least some idea of ​​what sex was like in the Middle Ages.

Here are 10 facts about sex in the Middle Ages.

1. Courtly love: You can look, but don't you dare touch

The Church forbade openly demonstrating sexual interest, but allowed that love could have something in common with sex.
Courtly love is usually understood as the relationship between a knight and a beautiful lady, and it is very desirable for the knight to be brave, and for the object of his worship to be inaccessible.
It was allowed to be married to someone else and be faithful, the main thing was to under no circumstances show reciprocal feelings for your knight. You could be pale and weak, sadly bow your head and sigh, only hinting to the knight of reciprocity.

2. Adultery: Keep your pants buttoned up, sir.

For those who took the dictates of Christian morality seriously, sex did not exist at all. Sexual intercourse was only permissible within marriage. Premarital or extramarital affairs were punished very cruelly, up to and including the death penalty, and the Church also often acted as judge and executioner.

But it was not only about Christian laws. Marital fidelity was the only reliable way for men of noble origin to be sure that their children were really theirs. There is a known case when the French king Philip, having caught his own daughters in relations with some of his vassals, sent two of them to a monastery and killed the third. As for the guilty courtiers, they were executed in a brutal public execution.

The Church also dictated exactly how people should have sex. All positions other than “missionary” were considered a sin and were prohibited. Oral and anal sex and masturbation were also strictly prohibited - these types of contacts did not lead to the birth of children, which, according to purists, was the only reason for making love.
Violators were punished severely: three years of repentance and service to the church for sex in any of the “deviant” positions.Just tell me, how did they find out? Im onDid you voluntarily tell confessions? Something like this: Share with me, my son, how did you get a wife at night?

However, some theologians of that time proposed assessing sexual contacts more gently, for example, placing acceptable positions in the following order (as sinfulness increases): 1) missionary, 2) on the side, 3) sitting, 4) standing, 5) from behind. Only the first position was recognized as godly; the rest were proposed to be considered “morally questionable,” but not sinful. Apparently, the reason for such softness was that members of the nobility, often obese, were unable to have sex in the most sinless position, and the Church could not help but meet the sufferers halfway.

The Church's position on homosexuality was firm: under no pretext! Sodomy was characterized as an “unnatural” and “ungodly” activity and was punishable in only one way: the death penalty. Lord, what did the monks do in their monasteries?

In the 12th and 13th centuries, it was customary for sodomites to be burned at the stake, hanged, starved to death and tortured, of course, in order to “drive out the demon” and “atone for sin.” However, there is evidence that some members of high society still practiced homosexuality. For example, it was said about the English king Richard I, nicknamed “Lionheart” for his exceptional courage and military skill, that at the time of meeting his future wife he was in a sexual relationship with his brother. The king was also accused of “eating from the same plate” with the French King Philip II during his visits to France, and at night “sleeping in the same bed and having passionate love with him.”

5. Fashion: Is it a codpiece or are you just really happy to see me?

One of the most popular men's fashion accessories in the Middle Ages was the codpiece, a flap or pouch that was attached to the front of trousers to emphasize masculinity by highlighting the genitals. The codpiece was usually stuffed with sawdust or fabric and fastened with buttons or tied with braid. As a result, the man's crotch area looked very impressive.

Of course, the Church did not recognize this “devilish fashion” and tried in every possible way to prevent its spread. However, its power did not extend to the king of the country and his closest courtiers.

6. Dildos: Size to suit the sinfulness of desire

There is some evidence that artificial penises were actively used in the Middle Ages. In particular, entries in “books of repentance” - sets of punishments for various sins. These entries were something like this:

“Did you do what some women do with phallus-shaped objects, the size of which corresponds to the sinfulness of their desires? If so, you must repent on all holy holidays for five years!”

Dildos did not have any official name until the Renaissance, so they were designated by the names of objects that had an elongated shape. Specifically, the word "dildo" comes from the name of an oblong loaf of dill bread: "dilldough."

7. Virginity and Chastity: Just Repent

The Middle Ages highly valued virginity, drawing a parallel between the chastity of a common woman and the Virgin Mary. Ideally, a girl should have protected her innocence as her main wealth, but in practice this was rarely achieved: morality was low, and men were rude and persistent (especially in the lower class). Understanding how difficult it is for a woman to remain chaste in such a society, the Church made repentance and remission of sins possible not only for non-virgin girls, but even for those who gave birth to children.

Women who chose this path of “purification” had to repent of their sins, and then atone for them by joining the cult of the Mother of God, that is, devoting the rest of their days to life and service to the monastery.

8. Prostitution: Prosperity

Prostitution flourished in the Middle Ages. In large cities, prostitutes offered their services anonymously, without revealing their real names, and this was considered an honest and completely acceptable profession. We can say that at that time the Church tacitly approved of prostitution, or at least did not try to prevent it.

Oddly enough, commodity-money relations in sexual relations were regarded as a way to prevent adultery (!) and homosexuality, that is, as something that cannot be done without. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: “If we prohibit women from selling their bodies, lust will spill out into our cities and destroy society.”

The most privileged prostitutes worked in brothels, fewer offered their services on city streets, and in villages there was often one prostitute for the entire village, and her name was well known to the residents. However, there prostitutes were treated with contempt; they could be beaten, mutilated, or even thrown into prison, accused of vagrancy and debauchery.

9. Contraception: Do what you want

The Church has never approved of contraception because it prevents children from being born, but most of The efforts of the clergy were aimed at combating “unnatural” sex and homosexuality, so in the matter of contraception, people were left to their own devices. Contraception was seen as a minor moral transgression rather than a major sin.

10. Sexual dysfunction: Sick, take off your panties

If a man, for some unknown reason, could not have sex, the Church sent “private detectives” to him - experienced village women who examined his “household” and assessed his general health, trying to identify the cause of sexual impotence. If the penis was deformed or there were other pathologies noticeable to the naked eye, the Church gave permission for divorce due to the husband’s inability to procreate.

Chastity belts.

This is a highly controversial point. I read in one magazine that they were invented later and existed for a very specific purpose: they were used during long trips so that bandits could not rape a woman.

But don’t think that the invention of the belt was dictated only by safety rules. Here's what the court archives of past centuries say about this.
In the 1860s, a Moscow merchant, “in order to save his young wife from temptation,” ordered the device from an experienced mechanic. The young woman suffered greatly from the belt, although “made diligently.” Upon returning from trips, the merchant staged wild scenes of jealousy and “taught his wife in mortal combat.” Unable to withstand the cruelty, the wife fled to the nearest monastery, where she told everything to the abbess. She invited the assistant police chief, who was extremely indignant. An investigator, a doctor and a mechanic were called. The unfortunate woman was freed from the terrible device and placed in the monastery infirmary for treatment.

Another incident that happened around the same time ended tragically. A skilled mechanic put a similar belt on his wife when he went to the southern provinces to earn money. Neither he nor his wife suspected the pregnancy. After a certain time, relatives, concerned about the condition of the young woman, were forced to invite a midwife. The pregnant woman was already unconscious. Upon discovering the belt, the midwife immediately called the police. It took several hours to rid the woman of the terrible device. She was saved, but the child died. The returning husband ended up behind bars and returned home only a couple of years later... Full of repentance, he went to atone for his sin in monasteries and soon froze to death somewhere along the way.

based on materials from samopiska.ru

sexscience.ru/post/595

We are publishing a translation of a fascinating article by Canadian blogger, writer and teacher David Morton about various aspects of sexuality in the European Middle Ages...

Capacious word "fornication"

If it weren't for Christian Church Middle Ages, Sigmund Freud would probably have been left without a job: we have adopted many of the basic ideas about sex and morality from those dark times when the vast majority of types of sex were characterized by the short but capacious word “fornication.”

Adultery and fornication were sometimes punishable by death, excommunication and other anathemas. At the same time, the Church often condoned prostitution, understanding that it was evil, but in the living conditions of people in such a strict moral system, it was a necessary evil...

But it was not only about Christian laws. Marital fidelity was the only reliable way for men of noble origin to be sure that their children were truly theirs.

There is a known case when the French king Philip, having caught his own daughters in relations with some of his vassals, sent two of them to a monastery and killed the third. As for the guilty courtiers, they were executed in a brutal public execution.

In the villages the situation was not so acute: sexual promiscuity was present everywhere. The Church struggled with this, trying to force sinners to enter into legal marriages, and if people did so, it granted forgiveness.

Sexual positions: no variety

The Church also dictated exactly how people should have sex. All positions other than “missionary” were considered a sin and were prohibited.

Oral and anal sex and masturbation were also strictly prohibited - these types of contacts did not lead to the birth of children, which, according to purists, was the only reason for making love. Violators were punished severely: three years of repentance and service to the church for sex in any of the “deviant” positions.

However, some theologians of that time proposed assessing sexual contacts more gently, for example, placing acceptable positions in the following order (as sinfulness increases): 1) missionary, 2) on the side, 3) sitting, 4) standing, 5) from behind.

Only the first position was recognized as godly; the rest were proposed to be considered “morally questionable,” but not sinful. Apparently, the reason for such softness was that members of the nobility, often obese, were unable to have sex in the most sinless position, and the Church could not help but meet the sufferers halfway.

Homosexuality: Death penalty only

The Church's position on homosexuality was firm: under no pretext! Sodomy was characterized as an “unnatural” and “ungodly” activity and was punishable in only one way: the death penalty.

In defining homosexuality, Peter Damian in his work “Gomorrah” listed the following ways of having sex: solitary masturbation, mutual masturbation, intercourse between the thighs and anal sex (the latter, by the way, was considered so unacceptable that many authors tried not to even mention it in their books) .

Saint Thomas Aquinas expanded the list to include any form or type of sex except vaginal sex. He also considered lesbianism to be sodomy.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, it was customary for sodomites to be burned at the stake, hanged, starved to death and tortured, of course, in order to “drive out the demon” and “atone for sin.” However, there is evidence that some members of high society still practiced homosexuality.

For example, it was said about the English king Richard I, nicknamed “Lionheart” for his exceptional courage and military skill, that at the time of meeting his future wife he was in a sexual relationship with his brother.

The king was also accused of “eating from the same plate” with the French King Philip II during his visits to France, and at night “sleeping in the same bed and having passionate love with him.”

Accusations of homosexuality also appeared in one of the most notorious trials in Medieval Europe. It's about, of course, about the famous trial of the Templars. The powerful order was destroyed by the French king Philip IV the Fair in just a few years 1307-1314.

The Papal Throne also joined the process. Among other things, the templars were accused of sodomy, which allegedly took place during their secret rites. The rituals of the Templars were indeed secret, and we do not know what happened there and, most likely, we will never know.

It cannot be ruled out that among the Templars, despite their numerous vows, there were homosexuals. If only because laws, as you know, exist in order to break them. And the powers that be often ignore their own decrees, not to mention those of their close relatives.

Suffice it to say that Edward II, the son of the same Edward I who banned homosexuality in England, did not disdain sodomy, which was known not only to those close to him.

Fashion: Is that a codpiece or are you just really happy to see me?

One of the most popular men's fashion accessories in the Middle Ages was the codpiece, a flap or pouch that was attached to the front of trousers to emphasize masculinity by highlighting the genitals.

The codpiece was usually stuffed with sawdust or fabric and fastened with buttons or tied with braid. As a result, the man's crotch area looked very impressive.

The most fashionable shoes were boots with long and pointed toes, which were also supposed to hint at something equally long in the pants of their owner.

These items of clothing can often be seen in the paintings of Dutch artists of that time. There is a portrait of Henry VIII, one of the leading fashionistas of his era, shown wearing both a codpiece and boots.

Of course, the Church did not recognize this “devilish fashion” and tried in every possible way to prevent its spread. However, its power did not extend to the king of the country and his closest courtiers.

Dildos: a size to suit the sinfulness of desire

There is some evidence that artificial penises were actively used in the Middle Ages. In particular, entries in “books of repentance” - sets of punishments for various sins. These entries were something like this:

« Have you done what some women do with phallus-shaped objects, the size of which corresponds to the sinfulness of their desires? If so, you must repent on all holy holidays for five years!”

Dildos did not have any official name until the Renaissance, so they were designated by the names of objects that had an elongated shape. Specifically, the word "dildo" comes from the name of an oblong loaf of dill bread: "dilldough."

Virginity and Chastity: Just Repent

The Middle Ages highly valued virginity, drawing a parallel between the chastity of a common woman and the Virgin Mary. Ideally, a girl should have protected her innocence as her main wealth, but in practice this was rarely achieved: morality was low, and men were rude and persistent (especially in the lower class).

Understanding how difficult it is for a woman to remain chaste in such a society, the Church made repentance and remission of sins possible not only for non-virgin girls, but even for those who gave birth to children.

Titian (Tiziano Vecelio) - Penitent Mary Magdalene

Women who chose this path of “purification” had to repent of their sins, and then atone for them by joining the cult of the Mother of God, that is, devoting the rest of their days to life and service to the monastery.

By the way, many believe that in those days girls wore so-called “chastity belts,” but in fact, these creepy devices were invented (and tried to be used) only in the 19th century.

Prostitution: prosperity

Prostitution flourished in the Middle Ages. In large cities, prostitutes offered their services anonymously, without revealing their real names, and this was considered an honest and completely acceptable profession. We can say that at that time the Church tacitly approved of prostitution, or at least did not try to prevent it.

Oddly enough, commodity-money relations in sexual relations were regarded as a way to prevent adultery (!) and homosexuality, that is, as something that cannot be done without.

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: “If we prohibit women from selling their bodies, lust will spill out into our cities and destroy society.”

The most privileged prostitutes worked in brothels, fewer offered their services on city streets, and in villages there was often one prostitute for the entire village, and her name was well known to the residents. However, there prostitutes were treated with contempt; they could be beaten, mutilated, or even thrown into prison, accused of vagrancy and debauchery.

Contraception: do what you want

The Church never approved of contraception, as it prevents the birth of children, but most of the church's efforts were aimed at combating “unnatural” sex and homosexuality, so people were left to their own devices in the matter of contraception. Contraception was seen as a minor moral transgression rather than a serious sin.

In addition to the most common method of protection by interrupting sexual intercourse, people also used condoms from the intestines or urinary and gall bladders of animals. These condoms have been used many times.

Apparently, their function was not so much to protect against unwanted pregnancy, how much in the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, in particular, syphilis, which is widespread in Europe.

Women also prepared decoctions and infusions from herbs, which were then placed in the vagina and played the role of spermicides with varying degrees of effectiveness.

Sexual dysfunctions

If a man, for some unknown reason, could not have sex, the Church sent “private detectives” to him - experienced village women who examined his “household” and assessed his general health, trying to identify the cause of sexual impotence.

If the penis was deformed or there were other pathologies noticeable to the naked eye, the Church gave permission for divorce due to the husband’s inability to procreate.

Many medieval European doctors were fans of Islamic medicine. Muslim doctors and pharmacists were the first to pay attention to the problem of erectile dysfunction and developed medications, therapies and even a special diet for such patients.

It is well known in our time that the ancient Romans had very liberal views on sexuality. However, when in mid-18th century century, the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were discovered buried under a layer of volcanic ash from Vesuvius, the public was not quite ready to discover the piquant details of ancient Roman society, namely the craze for eroticism.

Pompeii had a thriving sex industry with dozens of brothels whose walls were covered in erotic frescoes. Artistic depictions of sex were often found on the walls of bedrooms in rich private homes.

The inhabitants of Pompeii wore phallic-shaped amulets around their necks to ward off evil spirits. And at home, almost each of them had a small collection of sexually themed art.

Oil lamps and other phallic-shaped household items were often used in the household.

And the most scandalous discovery was a statue of the Greek god Pan - half man, half goat - copulating with a goat.

The display of all this explicit sexual material caused a lot of embarrassment and awkwardness among the public of the 18th century, so the obscene antiquities were quickly hidden from the public eye, locked in a secret cabinet.

The secret office, or gabinetto segreto, was originally located in the Museum of Herculaneum in Portici. Access to it was carried out exclusively with special written permission from the king. But, as you know, bans only fuel interest, so images of frescoes and copies of banned exhibits were produced inside the office and distributed among the French elite.

After being transferred from Portici to the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, the collection was briefly available to the public without any restrictions. This continued until King Francis I paid a visit to the museum in 1819, accompanied by his wife and daughter. Having hastily escorted the family out, the indignant king immediately ordered the collection to be locked in a special room where only men could see it. mature age and established moral principles." Women and children were strictly forbidden to enter there.

Over the next 200 years, the secret museum remained largely closed, opening its doors only a few times for short periods. Even when it opened in the sexually revolution-ridden 60s, it retained the same entry restrictions. It was only in 2000 that the collection finally became publicly available for both men and women.

Contrary to some stereotypes, Soviet art has never been particularly puritanical, even compared to most Western countries. One girl was not too lazy to collect in her magazine characteristic examples of Soviet nudes in painting and graphics from 1918 to 1969. Approximately similar collections can be made for Soviet photography, cinema, sculpture, and monumental art.

Original taken from catrina_burana in Nude in Soviet fine art. Part III. 1950-1969

In the 1950s and 60s, socialist realism remained the main direction in Soviet art. And, just like in the 30s and 40s, the depiction of nudity had to comply with its canons. The set of situations where such a nature could appear was limited: the bank of a river or sea, a bathhouse, a shower, a bath, and, of course, an artist’s studio. But back in the 40s, a certain variety of subjects began to appear in the nude theme, even more noticeable in the painting and graphics of the 50s and especially the 1960s. For example, the theme “morning”. Apparently, it was believed that a Soviet girl or woman was quite comfortable, waking up in the morning, showing off topless, or even wearing whatever her mother gave birth to.

1950. N. Sergeeva. Good morning

1950. A Zavyalov. Models against the background of draperies

1950. In Arakcheev. Seated woman.

1950. Vl Lebedev. Nude model

1950s In Dmitrievsky. Nude

1953. Vsevolod Solodov. Model

And now - water procedures! Beach, bathhouse, swimmers, bathers.
1950. N Eremenko. On the sand

1950s B Sholokhov. Bath

1950s T Eremina. Swimmers
A strange picture, or rather its name. Well, on the right, definitely, a swimmer. There are doubts about who is in the middle: it still seems to me that it is a swimmer. Well, and on the left in a thong and with a bare bottom - well, definitely not a swimmer...

And here comes Alexander Deineka, with his ass-assed models, where would we be without them!
1951. A. Deineka. Sketch for the painting "Bather"

1952. A. Deineka. Bathers

1951. A. Deineka. Model

1952. A. Deineka. Model

1953. Deineka. Reclining model

1953. Deineka. Lying with a ball
The last two, especially the one without the ball, are not so impressive in relief. And the little guy is nothing, just a little short-legged.
1955. Deineka. Nude sitter
Several paintings by artist Andrei Goncharov.
1952. Andrey Goncharov. Nude on a lilac background

1952. Andrey Goncharov. Nude sitting

1954. A. Goncharov. Reclining nude with tulips

1955. A. Goncharov Nude lying on red

1956. A. Goncharov Nude on striped

1958. A. Goncharov. Nude model
And now, a variety of plots appears. Pimenov’s plot, although related to swimming, is not entirely standard, while Glazunov’s is full of eroticism.
1955. Yuri Pimenov. Winter day

1956. Ilya Glazunov. Morning
A few more studio models from 1957-58. The first and third are the envy of Deineka!
1957. A. Olkhovich. Nude

1957. Michael of God. Nude

1958. A. Samokhvalov. Nude

1958. R. Podobedov. Seated model
Here A. Sukhorukikh brings even more variety to nude stories. Both "Midday Sun" and "Morning" are filled with romance...
1958. A. Sukhorukikh. Midday sun

1960. A. Sukhorukikh. Morning
The bathing scene is also not entirely typical. In the center of the composition - a woman or a girl - is not visible behind the sheet - for some reason this very sheet blocks the girl, who is stretching out her hand, apparently, for clothes. Like, I’ll block you while you get dressed. But here’s the mystery: from whom?! From the shore you can see everything, the artist took a peek! And from the side of the lake - there is clearly no one, and the others are not very shy, the one on the right is sitting in a full negligee... A mysterious picture.
1958. Chernyshev. Swimming on the lake
It's morning again. Well, yes, it’s impossible to call such a picture a “lying model”, she’s lying in a painfully frivolous pose, and so - well, the lady woke up, well, she stretched - what’s wrong?
1959. L. Astafiev. Morning

Marine theme again. It’s not Deinekin’s shapes that are coming into fashion anymore...
Two drawings by artist Grigory Gordon. A girl reading was also a popular plot in those years. Well, you can read it in this form if it’s hot, for example.
1960. G. Gordon. Girl with a book

1959. G. Gordon. sitting girl
Three more water-themed paintings.
1960. Vladimir Stozharov. Bathhouse. Washing woman

1960s Fedor Samusev. After the bath
Several studio nudes. Urusevsky and Reznikova's models are already quite skinny...
1960. Gennady Troshkin. Nude

1960. R. Podobedov. Young model

1960. S.P. Urusevsky. Nude model

1961. Evgenia Reznikova. Model Lisa
The heroes of V. Kholuev’s paintings are easily recognizable. There is something doll-like about them. The set of scenes is standard: nude in the studio, sea, morning.
1960s V. Kholuev. Reclining Nude

1960s V. Kholuev. Nude

1960s V. Kholuev. Born of the sea

1960s V. Kholuev. Morning

1962. V. Kholuev. Nude
“Spring Morning” by A. Sukhorukykh, although it combines two typical plots - morning and bathing, but here the heroine’s nudity is secondary; This is “nude” not for the sake of “nude”, but quite a genre picture.
1962. A. Sukhorukikh. Spring morning
Then we look: studios, and beaches, and another girl with a book... The 60s bore the echo of freedom, the lifting of many prohibitions, and the further we went, the more freedom was felt both in the plots and in the execution. In addition, it is easy to notice that impressive forms are almost no longer found.
1962. Vladimir Lapovok. In a workshop

1962. M. Samsonov. Nude

1963. S. Soloviev. Nude girl

1964. A. Samokhvalov. On the beach

1964. V. Scriabin. Nude

1965. A. Sukhorukikh. Girl with a book

1966. A. Sukhorukikh. In the artist's studio

1965. N. Ovchinnikov. Evening melody

1966. Antonov. Bathhouse in the village of Titovo. Sisters

1966. Teterin. Nude

1967. Kaparushkin. Siberian

1967. A. Sukhanov. In a workshop
Well, this is a completely frivolous plot. Straight sadomasochistic. The guy was caught peeping...
1967. A. Tarasenko. Punishment
Not swimming, mind you, but simply relaxing. A girl in a hat was walking in the mountains and was tired. undressed and sat down on a pebble...
1967. V. Chaus. Rest

1968. Vladimir Lapovok. Sleeping

1968. May Miturich. Nude
And this picture is generally on the verge. Either schoolchildren or students just so easily came to the bank, where, judging by the presence of the bridges, not only they walk, they completely undressed, took out paints with easels - and, well, paint each other!
1969. M. Tolokonnikova. On sketches

1969. Y. Raksha. August

1969. Y. Raksha. Dream
It seems to me that the 1960s were not the worst time...