Pet monkey story from 11th century.
Anonymous 01/22/25(Wed)19:04:31 | 0 comments
In his De bono religiosi status et variarum animantium tropologia, the 11th-century cardinal Saint Peter Damian has a chapter on apes [Ch. XXIX].
> Now what follows is something I heard from the lord Pope Alexander less than a month ago.
> He told me that recently Count William, who lives in the district of Liguria, had a male monkey, called a maimo in the vernacular. He and his wife, a completely lewd and wanton woman, used to play in shameless fashion with him. I myself have met his two sons, whom this vile woman, who deserves a beating, had borne of a certain bishop whose name I will omit, because I do not enjoy defaming anyone. She often used to play with the lecherous animal, taking it in her arms and fondling it, and the monkey in the meantime gave signs of being aroused and tried with obvious effort to come close to her nude body. Her chambermaid said to her, “Why don’t you let him have his way so we can see what he is after?” What more should I say? She submitted to the animal, and, what a shameful thing to report, it mated with the woman. This thing became habitual, and she frequently repeated the unheard of crime.
> One day when the count was in bed with his wife, the maimo, aroused by jealousy, suddenly jumped on both of them, tore at the man with his arms and sharp claws as if he were his rival, got him by the teeth and wounded him beyond all recovery. And so the count died. Because the innocent man had been faithful to his wife and had fed this animal at his own expense, he had expected no evil from either. He had shown them only kindness. But what a heinous crime! The wife shamefully ignored his marriage rights, and the beast sank his teeth in his master’s throat.
> It was reported to the same pope while I was with him that a certain boy, who seemed big for his age, even though, as it was said, he was already twenty years old, was still completely unable to speak. He had the appearance of a maimo, and that was also what they called him.
> Now what follows is something I heard from the lord Pope Alexander less than a month ago.
> He told me that recently Count William, who lives in the district of Liguria, had a male monkey, called a maimo in the vernacular. He and his wife, a completely lewd and wanton woman, used to play in shameless fashion with him. I myself have met his two sons, whom this vile woman, who deserves a beating, had borne of a certain bishop whose name I will omit, because I do not enjoy defaming anyone. She often used to play with the lecherous animal, taking it in her arms and fondling it, and the monkey in the meantime gave signs of being aroused and tried with obvious effort to come close to her nude body. Her chambermaid said to her, “Why don’t you let him have his way so we can see what he is after?” What more should I say? She submitted to the animal, and, what a shameful thing to report, it mated with the woman. This thing became habitual, and she frequently repeated the unheard of crime.
> One day when the count was in bed with his wife, the maimo, aroused by jealousy, suddenly jumped on both of them, tore at the man with his arms and sharp claws as if he were his rival, got him by the teeth and wounded him beyond all recovery. And so the count died. Because the innocent man had been faithful to his wife and had fed this animal at his own expense, he had expected no evil from either. He had shown them only kindness. But what a heinous crime! The wife shamefully ignored his marriage rights, and the beast sank his teeth in his master’s throat.
> It was reported to the same pope while I was with him that a certain boy, who seemed big for his age, even though, as it was said, he was already twenty years old, was still completely unable to speak. He had the appearance of a maimo, and that was also what they called him.