The Medieval Chastity Belt: A Myth-Making Process. By Albrecht Classen. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Pp. 222. $69.95.

In popular opinion the medieval chastity belt is believed to be a (metal) girdle jealous husbands or crusading knights attached with padlocks to their wives' private parts in order to guard the woman's honor and lock away her sexual organs from potential lovers. the chastity belt is therefore considered to be a device that gave peace of mind to the absent husband, while at the same time it was a means to control and reign in a woman's otherwise uncontrollable lustful nature. Specimens of iron chastity belts can be found in a number of European museums; an image in Conrad Kyeser's Bellifortis from 1405 is generally taken to be the earliest depiction of a chastity belt, while written references attesting to their use occur in medieval literature dating back as far as the twelfth century.