In the 16th and 17th centuries, France had impotence courts. Husbands could be charged with erectile dysfunction and had to prove otherwise in front of witnesses. A husband’s inability to perform was one of the few reasons that the Church would allow a marriage to be annulled, so disgruntled women who could afford the legal costs would regularly charge their husbands with “injurious non-consummation” before ecclesiastical courts.
The onus was placed on the husband to demonstrate his powers of erection before an expert team of priests, surgeons, and midwives. These learned observers would carefully examine his equipment to reach an opinion on its “elastic tension” and “natural motion,” before demanding “proof of ejaculation.” Any man who failed this test had only one more chance to avoid becoming a laughing-stock. He could demand Trial by Congress, where he would have sex with his wife before the team of experts as 100 percent proof that he could perform.
The astonishing piece of legal pornography would take place in a neutral territory agreed upon by both parties. The married couple was examined by the court to make sure they were not concealing any devices, were watched during the act carefully, and examined afterwards.