Castration in Medieval Times ??

I saw this on another newsgroup, generally wish to
avoid crossposting, so will edit and put out to medieval
for comment / correction / etc.
(Note reference to late middle ages)

"(attended) class about 19th century Italian Opera,
and the class is mainly populated by opera singers, some of whom have
sung professionally but some are still in the early-grad-school years.
In discussing the vocal ranges for which some earlier composers
wrote, the discussion wandered off into techniques of castration and the
effects on vocal range and employability of the men castrated. (I was
amused at how interested the young women in the class were, and the
detail in which they questioned the instructor.)
I'm not trained enough musically to have followed the discussion
as to whether different techniques produced different vocal ranges
(I think it is the age at castration that does this) but one aspect that
came up was new to me. Apparently in the late middle ages castrati
could make a very good living (often in church choirs) and poor families
would sometimes castrate a male child hoping for a way out of poverty.
Sometimes, however, this was often done without reference to whether the
boy could or would sing, producing quite a number of castrati who could
not sing. But if the balls were cut off at a certain age, the man could
still get erections - and apparently these castrati were in considerable
demand as gigolos or as lovers for upper-class women, since they could
perform in bed but not get the woman pregnant."

One followup included:
"Likewise eunuchs in classical times were able to have erections. But
there was no danger of them "contaminating" the women with their seed."

Certainly the Bible does mention eunuchs in both OT and NT.
Not much mention in my Medieval books.
Certainly was done in 1800s.
Anyone care to comment and educate?


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