While religious profanity was central, obscenity—particularly sexual and scatological language—was present, though often euphemized or censored in writing. Some common sexual references of the time included: “Swive” – a term for sexual intercourse (roughly equivalent to modern "fuck") “Bum” – referring to the buttocks

One of the most infamous categories of swearing involved euphemistic or direct references to the body of Christ or divine attributes. Take, for example, the word “zounds”. This expression was a shortened version of “God’s wounds”, referring to the wounds of Christ on the cross. Similarly: “’sblood” = God’s blood “’s

Introduction Profanity has existed as long as language itself. In every society, taboo words reflect what a culture holds sacred or offensive. In Early Modern England (roughly 1500–1700), a period spanning the late Tudor and Stuart eras, religious and bodily references dominated the realm of swearing. The English Reformation, rise of Puritanism,

Victory as Divine Providence Upon his return to England, Henry V orchestrated a series of ritual processions and thanksgiving masses, most famously at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. He walked barefoot through the streets as a penitent, not a conqueror, attributing the victory not to his own genius but to God’s intervention. Churches rang