Rosalie Gilbert

Over the last two weeks I've been counting down to Xmas with my 12 Days Of Xmas Medieval Wise Men Memes on social media, and we've all had a bit of a giggle, but one thing did crop up a few times, and that was the strangeness of the gifts. Gold, frankincense and myrrh seem odd choices, really.

At first glance it seems like gold could be sold and useful things bought with the money- rent, food, a bed at an inn... myrrh might have herbal properties of some kind but really, what's with the frankincense other than putting it in a votive and enjoying the fragrance? This was something I've looked into using information given to us by respected healers and learned persons at the start of the medieval period.

We turn, of course, to our beloved Hildegard von Bingen and her treatise, Physica, to learn more.

Frankincense: Not only is it good for religious services and wafting in churches, it has medicinal properties. It is good for the relief of headaches, brain fever and brain purge. These things could afflict new mothers, although today we identify it as post-natal depression. 

Myrrh: This should be streaked on the chest to chase away lust and desire, both unseemly in a new mother, and especially for our Lady, the new Mother of the Saviour. Myrrh in wine is good for fevers too, so helpful post-partum to help fight unwellness. Myrrh has the unfortunate side effect of making one depressed, so the frankincense will help a little bit with that, although there is a more specific cure for the depression that myrrh causes. You'll never guess what.

Hildegard says to cure the depression from the myrrh, carry gold.

Gold, frankincense and myrrh. These were the gifts the three kings in the story brought. I bet she would rather have had something to eat and a place indoors to sleep.

The widow Felmersham was clearly not of a true religious vocation. Not unsurprisingly, this is not an uncommon occurrence in court cases involving nunneries and medieval women. Nunneries were a convenient place to stash young girls for their own protection and sometimes, to get a small education of sorts, while she waited for a suitable husband to be found by well-meaning family. Some were subdued into a life of religion and scheduled prayer and work but others used them more like boarding houses to be used at their own whims and convenience.

Nunneries also accepted wealthy widows who wished to avoid remarriage but had no real religious vocation, so as much as they were happy to accept the income these women provided, the resident nuns-in-charge had their hands full keeping these secular women in check.

Often they were permitted to wear regular secular clothing and jewellery, skip prayers, eat whatever they liked and have friends sleep over. Parties could get rowdy, much to the annoyance of the women who lived there who were diligently trying to live a devout and holy life of contemplation.

Complaints were common and many made their way into courts or complaint books to be dealt with by visiting deacons. Many with little success, it seems, as some records show that the same women might pop up repeatedly or be passed from place to place.

For more stories of actual medieval women, you know where to go.

Clearly, if you have a nice ass, you're all the better for getting pregnant. Actually, any ass will do. Don't be confused. The specific type of ass Trotula was writing about, is the donkey kind.  It can be found in texts before the 12th century to describe a horse-like animal with long ears and a braying sound, and the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it thus:

Noun (1) Middle English, from Old English assa, probably from Old Irish asan, from Latin asinus

For reasons best known to herself, Trotula recommended this kind of milk specifically as promoting a quick pregnancy, but, as with some of her other remedies, I remain doubtful.

Please, don't try this at home.

For more awful hints on how to get pregnant or how to avoid being pregnant, you might like to read The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Woman, available here.

This is Alice Boyton, changing her status from In A Relationship With God to It's Complicated.

It's no real secret that women were often dumped into nunneries for the convenience of others and not willingly from a true religious vocation. Our Alice, it seems, was the latter. There are many reasons why a medieval woman might be sent to a nunnery. These include, but are not limited to:

• A daughter kept away from unsuitable suitors until a husband could be found.
• A bit of an education (to a point)
• A grab for assets
• An actual religious vocation
• Avoiding to provide a dowry upon marriage
• Point-scoring with God

Either way, most of these involved not asking the woman involved or talking her into it against her will.

The life of Heloise, mistress then wife of famed medieval scholar Peter Abelarde was one such arrangement. Heloise had absolutely no vocation at all and her correspondence with him reflects this quite vividly. One feels poor Alice Boyton may have been in such a position- an inconvenient women shoved into a life where she would be no trouble to others.



Except it seems to not have worked out that way. Complaints about her bad behaviour made the church records and the fact that she wasn't to be let out unless accompanied by a sensible woman firmly in charge of her lefts us know that she was proving to be a bit of a handful.

Poor Alice. At least she wasn't going quietly!
 

For more snippets of medieval women's lives, The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women is available online and in all good book shops, and is currently 30% off until the end of January at Mango Publishing. 

I'm very excited to announce that Kryal Castle in Victoria, Australia is now stocking "The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women" in their Exit Shop.

That's right, after a fun-filled day of medieval-themed adventure, you can pick up a copy for yourself or as a gift for an unsuspecting loved one! It features the new non-sexy dust jacket as requested by the venue, but it's still the same book underneath!

Look, I know we are all sick of hearing about it, but by now we all understand the challenges I've faced with publishing and the front cover of my book. This week I had dealings with a venue which was hoping to sell my book over the course of a medieval event, but, in an exceptionally tactless way, informed me that they felt the cover was (and I quote) "A bit on the nose" and that it wasn't suitable for a family-friendly festival in their gift shop.

I completely understand that the original cover screams SEX in large, unwieldy letters, which is one of the reasons I printed a dust jacket. That and the nipple censorship thing, of course.

The venue was not particularly happy with the dust jacket either, so with an extremely limited time frame, I got this one off to the printer for a new dust jacket. The venue conceded that this one was (and again, I quote) "A bit better." They insist that the book be wrapped somehow so it can't be perused by potential customers. I really would have just given it all a solid miss for the way they feel, except for the fact that they are actually potentially interested in stocking my book all year round.

Anyway, I'm now waiting for these to arrive, so I can trim them and wrap the books with their new "bit better, less on the nose" jackets.

We are LIVE! The interview you've been waiting for or dreading: Rosalie speaks candidly with Shad Brooks from You Tube's  Shadiversity You Tube channel, and it's now LIVE HERE.

In July, just gone, Shad visited my Rosalie's Medieval Woman tent at the Abbey Medieval Festival for a few words about medieval women, and he had questions. Many questions. Was he always that bright red or did he get redder as we went along? You decide for yourself. While the topic was sensitive, so were the euphemisms employed to ensure the conversation stayed safe for most ears.



Of course, there are many things that can't be discussed fully online in polite company, so some tid-bits of information were only hinted at.

And of course, if you've watched and would like to learn more, there's an entire book you might care to explore. Available online or ask your local book store to get a copy in for you.