sister_raphael | Entries tagged with pregnancy

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In news which will shock absolutely no one at all, fertility tests have come down throughout the centuries to today, and almost everyone has their own special way of telling if a woman is pregnant or whether the expectant mother is carrying a male or female child.

One of the most fabulous ones, in my opinion, involves pots of bran and plenty of urine, which just sounds delightful, doesn't it? Never mind that diet has a great influence on the smell of urine and having the pots hanging around the house while the pots brew is possibly a stinky affair... but, honestly! Who in their right mind wishes to waste two perfectly good pots of bran which are rendered inedible by both humans and livestock alike.

I'm giving this one a hard pass, thank you.

I feel like it might work, because I'm feeling a lot less lusty just thinking about it.

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:

Any of several hardy gregarious (see gregarious sense 1a) African or Asian perissodactyl mammals (genus Equus) smaller than the horse and having long ears especially : an African mammal (E. asinus) that is the ancestor of the donkey

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.

Church records are usually incomplete when it comes to the finer details of court appearances, citing only the bare bones of the cases. This is often frustrating for historical researchers, but it does allow a very small glimpse at the lives of medieval women, and very often, gives them a name.

From Lincoln in England, we find Joan Willys, who was a household servant.

She is named as part of a case in the Visitations records in Lincoln, England where her employer, John Hunt has been taken to task for improper conduct, namely living unmarried and having a sexual relationship with her as his servant.

Joan has taken certain herbs to terminate a pregnancy, but later is married to the man in question. No indication is given whether she was a willing participant in the intimate activities or whether she had no choice and was forced as his household servant. Either way, the use of the word "persuaded" when it comes to the part about ending her pregnancy is used, hinting that perhaps she wasn't entirely on board with that part.

Many medieval women had a strong church background and the fear of hell was absolutely a real thing, so deliberately ending a pregnancy may have been a decision she may not have been comfortable with.

After the Visitation, John and Joan were married, but again, there is no indication whether this was a state desired by both of them. There are a number of reasons why the marriage happened:

1. forced upon them under pain of being removed from the church
2. to legitimise John's child and provide an heir
3. they loved each other

Which of these is true, we will never know.

For more medieval women, the Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women is available online and through all good book sellers.

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Rosalie Gilbert

Author & Medieval History Enthusiast

Entries tagged with pregnancy

Medieval Fertility Test

How to combat lust- medieval style

How To Get Pregnant

Medieval woman: Joan Willys of Harpenden. Forced abortion.

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