7 terrible things women faced in the Middle Ages

1. Women's fights

Some romance writers present the era of the Middle Ages as a time of courtesy and gallantry, when noble lords treated ladies as they should. And if the lady was offended, the brave warrior immediately stood up to her defense. Now, obviously, men are not the same.

However, in the real Middle Ages, a lady was not always eager to protect a knight - and then she had to take up arms herself. Women's fights happened less often than men's, but they sometimes were in no way inferior to them in fierceness.

For example, in 1552 in Naples, two noblewomen, Isabella de Carazzi and Diambra de Pottinella, did not share their suitor, a certain Fabio de Zeresola.

Do you think they pounced on each other and began to pull out their hair and bite? No, the signors were too noble to stoop to a fist fight. Instead, Diambra challenged Isabella to a duel 1.

2..

Isabella, by right of the offended side, chose a set of weapons: spear, mace, sword, shield and a harnessed horse.

On the day of the duel, a fair number of spectators gathered, and the local Marquis Alfonso d'Avalos, the big shot, acted as the judge. The female combatants appeared on horses, in full combat gear: Isabella - in blue, Diambra - in green, with a coat of arms in the form of a golden snake on her helmet. After the command, the ladies galloped at each other.

Their spears broke and they moved on to a duel with clubs. Diambra threw Isabella from her horse with a blow of the club. Dee then dismounted and demanded that she surrender and acknowledge her right to Fabio. Bella stood up, drew her sword and fought until she knocked the helmet off Diambra. But later she surrendered, nobly admitting that her rival had defeated her in an equestrian fight.

The victory remained with de Pottinella, but the sources are silent about how they went on with Fabio.

Ladies fought not only against each other, but also against men. For example, in 1395, Lord John Hotot had a land dispute with a certain Lord Ringsley, and he challenged him to an equestrian duel with spears.

However, Hotot had an inopportune attack of gout, and his daughter Agnes undertook to defend the honor of her father. She knocked Ringsley off the horse, and then took off her helmet and loosened her hair in order to humiliate the insolent man in the appendage, showing that he was overpowered by a woman.

Unfortunately, fights did not always end well. In 13th century Europe, the so-called "marriage duels" were common. They were used to resolve family conflicts, and in especially neglected cases - instead of the divorce proceedings.

The man, armed with a club, was sitting up to his waist in the pit, and the woman was standing and fighting with him with the help of a bag of stones. The condition for the victory of the husband is to knock out the faithful, for the wife to get the spouse out of the pit. Beats on the head were allowed, as well as such techniques as sticking a baton between a lady's legs or twisting a man's genitals - recommended by the master of fencing, Hans Talhoffer.

If the parties were eventually reconciled, the fight would cease. If the reason for the quarrel was really serious - adultery, infertility of one side or another, or land lawsuits - then, as a result of the duel, the defeated man was executed, and the losing woman was buried alive.

In the late Middle Ages, centuries in the XV-XVI, duels of ladies on rapiers, moreover topless, were popular. Women removed the top of the dress so that a metal or bone corset could not give an advantage in battle. This practice continued until the 19th century.

By the way, in Russia, in terms of duels with the fair sex, everything was also in order. For example, in the Pskov judicial charter of 1397, a woman was allowed to fight a man on the same terms. Equality!

2. Lack of eyebrows and hair

Fashion has always been a very strange thing. Quite thick eyebrows and long hair are now popular. But 500 years ago in Europe, other virtues were valued in women.

Since the laws of Christianity were very harsh on the manifestation of sexuality, it was prescribed to dress modestly. It was especially important to hide the hair. The uncovered head was a symbol of adultery, and a woman who appeared in public without a cap or atur was considered an adulteress or a prostitute.

Atur is that spiky, sometimes forked cap that you've seen in stereotypical princesses in cartoons.

The need to hide their hair led to the fact that the ladies began to shave off the curls that were knocked out from under the cap, plucking their eyebrows for company. After all, if a lady has a clean high forehead, then you can immediately see - pious. And the vortices sticking out from under the atura give out a walking “vessel of sin”. Therefore, by the 15th century, all more or less self-respecting ladies began to look something like this.

In addition to the hair on the forehead, in some cases, eyebrows and even eyelashes were plucked out - for complete happiness. It was considered beautiful, although the procedure was quite painful.

3. Uncomfortable clothes

Perhaps, when you watched movies on historical themes, you noticed that medieval ladies wore dresses with very - no, not so - with extremely long and wide sleeves. For some, they, along with the hem of the dress, dragged along the ground.

Do you think this is such a fashion? No, these outfits had an important practical purpose - to save unfortunate female souls.

According to the rules of medieval Christianity, during church services it was simply necessary to touch the altar, otherwise prayer does not count. But there is one snag: the fair sex was forbidden to touch him.

The fact is that a long time ago Eve persuaded Adam to pick the forbidden fruit and thus doomed all of humanity to suffering and death. This means that all women are weak in spirit and unreliable, as Thomas Aquinas noted in his treatise Summa Theologica, and they should not touch the altar.

But the ladies still found a way to touch the divine - not with the hand, but at least with the hem of the dress.

Therefore, the more pious the lady is, the wider and longer her sleeves are. Well, the fact that they crawl on the floor, collecting all the dirt, and because of them it is inconvenient to take food - nothing. For the sake of saving the soul, you can be patient.

Another curious detail 1.

2.. If you look at the images of women from the Middle Ages, you will notice that most of them have impressive bellies, clearly visible under their dresses. Moreover, not only married ladies looked like this, but also maidens of marriageable age, who were not supposed to be pregnant.

The reason is simple: in the Middle Ages look like E. Hall. The Arnolfini Betrothal: Medieval Marriage and the Enigma of Van Eyck's Double Portrait of a pregnant woman was just fashionable. First, giving birth to heirs is the main purpose of a decent woman. Secondly, this appearance showed good health and fertility.

And, finally, the main thing: the lady on the drift was likened to the Mother of God, and this is good and pious. After all, it is at this time that a woman becomes not a weak and vicious creature, but a decent person. Therefore, even those ladies who were not pregnant wore special overlays.

If the woman really was in position, then she wrapped around the abdomen and between the thighs the so-called "maternity belt" - a strip of parchment made of sheep's skin with prayers inscribed on it.

Honey, broken eggs, cereals and legumes were placed under it, and milk was sprinkled on it. It was believed that such a thing, if worn every day, would nourish the fetus and contribute to the birth of a healthy child.

How much this method helped and whether it was pleasant for the pregnant woman to walk around with full panties of egg yolk and peas, decide for yourself.

4. Behavioral therapy

If these days you are not satisfied with any personality trait, then you can turn to a psychologist. But in the Middle Ages, methods of behavior correction were much more radical.

If any woman liked to gossip and it came to the servants of justice, they put on the so-called "mask of shame". And then they were taken on a rope around the city to insult, humiliate and restrain.

This mask appeared in the 15th century and was used until the 18th century. In addition to overly talkative ladies, she was also used against slanderers or those who interfered with the sermon. When a man with her on his head tried to speak, she pricked his tongue.

Another unit of a similar purpose, the "violin of the obstinate", was intended for the peaceful settlement of conflicts. These are such shackles, only paired. They connected two people face to face, forcing them not to turn away from each other, but to talk over the problem and find a compromise.

For example, if a husband and wife argued very loudly and interfered with others, they could be shackled together with such a contraption and chased around the city until they made up.

Or, when two squabblers got into a fight in the marketplace, they could be shackled face to face. And keep it that way until they feel Christian forgiveness and peacefulness.

Another way 1.

2. punishment, with the help of which the society conveyed to the ladies with a bad character the idea that it would be time to correct themselves - "a stool of despondency." We put the culprit on a chair and dip into the cold river with a long lever. As the French writer François Maximilian Misson put it, this "helped to cool her immoderate ardor." Later, the stool was also used to identify witches. Drowned - innocent, forgive.

But the “chastity belt” that often appears in books about the horrors of the Middle Ages is a myth. Numerous photos of such accessories, flashing on the Internet, are actually newer devices. They were used from 1800 to 1930 to wean children from masturbation. Naturally, as prescribed by a doctor.

5. Specific intimate hygiene products

In general, it is difficult to judge such a purely feminine phenomenon as menstruation in the Middle Ages, because the main written source of those times was the records of monks-chroniclers. And most of these guys, neither in medicine, nor in women, did not really understand anything. Medieval doctors, too, did not differ in outstanding discoveries in the field of female physiology.

Nevertheless, some information about feminine hygiene in medieval Europe is still preserved. For example, in the Old English Herbarium, translated at one time from the Latin originals of the 11th century. Medical historian Anna van Arsdall cites 1.

2. some interesting recommendations from these sources.

For example, to relieve symptoms during menstruation, the author of the herbarium recommended taking the urtica plant, crushing it in a mortar, adding a little honey and damp wool, and lubricating the genitals with this medicine.

Everything would be fine, only urtica is a nettle. Imagine what it will be like to rub the most delicate parts of your body with it, and even during your period. Probably, a lot of flattering words were said to the wise guy who compiled the herbarium.

Soft linen rags were used as pads, so the English expression on the rag is still associated with menstruation. For better absorbency, marsh moss was placed between the layers of fabric. Ashes from the bones of a toad, if worn in a bag around the neck or waist, also, according to the doctors, helped very well in "these days."

And finally, the best medicine for menstruation, according to medieval doctors, was wine. Ergo bibamus ladies.

In general, during such periods, the lady had to be especially careful and not leave the house once again. And not because she herself was not good, but for the good of others.

Prominent scholars and theologians very often quoted 1.

2. antique scientific works, in particular, by Pliny the Elder. And it says that during menstruation, a woman unknowingly caused a lot of damage. Bend your fingers: she could poison babies who look at her, destroy crops, coat iron with rust and infect dogs with rabies. And also cause leprosy in people, make beer sour (it's terrible!) And spoil ham. Contact with secretions was not required: fluids, miasms - everything would spread through the air.

The situation was facilitated by the fact that medieval women had their periods less often, since women were more likely to go pregnant than now. And menopause came earlier due to poor nutrition, a small amount of meat in the diet, and in the case of commoners - also hard physical labor.

6. Shared baths for men and women

In popular culture, the Middle Ages is considered an extremely dirty time. This is not entirely true. Then we washed less often than now, but simply because the centralized water supply with hot water has not yet been delivered.

However, in public baths, for a very modest fee, you could enjoy washing as much as you like. Provided, of course, that you are not embarrassed by other naked people around. Although in the Middle Ages, this was treated more easily than it is now.

For example, there were 32 large baths in 12th century Paris. And the theologian Alexander Nekkam complained that in the morning he was awakened by the screams of people from the nearby baths, complaining that the water was too hot. In the town of Southwark, which is now part of London, there were 18 baths. In small settlements, they were combined with bakeries in order to reduce the consumption of firewood for heating water.

However, medieval baths had one feature: they were common to everyone - both men and women.

So if you are a decent girl who does not want to be reputed to be dirty and goes to the bathhouse after a hard day, then, most likely, you will see more naked people than you would like.

In addition, the baths were used not only for cleaning, but also as a place for meetings, dinners and parties. And sometimes like brothels. In fact, the word bagnio, which came to English and French, meaning brothel, occurs Did people in the Middle Ages take baths? / Medievalists from the Latin balneum, "bath". You wash yourself calmly, and on the next bench professional, hmm, bath attendants serve clients. That's the way it is.

Most surprisingly, the church did not mind combining business with pleasure. It was believed by The bishop's profitable sex workers / Wellcome Collection that women of easy virtue, helping men to relax, protect more respectable girls from abuse and debauchery. Thomas Aquinas once uttered on this topic: "Remove the cesspool, and the palace will become an unclean and fetid place."

And the Bishop of Winchester cared so much about the spiritual condition of the visitors to the baths, so cared that he issued as many as 36 decrees regulating the work of the bathhouse attendants. For non-observance of the rules established by His Eminence, or for unauthorized work in the sex market, a large fine was imposed, and the baths paid the bishop a tax. As a result, he improved the financial position of the English church quite well.

However, by the 16th century, the metal-working industry began to demand more and more wood, so not only to heat the baths - there was barely enough firewood to warm ourselves up. And Europe has finally entered the unwashed Puritan era without baths.

7. Dangerous childbirth

Having children, even with the modern level of medicine, is not a very pleasant experience, but in the Middle Ages it was especially risky. Due to injuries during the birth of a child, as well as due to various complications that subsequently manifested themselves, about a quarter of women in labor died until the 18th century. Compare this with the current figure - one death for 5814 mothers.

The reason is quite simple: profuse bleeding and a high likelihood of subsequent infection. The problem is that until the 1880s, none of the obstetricians knew that they should at least wash their hands before carrying out any operations. And the midwives who took birth 500 years before these pundits had even less understanding of microbiology.

Therefore, getting an infection with streptococcus or staphylococcus, giving birth to an heir, was easier than catching a cold today. This phenomenon doctors of the past, not fully understanding, was streamlinedly called "childbirth fever."

Before the medieval lady got into labor, her priests and lawyers literally recommended that she do two things: confess and write a will. Just for every fireman.

The More Noble 1.

2. there was a lady, the more visitors she had during childbirth - a hundred courtiers could have packed into the royal bedroom. I wonder what's going on there. In addition, it was necessary to testify that the heir would not be replaced.

To keep everything going well, the ladies were given a drink called caudle before starting the process, made from a mixture of eggs, cream, porridge, rusks, wine, sugar, salt, honey, ground almonds, saffron, and ale. It was thick, smelly, and tasted disgusting.

There were two ways to avoid all these torments: go to a nun or use effective contraception. For example, hang a bag with weasel testicles, earwax, a mule uterus fragment, black cat bones or donkey droppings around your neck. The last ingredient was most effective in keeping the suitors at bay.