[h-cost] Menstruation in Middle Ages
Hi, I'm sorry if this has been discussed before - I've glanced through the archives and didn't find much - please point me to an earlier discussion if so. But my question is, is there any evidence and info on how did the medieval women deal with menstruation? Did they use special clothes (could they use something like pants???)? I've also heard that menstruation in the earlier times was much different from today and the menstruation could not have been such a big deal after all (not to talk about the fact that women were very often pregnant) I'm also interested in later periods - up to the 18th century - I think the way of dealing with it would have been similar to how it was done in the middle ages...but I really don't know much about this topic, that's why I rather post here and ask:-) Thanks, Zuzana - Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] Menstruation in Middle Ages
Off the top of my head, I've read about the use of rags, sea sponges, and corks. I've also read references of women letting it run down their legs, but that would be both disgusting and dangerous. My personal theory is that women with poor nutrition or those of especially athletic bodies would have little to no menstrual cycle. I base this on studies done on modern day women with extremely low body fat and their reduced or non-existent cycles. I don't have much time now, but will find my references and point you to them as soon as I can. Connie Zuzana Kraemerova wrote: Hi, I'm sorry if this has been discussed before - I've glanced through the archives and didn't find much - please point me to an earlier discussion if so. But my question is, is there any evidence and info on how did the medieval women deal with menstruation? Did they use special clothes (could they use something like pants???)? I've also heard that menstruation in the earlier times was much different from today and the menstruation could not have been such a big deal after all (not to talk about the fact that women were very often pregnant) I'm also interested in later periods - up to the 18th century - I think the way of dealing with it would have been similar to how it was done in the middle ages...but I really don't know much about this topic, that's why I rather post here and ask:-) Thanks, Zuzana ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] Menstruation in Middle Ages
I know we've discussed it some, but that was 7 or more years ago! For those who are curious about more recent menstruation habits, there's the online Museum of Menstruation: http://www.mum.org/ -- cv ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] Menstruation in Middle Ages
There was a great discussion on this topic in January of 2006. While medieval medical literature doesn't necessarily reflect true life one gets the impression that medieval people were fanatically interested in periods. Not having one meant that your humors were out of balance and there are lots of herbal remedies to bring on the menses. (Now, some of these amount to early chemical abortions but that's another topic entirely.) It's possibly a medieval woman did not greet her period with the desire to hide it that modern marketing has instilled in many of us. It was part of life and meant that you were healthy. However, I suspect flauting it wasn't good either and I have a completly unsubstantiated theory the part of the humilation of being publicly stripped to one's shift showed off some old blood stains. Another aspect I intend to investigate someday is how much flow a woman who is not surrounded by so many artificial hormores has. There are so many phyoestrogeons in the environment that I'm not sure we can take modern experience as typical. Cheers, Mary Haselbauer ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] Menstruation in Middle Ages
The museum appears to have been closed. On May 12, 2008, at 7:22 AM, Cynthia Virtue wrote: I know we've discussed it some, but that was 7 or more years ago! For those who are curious about more recent menstruation habits, there's the online Museum of Menstruation: http://www.mum.org/ -- cv ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] Menstruation in Middle Ages
I think you may have happened upon a server error or somesuch; it was working fine this morning and is likewise this evening. Sylvia Rognstad wrote: The museum appears to have been closed. On May 12, 2008, at 7:22 AM, Cynthia Virtue wrote: I know we've discussed it some, but that was 7 or more years ago! For those who are curious about more recent menstruation habits, there's the online Museum of Menstruation: http://www.mum.org/ ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] Menstruation in Middle Ages
I've heard that even today, in countries where women work hard and/or have poor nutrition, menopause sets in much earlier, around the 30's. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Zuzana Kraemerova Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 5:01 AM To: h-costume Subject: [h-cost] Menstruation in Middle Ages Hi, I'm sorry if this has been discussed before - I've glanced through the archives and didn't find much - please point me to an earlier discussion if so. But my question is, is there any evidence and info on how did the medieval women deal with menstruation? Did they use special clothes (could they use something like pants???)? I've also heard that menstruation in the earlier times was much different from today and the menstruation could not have been such a big deal after all (not to talk about the fact that women were very often pregnant) I'm also interested in later periods - up to the 18th century - I think the way of dealing with it would have been similar to how it was done in the middle ages...but I really don't know much about this topic, that's why I rather post here and ask:-) Thanks, Zuzana - Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
