Medieval History Commons^™

The Doctor's Dilemma: Sin, Salvation, And The Menstrual Cycle In Medieval Thought, Charles Wood

Dartmouth Scholarship

Because menstruation is a normal process in women of the child-bearing years, historians long tended to overlook its potential interest." An- thropologists might ponder such matters as the rites and taboos with which it was often invested, but theirs was a less prudish field, one that also saw itself as being mainly devoted to the study of unchanging features in traditional cultures. Until recently, on the other hand, historians conceived of their discipline as being primarily concerned with the very procers of change; and since, like the poor, taxes, and death, menstruation has always been with us, it seemed a …