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Full-Text Articles in History
Enlightening The “Dark Ages”: Historical Genealogy And The Medieval Narrative, Jess R. O’Leary
Enlightening The “Dark Ages”: Historical Genealogy And The Medieval Narrative, Jess R. O’Leary
The Forum: Journal of History
No abstract provided.
Medieval Infertility: Treatments, Cures, And Consequences, Zia Simpson
Medieval Infertility: Treatments, Cures, And Consequences, Zia Simpson
The Forum: Journal of History
Since the first civilizations emerged, reproductive ability has been one of the most prominent elements in assessing a woman’s value to society. Other characteristics such as beauty, intelligence, and wealth may have been granted comparable consequence, but those are arbitrary and improvable. Fertility is genetic, and for centuries it was beyond human control. Among the medieval European nobility, fertility held even greater power. The absence of an heir could, either directly or indirectly, bring about war, economic depression, and social disorder. Catholicism provided a refuge by allowing barren women to retain their hopes, while simultaneously enriching Rome’s coffers. Other women …