The Reality of Fantasy: Wenches

In the final installment of this week’s series, I wanted to take a closer look at the reality of how it was to be a woman in the middle ages – lest one forgets in their fantasy game just how lucky their female characters are.

In most schools of thought, women were held to be weaker, more prone to vices, including sexual vices, humorally more cold and damp, and generally inferior copies of the male organism.

Women were taught that they should be meek and obedient to their fathers and husbands. This does not imply that women were necessarily oppressed – as such – but while they weren’t treated as slaves, they weren’t out there swinging swords with the men, either.

The culture at the time is what can referred to as a ‘birth-positive’ one. That is, they valued reproduction above other considerations. Many rules existed for encouraging conception, especially conception of a healthy child, preferably a boy. And preferably as many of them as possible before the age of 20.

And speaking of childbirth, that in itself was quite a risky venture for both mother and baby. All manner of superstitions were called into play to ease labor.

Women use herbs and spices to inhibit or induce pregnancy. One woman writes to her sister recommending a herbal potion to help her become pregnant, but notes: ‘It stinks so much that there have been husbands who have thrown it away.’

Illustrations depict women usually giving birth in some kind of chair, sometimes using a birthing stool that was v-shaped to support the legs while giving space for the midwife to work; however illustrations also suggest that x-shaped chairs and other normal sorts of chairs were used, as well as the half lying position and a crouching position.

Prolapsed uterus and hemorrhaging were common complications, as were difficult presentations, such as buttocks-first. Retained placentas and dead children retained in the womb were also a concern. There are many remedies suggested for expelling the dead child from the womb; some of these could have been used as abortifacents.

Intentional abortion, though illegal, was known, though the substances and procedures doctors and priests reported as being used were generally dangerous and/or ineffective.

With the high level of infant mortality, women faced an uphill battle in raising their children even to the age of 5. Infectious diseases, injuries, and even unrecognized birth defects could kill.

As you can see, the Dark and Middle Ages were rough on women. “Obey” and “Have babies” were the order of the day, and very few women were able to overcome the demands placed on them by society to become anything of importance. And of course, many women were forced to work in order to help support their families – but sadly they made so much less than their male counterparts that they were forced to take as many as 3 or 4 jobs!

So put your adolescent male fantasies aside. The women of the olden days were not shaved and oiled like an SI swimsuit model. They didn’t run around in chainmail bikinis. The only thing that they did do was do most of the under-appreciated and unwanted work for men, which is sadly still true in many parts of the world.

But lest you want to play this sort of character, try looking at some of these inspirational women of the olden days: Artemisia I of Caria, Boudica, and Zenobia – who all kicked ass while still managing to wear the proper battle garb.