Impressive amulets for medieval women in labor. “Taking care of the door” is not wrong. In ancient times, how did you get through this door of samsara?
Faced with exorbitant maternal mortality, a non-existent obstetric science and postpartum infectious diseases that still lurk, medieval pregnant women put all their faith in amulets only to wish for holy protection during childbirth full of pain and suffering. danger.
According to The Guardian, one of the most popular amulets or lucky charms for pregnant women in the Middle Ages is
For gems, the list of items that churches lend to pregnant women are plentiful, but the most popular type of lucky charm is the “birth ring”.
Now, researchers say they have strong evidence that these rings are not only worshiped by pregnant women while they are pregnant, but are also used during childbirth.
Researchers analyzed one of these items from the Wellcome Collection – made from four strips of sheepskin sewn together and dated to the late 15th or early 16th century.
The sheepskin band, painted on many divine symbols, including a cross, shows signs of wear, indicating that it has been touched, rubbed, or kissed as part of religious worship.
Durham University researcher Natalie Goodison said her team expects to find traces of blood on the bracelet. But researchers even found traces of vaginal discharge along with honey, milk, eggs, legumes – like dragon beans and cereals on the ring.
Scholars and historical texts have long suggested that such rings are worn by pregnant women and are also used during childbirth.
Childbirth was a danger in medieval Europe. While only 9 out of 100,000 women died from childbirth in England in 2013, childbirth was reportedly the leading cause of death for women in medieval England.
The latest analysis reinforces the idea that women actively used ritual and religion to soothe their nerves – fear, stress, pain … during childbirth, although at that time the spell was banned by Christian reformers.
